'Preacher' Artist Steve Dillon Passes Away at 54

The comics industry has lost a legend.

By Jesse Schedeen

Comic book artist Steve Dillon has passed away at the age of 54.

Dillon's passing was confirmed this morning by his broth Glynn, who tweeted, ""Sad to confirm the death of Steve, my big brother and my hero. He passed away in the city he loved (NYC). He will be sorely missed. Cheers x"

Dillon was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England in 1962. He was a prolific artist who got his start as a teenager working on UK comics like Warrior, Hulk Weekly and 2000 AD. He gained greater mainstream exposure when he teamed with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer in 1992. That partnership continued for decades after, with Ennis and Dillon teaming on several incarnations of Marvel's Punisher franchise and creating the hugely popular Preacher for DC's Vertigo imprint. Preacher was recently adapted into a critically acclaimed AMC TV series.

Art by Steve Dillon. DC Entertainment.

Dillon also collaborated with writers like Warren Ellis (Global Frequency, Gen13), Jason Aaron (PunisherMAX) and Daniel Way (Wolverine: Origins, Thunderbolts).

An iconic scene from Ennis and Dillon's Punisher first Punisher series. Marvel Comics.

Dillon remained active until the very end of his life. He recently provided cover art for Ennis' DC mini-series Sixpack and Dogwelder: Hard-Travelin' Heroz, and teamed with writer Becky Cloonan on the current volume of Punisher. Dillon also attended New York Comic-Con earlier this month, making his sudden passing that much more shocking to friends and fans.

Everyone at IGN would like to extend our deepest condolences to Dillon's family and friends.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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