Weekend Sale

A comics icon gone too soon

This year has taken away too many comic book creators. Neil Adams, George Perez, and now Tim Sale. It feels as if there is an end of an era approaching, or at least been influx for the last few years, and it hurts. The universe is unrelenting. It conspires as it sees fit, and it will never be stopped. All that we can do is make sure that these masters of the medium are enshrined in the hall of justice and forever remembered as iconic pillars in the history of comics.

We lost an amazing talent last week. Tim Sale was a trailblazer in mainstream comic art. He brought a unique, non-traditional style into Marvel and DC comics that has since paved the way for artistic expression and acceptance.

I tell people all the time that Frank Miller’s Sin City was the first comic that showed me a side of the medium that I had never experienced before. It was grim and gritty, no good guys or bad guys, a package enveloped in a black and white style that was so different, so visceral. Then, my immediate progression from there was cracking open Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Again, it was another eye-opening experience. I was exhilarated by what I saw. The character designs, the composition, the storytelling. It was a crime noir book oozing with style that interlaced flat line cartooning with the moody ink work I found in Sin City. Every single drawing had so much emotion supplanted inside, from the character acting to the rainy establishing shots of corporate buildings to the blacked out stills of broody Batman. Simple and refined, yet uniquely designed and forever memorable.

I was fortunate enough to meet Tim a few years back (before the covid era) at WonderCon in Anaheim, California. It was a short interaction as he was signing my books, probably 3 to 5 minutes, but I will always remember it. Right before I left his booth, it went something like this:

Me: “It was so nice to meet you, Tim. I just want to say, thank you for The Long Halloween. It’s basically the book that kicked off my obsession with comics.”

Tim: “Oh, of course, you’re welcome! Or wait, is that a good thing?

Me: “Yes… mostly. I’ve spent tons of money on them. So, maybe that part’s bad.”

We both breakout in laughter.

Tim: “Well then, I should be thanking YOU!” Then gives me a fist bump.

Thanks for that fist bump, Tim. Thanks for showing the world that comics don’t always have to be a certain “house” style, or so precious and perfect. What matters most is the storytelling and the emotion behind the art. This is a lesson that will forever inspire me.

RIP to the legendary Tim Sale.

Thanks for your time,

Nico