The passing this weekend of Steve Gerber leaves the world of science fiction a lesser place. He's probably best known for creating Howard The Duck. (Ignore the movie and read the original comics, which trailed the way for Alan Moore and the rest of the British Invasion writers of the '80s.) But he's known for some other great books as well.
Gerber's other comics work included the miniseries Omega The Unknown (Currently being revived by novelist Jonathan Lethem) and runs on Man-Thing and The Defenders. Outside comics, Gerber worked on the Transformers, GI Joe and Dungeons and Dragons cartoons of the 1980s as writer and story editor. He also co-wrote a second season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Gerber passed in hospital from complications due to his fight with pulmonary fibrosis. He was 60 years old. [Steve Gerber.com]