In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years. He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The An Darwyn Cooke was an Eisner Award winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier and Will Eisner's The Spirit. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm. In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. 'This is an industry-wide loss that I feel personally, but the sadness is mitigated in the knowing that the beauty and grace of his art will forever stand the test of time and be a monument to all that is great about comics,' DC publisher Dan DiDio said.Darwyn Cooke was an Eisner Award winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier and Will Eisner's The Spirit. 'His were some of the most beautiful, fun DC superhero images we have ever seen.'

'His take on the most iconic heroes in the world were breathtakingly direct and elegant, powerful and cool,' the publisher said. Saturday, DC Comics wrote a comprehensive tribute to Cooke's life, art and legacy. On Friday, Cooke's family reported on his personal blog that he had begun receiving palliative care 'following a bout with aggressive cancer.' He became well known for his retro-inspired designs of several major characters, and DC Comics in a statement noted that his take on Catwoman is still the template used today, as well as for the television series Gotham. He won the 2006 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue for his work on DC's Solo #5 and also was recognized five times by the Joe Shuster Awards for achievement by Canadian comic book creators.Ĭooke's breakthrough performance in print came with Batman: Ego, published in 2000. He was 53.Ĭooke began as an animator on two key cartoon series in the 1990s: Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, before joining the print medium. Darwyn Cooke, the influential illustrator of numerous iconic heroes in the DC universe of characters, died on Saturday after a short battle against cancer.

Catwoman by Darwyn Cooke