Mourned by His Colleagues

“The entire DC family is heartbroken at the news of Tim’s passing,” said Jim Lee, DC Chief Creative Officer and Publisher. “Tim was an extraordinary artist, who was masterful at storytelling and panel layouts and his compositions were second to none. I was always so impressed and inspired by his use of lighting and shadows which infused his work with foreboding gravitas and dramatic noir sensibilities.”

“Tim contributed innovative ideas to every project he worked on,” said DC Editor in Chief Marie Javins. “His work always surprised with artful compositions and graphic use of contrast and negative space. I especially loved his Batman villains, whose attributes Tim sometimes highlighted through exaggeration and caricature. We will miss Tim, and we consider ourselves lucky to be a partner in his legacy.”

Who Was Tim Sale?

Tim Sale was an Eisner Award winner, and was a penciller and inker for both DC and Marvel. Born in Ithaca, New York, May 1, 1956, he grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he attended the University of Washington. He moved to New York to attend the famous School of Visual Arts, however, he returned to Seattle before graduating from SVA.

Sale was best known for his collaborations with writer Joseph Loeb. Together they worked on Batman: the Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, Superman for All Seasons, and Catwoman: When in Rome for DC. For Marvel, they collaborated on Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man Blue, and Hulk: Grey. They also worked together on the TV show Heroes, where Loeb was a scriptwriter and producer. Sales did the artwork allegedly done by precognitive artist Isaac Mendez (played by actor Santiago Cabrera). He also created the font used for the show’s captions and credits.

In 1999, Tim Sale won the Eisner Award for Best Artist.

Sale also worked with Matt Wagner (of Mage fame) on Grendel: Black, White & Red #1 for Dark Horse Comics, He worked with “Rascally Roy” Thomas and Joss Whedon on Robert E. Howard’s Myth Maker and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Rales of the Slayers, respectively.

His Sad Passing

Tim Sale died June 16, 2022 . He was only 66. He had been admitted to the hospital three days previously with severe health problems. His partner Susan Bailey was at his side. Our condolences to her and all Sale’s friends and family, as well as his many fans.

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