Tim Sale, the legendary artist behind Batman: The Long Halloween, has died at 66

The comic world has lost another legend. Tim Sale, the artist behind Batman: The Long Halloween, died today at the age of 66.

A statement on his official Twitter account said, “It’s with a heavy sadness that I must announce that Tim Sale passed away today. He passed with the love of his life beside him, and loves all of you very much. Please share photos and stories under this post, as we hope to share them with the community.” A cause of death hasn’t been revealed, but Sale had been admitted to hospital earlier this week with “severe health issues.“

Tim Sale attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City as well as a comics workshop run by Marvel artist John Buscema. After breaking into comics, Sale began collaborating with writer Jeph Loeb and was launched into stardom with Batman: The Long Halloween. The limited series was a huge success and proved to be a major influence on all manner of Batman media, including Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy and Matt Reeves’ The Batman. The story also received a two-part animated adaptation as part of the DC Universe Animated Movies last year. Sale and Loeb followed up that success with Superman for All Seasons, Batman: Dark Victory, Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk: Gray, Catwoman: When in Rome, and Captain America: White.

Tim Sale was also brought in to provide the artwork of precognitive artist Isaac Mendez on Heroes, which counted Jeph Loeb as a writer and producer. The font used in the show’s captions and credits was also created by Sale and was based on his own handwriting. Tim Sale isn’t the first comics legend to have died in recent months, as we lost Neal Adams in April and George Pérez in May. Our thoughts go out to Tim Sale’s family, friends, and everyone who has been touched by his exemplary work.