RIP: Sam Kieth — A Modern Genius Of Comic Book Art

by Richard Bruton

Terrible news over the weekend. We learned that we lost another great of the medium: Sam Kieth, creator of The Maxx and co-creator of 1980s The Sandman, had passed away at the age of 63 on March 15th, 2026.

Scott Dunbier posted the official announcement on behalf of Kieth’s family:

‘It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sam Kieth on Sunday March 15, 2026. Sam suffered from Lewy Body Dementia for several years. As per Sam’s wishes, there will be no memorial service. In lieu of flowers, his family asks for donations to be made in his name to either Hero Initiative, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, or the Lewy Body Dementia Association.

…

‘Sam’s family, friends, and legions of devoted fans will miss him dearly. He is survived by his wife Kathy and his mother, Sammie Robertson.’

That really is a fitting tribute for one of the true modern legends of comics, whose work was just unlike anyone else’s, these magnificent flights of dark fancy, where new worlds of imagination and wonder were created, places where the borders of what was real and what was fantasy blurred so beautifully. Just like his art, Kieth’s thinking, his ideas, his storytelling were fresh and new, a genuine original and such a sad loss to comics.

I was personally fortunate enough to be there right at the beginning of his career, as my discovery of Matt Wagner’s Mage meant I was fortunate enough to see what a young Kieth brought to a young Wagner’s work, inking the series starting with issue 6 in 1985.

But it was in 1989 that he truly became one of those creators I just wouldn’t miss a thing he created. First, there was the pencil art on those first five issues of The Sandman, where he and inker Mike Dringenberg created something fresh, dark, full of menace, created just the perfect stylistic tone for the initial storyline, something that harkened back to the days of Bernie Wrightson and the whole line of DC’s mystery books.

If that wasn’t enough, we then had a complete about turn in terms of what to expect from Kieth with the graphic novel, Epicurus the Sage, co-created with William Messner-Loebs. Following Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus through a world of myths and philosophy, it’s just a delight, filled with Kieth’s beautifully off-kilter designs and characters. It’s one of the funniest things you’ll ever read in comics, and I implore you to go find a copy and just love it the way I did then and still do now. There was a second volume in 1991, with both included in a collected edition in 2003.

And then came Image Comics, blowing up the status quo, where the biggest names in comics of the early ’90s went off to create their own characters and tales. In truth, much of that wasn’t for me; I’d moved on from the superheroes of the day, finding a lot of Image’s early material uninspiring to say the least.

Except The Maxx.

It became Kieth’s magnum opus, his labour of love, reunited with Messner-Loebs for 35 issues of amazement, delving deep into so much that the other Image books didn’t go anywhere near. It was introspective, it was surreal, it was truly original, taking the characters and the readers into strange, unusual, darker places. All of it accompanied by artwork that challenged, that amazed, that heralded Kieth as a modern visionary, his style all his own, brilliant, often unsettling, full of unusual, even awkward, shapes and lines, characters pushed to the limits of anatomy and perspective so beautifully.

His entire career was defined by that, even into his plentiful work at Marvel and DC on characters including Wolverine and Batman. He was an artist who was allowed free rein to draw these iconic, money-making staples as something wonderfully different.

Simply put, Kieth was an artist who pushed boundaries, created challenging yet beautiful art and stories. He will be sorely missed in comics.

So, with his passing, we do all that we can to remember him, however small. We extend heartfelt condolences to his wife of 43 years, Kathy, and his mother, Sammie. We urge you to go and contribute in his memory to their chosen charities — Hero Initiative, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, or the Lewy Body Dementia Association. And then we remind you of the greatness, the stylized visionary nature of his artwork.

SAM KIETH RIP (1963-2026)

Let’s start with the comedic delights of Epicurus the Sage…