Writer J. Michael Straczynski has reported that his friend Larry DiTillio has died at the age of 79.

Along with Bob Forward, DiTillio was one of the story editors on Beast Wars: Transformers, the celebrated animated series that brought in an entire generation of new fans and introduced a variety of ideas and characters into the Transformers that have persisted to this day. DiTillio and Forward also engaged the fandom on the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup and drew inspiration from their dialogue there to tie Beast Wars more directly to the original Transformers stories. Their effect on Transformers as a whole cannot be overstated.

In addition to his work on Beast Wars, DiTillio also wrote for He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, The Real Ghostbusters, and Straczynski's Babylon 5. He also wrote supplements for tabletop role-playing games including the fondly remembered Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign for Call of Cthulhu.

We at TFormers offer our sympathies to Mr. DiTillio's friends and family.