A couple of days ago, before I turned in to go to sleep, I was online looking for different things to write about. That's when I found out that we lost a giant in the comic book world. I held off on writing this until today because I wanted to talk to my sister first, in case she hadn't heard yet, and didn't want her to find out from reading this. My sister introduced me to Herb Trimpe a couple of years ago at the New York City Comic Con. She had met Mr. Trimpe a number of times at other conventions, and he always remembered her and my two nephews. In fact, the first time they had met him, he was doing drawings in Artists Row, and she took the boys over to meet him. He asked them who their favorite characters were, and offered to draw them for the boys. When they returned later to pick up their sketch books from him, my sister went to pay him for his time and talents, but he refused. He told her that it was a "special" that day, and there'd be no cost. That's the kind of person Herb Trimpe was.
Herb Trimpe was an artist that drew for Marvel Comics. He's most widely known for his work on The Incredible Hulk, which he drew for from 1968 to 1975. He was also the first person to ever draw Wolverine, and is credited as one of his co-creators (The Incredible Hulk #180.) His work also extended to other comics for Marvel, drawing for titles such as the very first issue of its licensed G.I. Joe, as well as Godzilla, Shogun Warriors, Iron Man, Ant Man, and Captain Britain. In Captain Britain he helped co-create the character Elizabeth Braddock. If the name doesn't sound very familiar, you'll be able to learn more about her when the movie X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters in May next year. Her character will be played by Olivia Munn.
Trimpe was fired by Marvel in the 1990's when Marvel was going through it's bankruptcy, something that hit him extremely hard. He went on to earn a BA in art and went on to teach at a local school in New York, but never left the world of comics. He drew cover art for a number of publications, and even returned to Marvel for a Hulk story in 2008.
Herb Trimpe's cousin, Glen Baisley, was the one to break the news to the world. This is what he posted to his Facebook page:
"This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing my cousin, Herb Trimpe, in action doing what he loved - meeting fans and drawing comics. I was there capturing video and interviews about his life and work with Marvel for a documentary that we were planning to work on. Little did I know, this would be the final time I would get to see him. I want to share some very sad news with everyone. Monday night, Herb passed away."
"He was a legend in the industry, co-creator of Wolverine and penciled some of the most iconic characters ever. He will be greatly missed."
Just meeting him the one time, I can honestly say he was one of the most friendly and genuine people I've ever had the pleasure of being introduced to. I know I'm not the only fan that met him that feels this way, because he treated everyone he met with the same smile and interest that he did me. He will be missed.
Herb Trimpe passed away at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and his four children.
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