The industry learned over the weekend through colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser that flatter Eduardo Navarro Lopez passed away Nov. 27 after a battle with cancer. He was 36 years old. The Guadalajara, Mexico-based color assistant had been undergoing treatment for cancer, but had continued to work until as recently as earlier in November.

Breitweiser has worked with him her entire career, as she noted in her post paying tribute to him:

Edo was The Best. Truly. So much so that for most of my career I refused to work with anyone else. It’s often said that colorists are the unsung heroes of the comic book industry, but any forthright colorist will tell you that it’s the industry’s color separators/flatters that are the real unsung heroes. Often working herculean hours to meet tight publishing deadlines right along side of the colorists; almost always with little to no recognition for their tedious and detailed work. Edo was my right hand man, my cheerleader, my one constant. So dedicated, so trustworthy, so incredibly skilled and intuitive in his contributions. He was a complete joy to work alongside and an exemplary example of a human being: always friendly, affectionate, funny, kind, hardworking and positive, even in the darkest hours. We quickly became friends, and Mitch and I counted him as a beloved and integral member of our comic book family.

Skaar Son of Hulk, Agents of Atlas, Hulk, Secret Avengers, Captain America, Winter Soldier, Batman LOTDK, Fatale, Velvet, Outcast and The Fade Out. If you are a fan of any of these books then you can thank Eduardo Navarro Lopez for helping them get on the shelves and into your hands.

ROBOT 6 reached out to Breitweiser for additional perspective:

We worked to together my entire career. In fact, Eduardo was a part of every single project I have ever worked on. ... My last work with him will be on the upcoming issue of The Fade Out. I received the last page I would ever get from Eduardo on the 21st. This book is going to be a tough one for me. I have his flats, but I haven’t started working on them yet.

The first issue of All New Captain America #1 included Navarro in the credits along with longtime friend and collaborator Marte Gracia. Gracia was kind enough to share his thoughts on the loss of his friend with ROBOT 6, as well as his hope that more people in the industry recognize the importance of flatters.

He touched many lives, worked with many pro-colorists, flatted thousands of pages and made a lot of people happy, 'cuz that was his mutant power.

I have worked in the industry for 11+ years, worked with an important number of flatters and i can easily say that my life changed when I started working with Eduardo. Why? because he was, hands down, the best flatter in the world, all of my colorist mates whose life was touched by Edo will agree with me. He had the best qualities: He was dedicated, fast, intuitive, hard-worker, communicative, and above all, he was a fan. He loved what he did. Flatting was his life, and he lived an exemplary life.As a person, I admired him the most. Working on the comic industry is exciting and fun, but it is also demanding and time consuming. There are a lot of things to be done and little time to do them. Edo worked with me on par, he was my right hand. But he had also a girlfriend, a family a dog, played sports and had time to do all of that! Man, I really looked up to him in that regard.  After we started working together, he quickly became one of my best friends. There was something about him that was amazing, he was clear and transparent, he would inspire trust with a sincere smile and was not afraid to say how much he cared about you. You know, it was easy to be with him, to talk to him, to laugh with him or to cry with him. In his latter days when we spoke I kept trying to make him laugh and say silly stuff to make him forget, for just a little while, about the cancer disease.

The world needs more people like him. Great human beings with a great spirit and talent.

I am hoping this article will help to raise awareness on the great craft and contribution flatters give to the industry. Edo worked with me for a huge number of years, and it was great that Tom Brevoort accepted to add his credit on the first issue of All New Captain America, which he flatted in between chemotherapies, or how he called them, his Super Soldier Serum Sessions. He was a BIG fan of Captain America so he was SUPER happy when he saw the credit, his first credit in his life.

He was 36 years old. He left too soon.

ROBOT 6 extends its condolences to Lopez's family and friends.