In some tragic news, the legendary Carlos Ezquerra has passed away following a battle with lung cancer. He was 70 years of age.

With a whole host of impressive work on his CV, it’s likely his time working with Judge Dredd for which Ezquerra is best known. Having spent his early career working on Spanish westerns and war comics, his career in British comic books would start in the early 1970s. But it was in 1977 that he would be thrust towards superstardom.

It was in ’77 that Pat Mills brought Ezquerra in to design Judge Dredd for the recently-launched 2000AD. And with that, a legendary character was born as Ezquerra would go on to team with John Wagner to give fans what many see as the quintessential Dredd tales. Ezquerra would then go on to create Strontium Dog with Wagner, and another huge favourite of many is the Just a Pilgrim book which saw Carlos team with Garth Ennis. Elsewhere, credits also include Battle Picture Weekly, Friends of the Eastern Front, Stainless Steel Rat, Bloody Mary, and even some work on Preacher.

We are profoundly sad to confirm that the legendary artist Carlos Ezquerra has passed away. It is difficult for us to put this into words, but we have lost someone who was the heart and soul of 2000 AD… https://t.co/FJI1K97SPh pic.twitter.com/fDKy47lTEr

— 2000 AD (@2000AD) October 1, 2018

The thoughts of all here at STARBURST go out to the family, friends, and fans of the absolutely iconic Carlos Ezquerra. Rest in peace, sir.