Veteran comic book inker Juan Vlasco (full name Juan Francisco Velasco Hernandez) -- perhaps best known for his work at Marvel Comics -- has passed away. He was 51 years old.

News of Vlasco's passing was broken on Facebook by his friend and fellow artist Jorge Break. According to Break, Vlasco died in his hometown of Mexico City, Mexico on April 24 due to complications stemming from an appendicitis operation. This came as a shock to Break, as Vlasco appeared to be in high spirits only days before his passing.

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Born on July 7, 1968, Vlasco began working for Marvel as an inker in the 1990s, being involved with such titles as Marvel: Shadows and Light, Uncanny X-Men and Cable. Along the way, he became a regular inker for penciler José Ladrönn. In addition to Shadows and Light and Cable, Ladrönn and Vlasco worked together on Spider-Boy Team-Up as part of the Amalgam crossover with DC Comics. Speaking of DC, Vlasco has also inked books for the Distinguished Competition, working on such titles as Superman: President Lex, Batman: Orphans and Impulse under the company's main banner, as well as Cybernary 2.0 and Robotech Sourcebook under the WildStorm imprint.

Vlasco's other Marvel credits include Deadpool, Nova and Contest of Champions, with some of his most recent books being U.S.Avengers, Avengers: No Road Home, Shatterstar and Magnificent Ms. Marvel -- which released its latest issue just a couple of months ago in early March and is slated to continue in July. In addition to Marvel and DC, Vlasco has also worked on Dark Horse Comics' Planet of the Apes books and Anarchy Studios' Vampi.

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Vlasco is survived by his wife, Jackeline Orozco de Velasco.

(via Multiversity Comics)