Legendary Comic Book Writer Alan Grant Dies, Aged 73

Influential Batman and Judge Dredd writer Alan Grant has died, aged 73.

The acclaimed comic book writer, who also created several DC supervillains including Anarky, The Ratcatcher, and The Ventriloquist, and had several high-profile runs on both Batman and 2000 AD.

His wife Susan Grant announced his death via Facebook, but no cause of death has been revealed. “I have no words,” she said. “Alan died this morning.”

Tributes to Grant have poured in from across the comic book fraternity, with those who worked with Grant praising his ingenuity and influence.

“Everyone at 2000 AD and Rebellion is devastated to hear of the passing of Alan Grant,” said an official statement from the comic book publisher. “Grant was one of his generation’s finest writers, combining a sharp eye for dialogue and political satire with a deep empathy that made his characters seem incredibly human and rounded. Through his work, he had a profound and enduring influence on 2000 AD and on the comics industry.”

Grant was renowned for his skewering satire during his time at 2000 AD, teaming up with John Wagner on Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog throughout the 1980s.

The duo soon went on to work for DC Comics, writing Batman stories in Detective Comics from 1988.

“Horribly saddened to hear of the passing of Alan Grant,” said fellow Batman writer, Tom King. “Lobo, LEGION, Batman—these books questioned what superhero comics could be and do: they were sharply, cooly cynical and yet oddly—and wonderfully—they contained a powerful, warm undercurrent of hope. Hell of a writer. RIP.”

Grant was born in Bristol but raised in Midlothian and eventually settled in Moniaive, Dumfriesshire with his wife.

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Throughout his long career, Grant worked on some of the biggest titles in comic book history but is also credited for going out of his way to nurture new talent.

He was even credited for starting the career of an unknown writer, Alan Moore, whose script he found amid the unsolicited submissions pile at 2000 AD.

“I got a brilliant letter back from Alan Grant,” Moore recalled. “He went out of his way to encourage people who he thought had talent.”

IGN sends its condolences to Grant’s family and friends.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Thumbnail credit: Alan A Grant