Who was Tim Sale? Tributes pour in as DC's 'Batman: The Long Halloween' comic artist passes away at 66

Famous comic artist Tim Sale passed away on June 16 at 66. The news was revealed on his Twitter account. Sale gained recognition for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb.

Although his cause of death was not revealed, he was hospitalized last week, according to DC Chief Creative Officer and publisher Jim Lee. Further details about his funeral are yet to be disclosed.

Know all about Tim Sale: An exciting life filled with our favorite superheroes

Born on May 1, 1956, Tim Sale’s father, Roger Sale, was a literary critic. When he was six, his family shifted to Seattle, Washington, and he eventually attended the University of Washington.

He then moved to New York City and enrolled at the School of Visual Arts. After returning to Seattle, he also attended John Buscema’s comic workshop and graduated from SVA.

Sale started his career by doing art for the 1983 fantasy series, MythAdventures and the 1978 shared world fantasy series, Thieves’ World. MythAdventures was praised for its nature and characters. Inspired by the comedy movie series, Road to … Thieves’ World was first published in 1979 and discontinued in 1989.

He eventually collaborated with Jeph Loeb and produced Batman: Year One. It was adapted into an animated feature in 2011 and focused on Batman’s first year as a crime-fighter. It also explored the life of James Gordon, eventually leading to their first encounter and alliance against Gotham’s criminal underworld.

Sale and Loeb also produced color books for Marvel Comics like Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, and Hulk: Gray. A limited series called Captain America: White was announced in 2008, with the first issue being released that year, and the rest were released in September 2015.

Captain America: White received positive reviews from critics, and Steve Rogers narrated it while he recalled a mission with Bucky Barnes during World War II.

Sale then launched the Superman Confidential series with Darwyn Cooke in 2007. It featured the superhero’s stories set during his early years. The series was canceled the following year.

He handled the artwork on the NBC superhero drama, Heroes, where Loeb was a writer and producer. The critically acclaimed series lasted four seasons, from September 2006 to February 2010. However, the second season was criticized by fans. It also won various awards and nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, and more.

Fans pay tribute on Twitter

Tim Sale became a well-known name because of his impressive work on comic books. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise:

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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