Bruce Hamilton, R.I.P.

Comic book publisher and collector Bruce Hamilton passed away early this morning following a prolonged illness. I'm afraid I don't have a lot more in the way of details but just losing Bruce comes as very sad news. Bruce was a great patron and promoter of classic comic artists, most notably Carl Barks, and was involved in most of the major, high quality reprintings of Barks works the last few years. Obviously, what made Carl's work so popular was its basic quality, but Bruce did a lot to make sure that it was kept in print and that high standards were maintained, and that financial rewards trickled back to Carl in his retirement years. Bruce had several publishing imprints, including Gladstone Comics, Another Rainbow and Hamilton Comics, but they all showed enormous love and respect for the material they issued, and I always enjoyed the time I spent with him talking comics. One hopes that tradition will continue.