A bad month in comics history.

Exactly one week after Jerry Robinson's untimely death, his good friend and fellow comics legend Joe Simon has passed away. He was 98 years old. Simon was best known for his bountiful partnership with Jack Kirby during the Golden Age of Comics, beginning with the creation of Captain America in 1941. The first issue's cover, which debuted 9 months before the United States entered the war - a time when American sentiment still leaned toward isolationism - boldly depicted the star-spangled patriot socking Hitler in the jaw. Captain America secured Marvel (then called Timely) Comics' status as a major publisher in the Golden Age; without him, there would likely be no Marvel Universe.

As with Jerry Robinson, I had a chance to see Mr. Simon at Comic Con, although by then his health was waning considerably. He and Robinson were living legends, two of the last the great Golden Age creators. Soon there will be no one left, and the last vestiges of that amazing period of imaginative realization will be gone forever.

It's been a sad seven days for comics fans, and in general for all lovers of literature and visual art. Rest in peace.