For over 30 years Darwyn Cooke has been a presence in the world of comic books and professional artistry. In fact, his first work was New Talent Showcase #19 in 1985. In 2001 Darwyn and Ed Brubaker teamed up for a rejuvination of Selina Kyle, Catwoman and her design. It was for a story arc “Trail of the Catwoman” in was published Detective Comics #759-762. This Catwoman is still used today. Darwyn has also won and been nominated for numerous awards for his work, including a nomination for the 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for best Best Writer/Artist. That was for his work on Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter (IDW). He was nominated for best Letter in 2011, again for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and in the same year won as best writer/Artist. This time it was for IDW’s “The Outfit”. In 2014 he did win Best Letterer for IDW’s “Slayground”.
He has been a part of so many books, so many great creative teams that to list them all will be daunting. But I will because his work, his life, his imprint on the comic book world should be celebrated. Here is a comprehensive listing of Darwyn Cooke’s projects, courtesy of comicbookdb.com, can be found at this link: http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=1488
But why now?
It is with sadness that his wife Marsha announced today (May 13 2016) that Mr. Cooke is being treated in palliative care for late-stage cancer. From the blog;
“It is with tremendous sadness that we announce Darwyn is now receiving palliative care following a bout with aggressive cancer. His brother Dennis and I, along with our families appreciate the outpouring of support we have received. We ask for privacy as we go through this very difficult time. Urgent inquiries please contact David Hyde david.hyde@superfanpromotions.com
If people are looking to help financially, we have selected the Canadian Cancer Society and Hero Initiative as who we would like to support.”
