Steve Gerber, R.I.P.
Mark Evanier has announced the death of comics legend Steve Gerber on his website.
Gerber was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and had been in and out of hospitals for quite a while — an experience he had been chronicling on his website. Gerber’s career in comics included work with a variety of publishers, most notably as an editor at Marvel, during which he co-created the character of Howard the Duck.
Howard, born in Steve’s amazing mind and obviously autobiographical to a large degree, took the industry by storm. The creation was in many ways a mixed blessing to his creator. It led to an ugly and costly legal battle over ownership, which Steve settled out of court. It led to the occasional pains when he occasionally returned to the character and, due to reasons external and internal, found that he could not go home again. It also led to the sheer annoyance of watching the 1986 motion picture of Howard (produced with minimal involvement on Steve’s part) open to withering reviews and dreadful business. Still, the issues he did are widely regarded as classics…and Howard is often cited as a character who only Steve could make work.
Gerber’s work also included the development of the popular cartoon series “Thundarr the Barbarian.” Gerber had recently been working on the DC series Countdown to Mystery: Doctor Fate.
A great writer who deserved a lot better than he got. R.I.P.
I've known Steve for decades, and we e-mailed up until a couple months ago. Obviously, I was trying to seduce him into doing something for ComicMix, even a Munden's Bar story — which would have been perfect for him. He couldn't do it.Even so, as Rick knows, this hits me like a freight train going downhill in an ice storm. My best wishes and love to his family, friends and many fans. Steve was an original, and now the world has one less.
I'm really stunned. I knew he was ill, and the complications were really disheartening, but I kept hoping he'd pull through.
Steve was a good friend and this really hurts. The last time I saw him he was upbeat about getting a lung transplant later this year, even though they have only a 50% survival rate. We were all pulling for him to make it. I moved away from Vegas last year and was hoping to see him again this year. This is really sad.
Damn it.
*sigh* Didn't know him well, only worked together to promote NEVADA, but I liked him a bunch. Enjoy today. Do as much as you can tomorrow.
I didn't know him, but use this as a reminder to think about organ donation. In most states, it's marked on your driver's license.