The sad news is now official: Keith Giffen has gone off to create new worlds that are beyond our living reach.

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!

We did over 60 stories together. Many of them he made far better than they might have been with any other collaborator, because of his ideas and contributions to character moments and drama. A few we had rough times on, but I think no more than could be expected in a long relationship.

Keith was a curmudgeon by choice, an act he perfected and enjoyed. Like many artists, he didn’t lead a healthy lifestyle, and that led to tough times that he always laughed off. He was a family man when out of public view, and his soft moments came out there.

I’ll tell a couple of stories in upcoming posts, but tonight I just want to say good night to a friend who made me look better than I was.

And hugs to his kids, grandkids and great grandkids. Oh, and Anna, now that you have him back, take care of him as you always did—he was never the same after you went.

My very dear friend, one of the best friends I have ever had. Keith Giffen. I am heartbroken. I will love you forever. You were endlessly kind and crazy, funny and awful, beyond smart, truly original.

Losing Keith Giffen today was a gutpunch. We worked together off and on for decades, from Legion in the '80s to 52 in the '00s and many times in between. His imagination and creativity could hardly be matched, and collaborating with him in any fashion was a joy.

He gave me one of the best pieces of advice I ever got. When I asked him 20 years ago what the secret was to maintaining a steady career in comics, he said, "Figure out what you do better than anyone else and own that lane. It may not always be in fashion, but when it is, they have no choice but to come to you."

Rest in curmudgeonly peace, my friend.

Just heard the news of the passing of Keith Giffen. He was a Master of the craft. My favorite Defenders. My favorite Legion Of Super Heroes. LOBO! For years he worked his magic for me at Extreme on Bloodstrike, Supreme and Youngblood. We had so much fun. He is first ballot Comic Book Hall Of Fame. Rest In Peace Keith, you were one in a million.

Sending much love to Keith Giffen's family tonight.

Keith was one of the most brilliantly creative humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. 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.” So true! Safe travels, Keith. You will be, missed.

I’ll have more to say once I’ve taken time to digest this sad news.

I guess we better start getting used to this...

Very sad to hear of the death of Keith Giffen... a prolific writer and artist for Marvel and DC who I had the pleasure of working with several times over the years!
Hanging out with him and Andy Helfer and J.M. DeMatteis while they "invented" a funny Justice League was side fun for me as well!

When I was working at Marvel Keith pitched me a run for THE DAZZLER that I was interested in... and then he kinda ghosted me. But you can see what that MIGHT have been since he just used his GREY MAN story in JUSTICE LEAGUE a few years later! (He had so many ideas... but he always knew the good ones no matter where they ended up!)

The way Keith plotted most stories involved doing thumbnail layouts like this page from COUNTDOWN... so fun, and completely the life of the party, right there at the start of the art!

I think my favorite thing about Keith was that he liked to play the "Crabby Old Guy" even when he was young... and I would just laugh-- and that would make him smile.

But I couldn't tell if he liked when I called him Mon Chi-Chi when he got a new haircut... but we kept working together so I think it was okay. But, now that I think of it... he stopped getting haircuts!

R.I.P. Keith... and condolences to your family!

Gutted to hear the passing of the legendary comic book creator Keith Giffen. He personified creativity to me in everything he did. Whether it was writing, plotting, drawing, kibitzing or creating-Keith did it like no other in the modern age. He possessed an insane abundance of talent, a fearless take on every project asked of him and created some of the most absurd, over the top, and hilarious characters ever.

His body of work influenced and entertained generations of creators and fans alike and even though he had seen and done it all-he was always such a charming, sweetheart of a guy in his own Keith Giffen way. His retro nostalgic vision of the future filled with windowless buildings and omnipresent floating holographic screens made me a Legion of Superheroes fan for life.

It was one of my highlights of my career to collaborate with Keith on a Scooby Doo project and watch him elevate the concept in such a fun, smart way. Truly a master of every facet of the craft of making comics and a creative dynamo like no other...he will be missed

RIP KEITH GIFFEN...

I was shocked and saddened to hear of the recent death of cartoonist Keith Giffen, due to a heart attack at age 70. I haven't spoken to Keith in many years, and I never had the pleasure of meeting him personally. But we worked on a couple of Mr. Monster stories in the past and I found him incredibly talented and very friendly. We even had a crossover between Mr. Monster and Keith anti-hero, Trencher, which was great fun to do.

My condolences to his friends and family.

Keith Giffen was one of the first handful of cartoonists I recognized when comics became my obsession. As a kid, I loved his stories. As a teen, I was into his styles. As a professional, his attitude clicked with me. He’s always been an influential presence in one way or another.

I had a blast working on his characters and concepts across several publishers, and it was a privilege to meet him, to share a panel with him, to tell him how much his work meant to me. Pretty selfish of me on every count, but I’m glad it all happened. He was one cool customer.

My condolences to his family, his friends, and his collaborators. Keith Giffen RIP