Brian Augustyn 1954 - 2022 R.I.P.

Writer/editor Brian Augustyn has died on 1st February after suffering a stroke the previous weekend, according to a Fb post from his longtime collaborator and friend, writer Mark Waid who disclosed the news of Augustyn's death on his social page, nothing that Augustyn's family requested for him to make the announcement.

Augustyn made his name in comics as a senior editor for DC from 1987 through 1996, editing major titles including Justice League, Flash, and Wonder Woman, while also working closely with Waid as his editor, and later co-writer; he have edited the first four years of Waid’s 1992-2000 run, and then co-wrote the title from 1996 to 1997, and again from 1998 to 2000.
Augustyn himself co-wrote the story in The Flash #142 in which Wally West married television reporter, Linda Park.

Brian Augustyn

But Augustyn is well remembered also as the writer of the Mike Mignola drawn Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, the very first 'Elseworlds' title from DC's former alternative reality-focused line, a special continuosly reprinted, also recently by Panini Comics in luxury editions; in this special he reimagined Bruce Wayne as a 19th-century crime-fighter, emerging at the same time as Jack the Ripper arrived in Gotham, the success of the graphic novel led to a popular sequel, Batman: Master of the Future. These two books were also the source for one of Dc Comics Universe animated movies, from the same title, precisely Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.

With co-writer Marc Waid, Augustyn also redefined the origins of the Justice League in JLA: Year One, which adapted the team's earliest adventures for a modern context; he also teamed with Waid again for an extended, fan-favorite run on The Flash, which brought Wally West to the forefront of the DC Universe.

He and Waid also co-wrote 1998’s graphic novel “The Life Story of the Flash,” as well as 1992’s DC/Impact comic “The Crusaders,” Event Comics’ “Painkiller Jane” and “Ash: Cinder & Smoke” in 1997, Valiant’s “X-O Manowar” in 1997, “JLA: Year One” in 1998, and 2018’s “Archie 1941,” plus its follow-up “Archie 1955.” His other work included Rags Morales’s 1992 “Black Condor” run; Jim Baikie’s 1993 vigilante tale “Blackmask;” and Humberto Ramos, Sandra Hope and Francisco Haghenbeck’s 1998 Cliffhanger! 25 issue-vampire saga “Crimson.”
Aside from these labels/publishers, Augustyn wrote comics for Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Chaos Comics, and more.