Yesterday, we reported that DC Comics legend, Darwyn Cooke was getting palliative care for an aggressive form of cancer. It is with great sadness to announce that Cooke has passed away at the age of 53. His wife, Marsha made a statement on Darwyn’s blog early this morning:

We regret to inform you that Darwyn lost his battle with cancer early this morning at 1:30 AM ET. We read all of your messages of support to him throughout the day yesterday. He was filled with your love and surrounded by friends and family at his home in Florida. Donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society and Hero Initiative. Please continue to respect our privacy as we go through this very difficult time.

Cooke was born in 1962 in Toronto, Canada and made his DC Comics debut back in 1985. However, he left the comic book business for almost a decade until he landed a spot as a storyboard artist for several 1990s DC Comics animated series including Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series. Cooke is best known for his 2001 revamp of Catwoman which he worked on with Ed Brubaker and the 2004 award-winning, Golden Age of Comics inspired series, DC: The New Frontier.

Recently, Cooke went back to his roots back in 2014 for Batman’s 75th anniversary and directed a short animated film.

(via Comic Book Resources)