Tom Spurgeon, a reporter and editor who exerted broad influence in the world of comic books and graphic novels, covering it in books, blogs and a magazine, died on Nov. 13 at his home in Columbus, Ohio. He was 50.

His death was confirmed by his friend Eric Reynolds, who did not specify a cause. The two met in 1994 when they were editors at The Comics Journal, a magazine about the comic book industry published by Fantagraphics, where Mr. Reynolds is now the associate publisher .

With Jordan Raphael, Mr. Spurgeon wrote the biography “Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book,” published in 2003. In a review for CNN.com, L.D. Meagher said the biography offered “keen insights on how the industry has risen, fallen, survived and teetered on the edge of extinction.”

The next year, Mr. Spurgeon and Mr. Raphael started The Comics Reporter, a blog and news website that included Mr. Spurgeon’s in-depth interviews of comic creators. The site won the Eisner Award, the most prestigious in the comics business, in 2010, 2012 and 2013 for best comics-related periodical/journalism.