Sam Kieth

I was saddened to hear that artist Sam Kieth passed away last week.  He was 63 years old.   

I'm gonna be 63 this April so when someone my own age dies, well, it does make you think.

Sam Kieth (and no that is not a typo, the "I" does come before the "E") drew the first 5 issues of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.  

I'm not sure why Sam Kieth was only on Sandman for so short a time but I imagine the rigors of producing this detailed artwork on a monthly basis may have been a bit much.

But those 5 issues made quite an impression and set the tone for all the other artists who followed him. 

Art from Sandman#4

Sam produced art for Batman including several covers and some interior art.

Sam Kieth also brought this distinctive style to Marvel Comics, illustrating Wolverine. 

Sam's most notable work on his creator owned series in produced for Image Comics, The Maxx  which was also turned into an animated series that ran on MTV.

Maxx is a vagrant, a "homeless man living in a box" who is helped by a social worker named Julie.

In an alternate reality, Maxx has a monstrous powerful form where he serves as protector of another version of Julie known as the Leopard Queen.

Mike Sterling described the series as "a tale about trauma, abuse, mental health, and the very nature of imagination and reality. It was weird, it was funny, it was emotional, and it was unique." 

Unique is a most apropos word for Sam Kieth's body of work. 

Sam had Lewy body dementia and it was complications from this disease that took his life on March 15th. 

And the condition also silenced an incredible talent.

God bless you, Sam Kieth, and rest in peace.