‘Sandman’ and ‘The Maxx’ Comic Book Artist Was 63

Sam Kieth, the comic book creator of “The Maxx” and co-creator of “Sandman,” died March 15. He was 63.

Kieth’s lifelong friend and collaborator Scott Dunbier confirmed that the artist died of Lewy Body Dementia to Bleeding Cool.

Born on January 11, 1963, Kieth began his career in comics at the age of 17, publishing his first work with Comico. He worked on numerous projects, including “Wolverine” in Marvel Comics Presents and “The Hulk.” In 1993, he created a series exploring themes of identity and reality for Image Comics titled “The Maxx,” which was later adapted into an animated series for MTV’s “Liquid Television” and became globally recognized. Kieth’s work on the series also led to a line of action figures produced by Todd McFarlane.

In collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Kieth co-created “Sandman” and illustrated the first five issues for DC Comics. His work also appeared in the comics “Zero Girl” and “Four Women” for Wildstorm, and “Ojo” and “My Inner Bimbo” for Oni Press. Kieth also helped create “No Smoking,” a pilot for “Cow and Chicken,” and directed the film “Take It to the Limit” for Roger Corman’s Concorde-New Horizons.

Kieth’s later works included “Batman: Secrets,” “Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious,” and “Lobo: Highway to Hell.” He also created the Batman/Maxx crossover, “Arkham Dreams,” for DC Comics. He also made contributions to “Judge Dredd” for 2000AD and “30 Days of Night” for IDW.

Kieth retired from mainstream comics after the publication of “Arkham Dreams” due to health issues.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Kathy Kieth.