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Seth Fisher
The comics world suffered a major loss this month as Seth Fisher passed away.

I first discovered his art with the Happydale books and hunted down his comics at conventions like a madman afterward. What attracted me to his comics was the liveliness he brought to the page combined with a genuine sense of fun. His comics are colorful, full of movement and insane with more people per square inch than you can count without breaking into laughter. Like a Richard Scarry book transformed into a comic, Seth Fisher's work delivered a new experience in comicbook form.

Seth was a class of '94 Maths major from Colorado College, having chosen the major over the arts after receiving 'C' in Japanese. He later moved to Japan with plans to teach English. However, and after he met his wife Hisako, the plan changed.

Heavily influenced by the culture, Seth's art evolved to a unique fusion of western and eastern design. His sense of character and emotion is plainly visible in each and every character he draws. His big splash on the comic world was the book co-created by Andrew Dabb 'Happydale: Devils in the Desert' published by Vertigo. It was a fantastic Seth Fisher book full of unique oddballs on every page.

Having achieved the nomination of an Eisner award for his lively and unique artwork, Seth did not shie away from the tights and capes camo. In addition to the offbeat 'Vertigo Pop: Tokyo', he worked with J.M. DeMatties on 'Green Lantern: Willworld,' with Milestone Press scribe John Rozum on 'Flash: Time Flies' and John Acurdi on two flashback issues of the 'Doom Patrol.'

It was two of his later projects, the Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight story, 'Snow' and the 'Fantastic Four: Big In Japan' that garnered him both critical and fan acclaim. In a time where comics are growing increasingly darker, 'Big in Japan' offered an escape into a world of larger than life battles and absurd superheroics.

One can say it is sad that we were robbed of the opportunity to see Seth's art grow, but that is not true. He gave so much and we are lucky to have recieved such gifts from someone so talented and full of life.

Both his art and his love of life will continue to grow with us, his audience.

For more info and artwork, please visit his site. In addition to art, there is his incredibly addictive game Slugland.