Michael Crichton, 66, dies of cancer

Michael Crichton, author of the "Jurassic Park" books as well as many others such as "Congo," "Timeline," and "The Andromeda Strain," died of cancer at age 66, according to a press release from his family. No real details yet, but this was another one of those "What? Who? Really? How old was he?" kind of [...]

R.I.P Tony Hillerman, 83

Tony Hillerman, author of 18 novels about Navajo Tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, set in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and Arizona, died Sunday of pulmonary failure. The 83-year-old Hillerman had already lived through two heart attacks and surgeries for prostrate and bladder cancer, and was still writing. From the [...]

Robert Asprin died yesterday

At mythadventures.net: Robert Asprin (1946-2008) On May 22, 2008, Bob passed away quietly in his home in New Orleans, LA. He had been in good spirits and working on several new projects, and was set to be the Guest of Honor at a major science fiction convention that very weekend. He is survived by his [...]

Wauuuuugh!

Steve Gerber, creator of the brilliantly subversive comic "Howard the Duck" — the comic, not the crappy movie — has died.

Robert Anton Wilson, RIP

I'm losing a lot of heroes these last few months… Illuminatus! remains one of the books I tackle again every year or so, to see what I missed all those other times, and his other writings are refreshing streams of sanity in an increasingly bizarre world. Not serious, mind you, just sane. His final blog [...]

The Monster, dead at 71

Peter Boyle, star of stage, screen, TV, and Transylvanian castle, died last night. Generally when his name come up he gets remembered (and rightfully so) as the tap-dancing Monster from "Young Frankenstein" and Frank Barone from "Everybody Loves Raymond." But everyone knows the first one and I never watched Raymond (thereby disproving the title), so [...]

26 years later, still the walrus

He was a driving force for peace and all that is Good. He was magical, angelic, demonic, a conscience in the wilderness, a tireless utopianist, and, to listen to some of his more enthusiastic fans, a young god among men. Actually he was a good guitar player, a decent pianist, a wizard songwriter, a committed [...]

Nightcrawler's dad, dead at 63

If you're a comics fan you're familiar with his work. If you're a movie fan you're familiar with his legacy. Dave Cockrum, longtime comics artist for "The Legion of Superheroes," "The Uncanny X-Men," and more, created the looks for many of your favorite characters like Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus. He died of diabetes yesterday morning. [...]

Popeye director, 81, dies

Robert Altman is gone. And before you chastise me over the title, understand that I may be the only living person who liked his Popeye. Sure, Gosford Park was a huge success and Prairie Home Companion got plenty of accolades. And M*A*S*H was groundbreaking, of course, but you almost have to like that one or [...]

John M. Ford, RIP

Just heard that a favorite science fiction writer died over the weekend. John M. Ford didn't like repeating himself (or others) so he wrote science fiction, urban fantasy, thrillers, short stories, a space opera, and more. Plus, his two Star Trek books had a group of Klingons saving the Federation ("The Final Reflection") and a [...]