About an hour ago, legendary comic artist Bernie Wrightson announced his retirement due to needing to focus on his health. Bernie has worked for the majority of comic publisher over his career but may be best known for his time on Swamp Thing or his work on Frankenstein. His wife Liz posted to his facebook page the following message:

Dear Fans and Friends, I apologize for our silence for the past few months. Last November Bernie began falling again, and having obvious problems with perception. He had to undergo yet another brain surgery to relieve bleeding, and then spend several weeks undergoing in-patient rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it appears that he has lasting damage: he has extremely limited function on his left side, and is unable to walk or reliably use his left hand, among other limitations. We have had to come to the sad conclusion that he is now effectively retired: he will produce no new art, and he is unable to attend conventions. Should this situation change I will happily announce it here. He can still sign his name (in fact he was signing Kickstarter prints in the hospital!), and is otherwise pretty healthy and has good cognition. We expect to continue releasing signed prints, and offering occasional pieces of art for sale from the collection that remains. We both thank all of you for your continuing support and good wishes! All our best,

Liz and Bernie Wrightson

Bernie is an incredible artist and an incredible person. He is one of those creators in comics that is even better than you could imaging in person. His talent has inspired thousands of other creators and he has left an permanent mark in this industry. We here at Bleeding Cool, and I personally, wish him all the best.

Here are a few pieces of his amazing work.