Acclaimed colorist Justin Ponsor has passed away
By Scott Brown
Just a couple of days ago, acclaimed colorist Justin Ponsor passed away after his battle with cancer.
On May 20, through Ponsor’s Facebook page, it was announced that Justin Ponsor had passed away at his home while surrounded by loved ones. Ponsor was 42 years old. The representative who posted the announcement on Facebook called for a celebration of his life and asked for people to respond to the post with moments that Ponsor had influenced others.
Ponsor made his name through his outstanding work at Marvel Comics with his work on titles such as Wolverine and the X-Men, Avengers, Civil War II, Death of Wolverine, Defenders, and, of course, Ultimate Spider-Man. Ponsor helped define the character of Miles Morales through his excellent vision that made the writing and pencil work pop off the page, as he did with every single book he worked on. He was, without a doubt, one of the best colorists working in the industry.
Collaborators with Ponsor, as well as comic creators who never had the privilege of working with him, took social media to mourn his passing. Long-time collaborator Brian Michael Bendis posted an image of himself, Ponsor, and David Marquez during a meeting last year and went on to celebrate Ponsor in the caption:
Current Avengers writer Jason Aaron and Death of Wolverine writer Charles Soule took to Twitter to celebrate and mourn Ponsor, as well. Aaron even commented on how dedicated Ponsor was to his craft because he was working on coloring issues of Avengers from his hospital bed:
I'm truly heartbroken to hear that Justin Ponsor has passed away after a long battle with cancer. He'd been doing his usual amazing work on the Avengers whenever he could, including from his hospital bed. I got nothing but respect for that man. Love and condolences to his family.
— Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) May 20, 2019
Very saddened to hear of the passing of Justin Ponsor, an incredible comics colorist, one of the best I’ve ever worked with. RIP.
— Charles Soule (@CharlesSoule) May 21, 2019
Among other things, he colored Death of Wolverine, one of the biggest books of my career, and a lot of that is down to him. The death scene alone... pic.twitter.com/YxjbmTOLSW
Others who never had the chance to meet or work with Ponsor also celebrated and mourned with the collective, such as writer Kelly Thompson:
RIP Justin Ponsor. I wish I'd had the chance to know and work with him personally, but I know he touched so many lives and brought so much magic to comics. We're lesser without him.
— KELLY THOMPSON (@79SemiFinalist) May 21, 2019
Next. 100 greatest superhero stories ever. dark
Justin Ponsor was a brilliant artist that brought so much depth to the work he was creating, and his artwork will be sorely missed by audiences. However, by all accounts, he will be even more deeply missed as the wonderful human being that he was. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and loved ones at this time.