Al Williamson, comic book artist and illustrator passed away on Saturday at the age of 79. Williamson started his career at EC Comics in the late 40s and won the 1966 National Cartoonists Society Award for Best Comic Book for his work on Flash Gordon. In the 1980s he illustrated both Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi adaptations.

On behalf of the writers and Mob of readers here at SciFiMafia, our hearts go out to Al Williamson’s family, friends and fans – he was an amazing artist, who’s contributions to comic books, art and science fiction will always be remembered and he will be missed.