We are grieved to report that comics legend Joe Kubert has passed away at the age of 85.

We have yet to receive word from DC Comics, but comic creators Dave Gibbons and Richard Bruning have been in contact with representatives of the Kubert family who have confirmed the bad news. Kubert had reportedly been hospitalized for the past few weeks.

Were the comics industry to inherit a mountain in the Dakotas, it wouldn’t be long before we had a team of sculptors up there chiseling away at a giant pair of glasses and a smile just as wide. Joe Kubert didn’t create any Batmen or Spider-Men, but the heroes he committed to those pages and our memories have rarely looked better or bolder. More importantly, he chronicled the lives, glories and tragedies of flesh-and-blood soldiers in countless war comics. His most famous contribution to the DC Comics canon is undoubtedly the intrepid Sgt. Rock. But it was the men who rallied behind that illustrious warrior, the unnamed grunts and self-sacrificers who people his most stirring panels.

Joe Kubert started in comics before hitting high school. He was still working on them in recent months, including the Before Watchmen: Nite Owl limited series with son Andy and the forthcoming Joe Kubert Presents anthology series from DC Comics.

We salute your memory, Joe. And we thank you for your legacy, from the decades of astounding art and storytelling to the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art which heralds even more.

UPDATE: DC has released official statements.