Keith Giffen, Co-Creator of Rocket Raccoon, Dies at 70

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If you solely know Marvel and DC from its films and exhibits you could not know the title Keith Giffen. But should you do watch rather a lot of Marvel and DC exhibits and flicks, then you definately do know his work; not solely as a result of his tales as a author and artist for each firms had been tailored to the massive and small screens, however as a result of his tales had been so fashionable that they resonated all by means of the world of comics and into broader popular culture.

Sadly, Giffen died this week at the age of 70. The trigger of demise was reportedly a stroke. Giffen’s personal Facebook web page introduced his passing, with a joke evoking the twisted sense of humor that outlined many of his greatest comics.

“I told them I was sick … anything not to go to New York Comic Con,” the put up on Giffen’s web page learn.

READ MORE: The Weirdest Marvel Comics Ever Published

Giffen was born in Queens in 1952 and commenced writing for Marvel within the Seventies. Along with author Bill Mantlo, Giffen co-created Rocket Raccoon within the pages of Marvel Preview #7. Rocket was a minor character within the Marvel cosmos for a few years, however was later added to a contemporary reboot of the Guardians of the Galaxy comedian. James Gunn used these comics as the idea for his Guardians of the Galaxy film, which turned Rocket right into a beloved determine within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the place he voiced by Bradley Cooper.

Giffen’s best-known work as a author got here within the mid-Eighties when he and J.M. DeMatteis launched a brand new model of the Justice League with artist Kevin Maguire. Rather than the  sturdy barely stiff tales of heroism of the unique Justice League of America, Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire’s Justice League International sequence was crammed with oddballs, misfits, and wild humor. To this present day, it stays one of probably the most beloved eras of Justice League comics.

Around this similar time, Giffen additionally co-created DC Comics’ Lobo, a wisecracking mercenary alien with a warped sense of humor. (He’s not that dissimilar than Rocket Raccoon, if Rocket was a large E.T. who dressed like a biker in outer house.) Lobo has loved a long time of recognition in comics, and has been rumored as a possible topic for a big-screen adaptation lately as properly.

Giffen was a mainstay within the comics trade for many years, with runs on books starting from Suicide Squad to Legion of Super-Heroes to The Defenders and Drax the Destroyer. He additionally co-created the Jaime Reyes model of DC hero Blue Beetle, who grew to become one of the preferred iterations of the longtime character, and just lately acquired his personal live-action film. But even when Giffen’s characters hadn’t gone on to large popular culture stardom onscreen, his work in comics was hilarious and thrilling and all the time entertaining. He can be sorely missed by comics followers — however his work will stand the check of time.