Earlier this week, Spanish artist and Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra passed away at the age of 70 after losing a battle with lung cancer. Ezquerra was a long-time artist for the British science-fiction magazine 2000 AD, where he created Dredd alongside co-creator John Wagner in 1977. Ezquerra also co-created Strontium Dog and Starlord and illustrated comic strips for other characters including Major Eazy and El Mestizo.

The 2000 AD staff released a touching statement following Ezquerra’s passing. Below is a small excerpt from that announcement.

“We are profoundly sad to confirm that the legendary artist Carlos Ezquerra has passed away. It is difficult for us to put this into words, but we have lost someone who was the heart and soul of 2000 AD.

“Yet this doesn’t really do justice to someone whose work was loved by millions and has had an influence far beyond the comic book page. From Judge Dredd to Strontium Dog, from Rat Pack to Major Eazy, Carlos has left us with a legacy of stunning and distinctive work that was and always will be 2000 AD.

“He has been one of the pillars, producing the same dynamic, enthralling and arresting art we always loved him for. We thought we had many more adventures to come from the master, so we are devastated to discover we were wrong.

“Our most profound condolences to his family, his friends, and to the generations of readers who knew instantly they were reading a Carlos Ezquerra comic book.”

The comic book industry has lost quite a few of its creators in the past several months, including Steve Ditko, Marie Severin, Gary Friedrich, Norm Breyfogle and Russ Heath, to name a few. I know lot of folks have been lamenting the “death of the comic book” industry lately, but I don’t think this is quite what they had in mind.

If you would like to consider donating to the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Ezquerra’s memory, you can do so here.