Glen Orbik, the illustrator and teacher well known for his pulp-inspired movie posters and book and comic covers, passed away Monday following a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 51.

"It is with very sad news to announce the passing of an incredible artist, teacher and friend, Glen Orbik," his close friend Jennifer Fabos Patton wrote on Facebook. "I have had the privilege and honor to work with this brilliant man for probably 20 years or more. Along with Laurel Blechman we have helped make some amazing artwork for book covers, comic covers, posters and more."

Orbik's work, which includes covers the Hard Case Crime imprint and Stephen King's Colorado Kid, will undoubtedly be familiar to comics readers from American Century, Aquaman, Batman: Shadow of the Bat, Legends of the DC Universe, Superman: Lex 2000 and Thor.

He studied at the California Art Institute under its founder, former movie and ad illustrator Fred Fixler, and took over many of the classes when his mentor retired. It's while in school that Orbik met Laurel Blechman, his future partner and collaborator. He continued to teach at the California Art Institute, off and on, for two decades.

An extensive gallery of Orbik's art can be found on his website.

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