The comic book world was rocked by the news that the legendary artist, Tim Sale, had tragically passed away at the age of 66. When news first broke about his hospitalization earlier in the week, the tributes to the beloved artist had already begun to pour in over social media and that remained the case for when he sadly passed away on Thursday.Sale was one of the rare artists who delivered iconic works for both DC (Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman For All Seasons, Batman: Dark Victory and many more) and Marvel (Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk: Gray and Captain America: White), and naturally, both companies paid tribute to the artist on their social media, with DC explaining how his storytelling inspired a generation of comic book readers and artists...[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/DCComics/status/1537515191490985984[/EMBED_TWITTER]and Marvel noting the influence that his "color" series with writer Jeph Loeb had on the history of comics...[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/1537514585875431424[/EMBED_TWITTER]Sale's most famous non-DC/Marvel work came working with Grendel, and Dark Horse paid tribute to those years, as well...[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/DarkHorseComics/status/1537551906335141888[/EMBED_TWITTER]DC Chief Creative Officer-Publisher, Jim Lee, has sadly become well versed in writing eloquent commentary about iconic artists that we have lost too soon, and he kept that up with his tribute to Sale, noting, "Tim Sale was an amazing artist, draftsman & storyteller. He had that special kind of talent you encounter once in a generation. I’m convinced his work stood out because he was simply fearless. He didn’t care that his work looked different from the mainstream house styles. Beyond the taut chiaroscuro style which became his trademark, Tim clearly put a premium on storytelling, clarity and pacing—cherishing emotion above all. His stories were beautifully visceral, nuanced and evinced deep humanity. Tim simply had no use for surface banality. I think he’d freely admit his style was neither slick or hyper detailed or particularly precious, but he quickly became both an artist’s artist *and* also a fan favorite which is not a common combination. Truthfully, he had that kind of talent usually associated with the most arrogant or self absorbed among us. But not Tim. He was such a sweet, kind and good natured soul....I feel fortunate to have called him a friend and will miss him beyond words"Many of his fellow comic book creators echoed Lee in remembering how great of a person Sale was (as his artistic talent was so obvious), from Adam Hughes...[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/AH_AdamHughes/status/1537630744230744064[/EMBED_TWITTER]to Tom King...[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/TomKingTK/status/1537510762444378112[/EMBED_TWITTER]to Gail Simone...[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/GailSimone/status/1537560183945109504[/EMBED_TWITTER]to Joyce Chin...[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/TJoyceChin/status/1537561829836066816[/EMBED_TWITTER]to Rob Liefeld...
to Colleen Doran...
Notable figures outside of comics paid tribute to Sale, as well, like Veep producer David Mandel...
and director James Gunn, who wrote, "We've lost another great voice in comics. Rest in Peace, Tim Sale."
Sale's longtime friend and colleague, the legendary letterer, writer and editor Richard Starkings (who lettered, or supervised the lettering, of most of Sale's most iconic works), broke the news on social media to many people and also left one of the loveliest tributes to Sale, so we will end with him...
Source: Twitter