Comic artist Carlos Pacheco died on Nov. 9, a little over a month after the iconic illustrator announced that he had been diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Born on Nov. 14, 1961, he was 60 years old.
Pacheco’s comic career includes work for both DC and Marvel, and illustrations of a wide variety of superheroes from the Justice Society to the Starjammers. Pacheco’s work began in Spanish-language editions of Marvel books published under the Cómics Forum imprint at Planeta De Agostini, and in 1993 he illustrated Dark Guard, the first Marvel series to feature him as the sole penciler. Pacheco would go on to work on The Flash over at DC, and his career blossomed, eventually leading to gigs on Avengers Forever, Inhumans, JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice and Superman/Batman. He also lent his pencils to mega events at both companies, including 2009’s Final Crisis at DC and 2013’s Age of Ultron at Marvel.
Earlier this year, Pacheco announced he would be taking a sabbatical from comics to deal with health issues. He wrote at the time, “As some of you probably know I suffered a paralysis of my right leg this past September. Since then I’ve been visiting neurologists trying to know what the heck was happening. After receiving the worst diagnosis possible they finally have discovered that the root of that is a compression of the nerves that go from the L5 to the legs and a little and hard to see fracture in that vertebra, so I will go to a hard dorsal spine surgery next sunday morning. The doctors say that I will need to suffer a rehab that will last between 8 and 12 months….+…That was the reason why I couldn’t finish my commitment with Fantastic Four and now I’ll be out of order during all this year after the surgery. DON’T FORGET ME, PLEASE!!!! I’LL BE BACK!! (Hope so).”
In September, Pacheco revealed that he had been diagnosed with ALS, which is also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” Pacheco’s announcement — originally posted on Facebook and since deleted — was translated from Spanish by CBR’s Diane Darcy. It reads, “Well, it cannot be. The final diagnostic has made it clear: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), aka ALS. It is what it is, and it is what needs to be dealt with. It’s true that this is an unexpected turn of events in my life, but this doesn’t make me feel less fortunate to have lived the life I have lived, for the experiences I’ve had, the achievements I’ve made, and the people I’ve been fortunate to cross paths with. In truth, it’s been a life that’s gone beyond my wildest childhood dreams. Thank you to everyone who has been here. Let’s keep going as always!”
On Sept. 28, Pacheco tweeted his final work in comics — a cover for Damage Control #2 showing a shrunken Ant-Man and Wasp running across a burrito, away from the mouth of Gus, the comedy series’ unassuming protagonist. The cover was inked by Rafael Fonteriz and colored by Rachelle Rosenberg.
Marvel Comics posted a tweet memorializing Pacheco on Nov. 9. It reads, “We mourn the loss of a dear part of the Marvel family, comic artist & writer Carlos Pacheco. His legacy of iconic designs and storytelling like Avengers Forever, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Excalibur, Captain America, and more will be remembered. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.”
Source: Twitter
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