Carmine Infantino Passes Away at 87

The comic book world lost another legend today, as news broke that legendary comic book artist Carmine Infantino passed away at age 87.

Infantino began his career in the early 1940s and would go on to co-create some of the most recognizable characters in superhero comics, including Barry Allen (Flash), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Black Canary, Elongated Man, Deadman, and Animal Man. He'd become most revered for his work with the Flash, where he helped introduce Barry Allen in Showcase #4 in 1956 along with the sleek red and yellow costume that we still see today in DC's New 52. He also co-created many of the Flash's signature rogues, like Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, and Gorilla Grodd.

Infantino should also be noted for his stint as an editorial director at DC (and later publisher), where he would be instrumental in bringing on creators that would ultimately create some of their signature works at the company. People like Jack Kirby, Denny O'Neil, Dick Giordano, and Neil Adams were all hired away from other publishers under Infantino's watch, launching a new era of creativity at DC Comics as it headed into the 1970s.

Artist George Perez posted on his Facebook, "So sad to learn of the passing of another comic book legend. Carmine Infantino was one of the great influential artists in the history of the medium and I will always look upon his Adam Strange, Flash and Space Museum stories as wondrous examples of fantasy made even more magical at the hands of a master. RIP, Carmine."

Later in his career, Infantino would go on to work on titles like Star Wars and Nova, until retiring from sequential work to begin teaching at the School of Visual Arts during the 90s. Infantino remains one of the most influential figures to ever grace comics, and our thoughts are with his friends, family, students, and fans.

Joey is a Senior Editor at IGN and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. If he could, he'd run away to live amongst wild cats for the rest of his days.

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