Keith Giffen, beloved and influential superhero comic creator, dies at 70

Keith Giffen, the influential superhero comic writer and artist whose career spanned decades and birthed several iconic characters, has died at 70. His family and friends confirmed the news on social media.

"The sad news is now official: Keith Giffen has gone off to create new worlds that are beyond our living reach," former DC Comics executive Paul Levitz wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. "Keith was probably the most fertile creative mind of our generation in comics. He had an infinite number of ideas, pouring constantly out. Many, thankfully, never saw print as wholly insane or inappropriate. But the ones that did!"

Giffen's trademark sense of humor was evident in his final public message, shared to his Facebook page by his family.

"I told them I was sick… Anything not to go to New York Comic Con," the note said, adding, "Keith Giffen 1952-2023." The message concluded with "Bwah ha ha ha ha," the signature laugh of DC superheroes Blue Beetle and Booster Gold in Giffen's beloved Justice League International comic with J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire.

Born Nov. 30, 1952, in Queens, N.Y., Giffen published his first comic work in 1976, for the series Marvel Preview, where he co-created Rocket Raccoon alongside Bill Mantlo. Giffen's most famous early work was on the DC sci-fi superhero comic Legion of Super-Heroes. Together, he and Levitz drew and wrote the "Great Darkness Saga," in which the Legion goes up against DC big bad Darkseid — it remains one of the most famous storylines featuring those futuristic characters.

After working on Justice League International in the '80s, Giffen co-created the DC alien mercenary Lobo, who became an icon of over-the-top '90s superhero stories. In the 2000s, Giffen had a big hand in two of the biggest event comics by both Marvel and DC. He was head writer on Marvel's Annihilation series, which revitalized the company's cosmic space characters and paved the way for the Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise. Giffen was also the breakdown artist on DC's yearlong 52 series, playing a key role in uniting the work of that book's four writers.

After making the Ted Kord version of Blue Beetle one of the key characters of Justice League International, Giffen also co-created the Jamie Reyes incarnation of the superhero, who recently hit the big screen in this summer's Blue Beetle movie. Needless to say, his comics work greatly influenced 21st-century superhero cinema.

DC Comics (3) 'Blue Beetle,' 'The Great Darkness Saga,' and '52' were among Keith Giffen's many iconic superhero comics

Giffen's career was so long and prolific that he crossed paths with many other comic creators, several of whom paid tribute on social media in the wake of his death.

Keith was one of the most brilliantly creative humans I've ever known," DeMatteis wrote. "A curmudgeon with a heart of gold. A generous collaborator. An old, dear friend. And, as my wife observed, 'He was like a character out of a Keith Giffen story.'"

Tom King, one of DC's top modern talents, called Giffen "a hero. A friend. An inspiration. An artist's artist, a writer's writer. A master of his craft. A genuine, proud crank."

Jeff Lemire, co-creator of Sweet Tooth and Black Hammer, among many other comics, also called Giffen "one of my heroes" and said "getting to work with him and become his friend was a dream come true."

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