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Lee Moder, veteran comic artist and the co-creator of Stargirl, passed away. Per ComicBook.com, the artist Lee Moder passed away on January 15, 2023, at the age of 53. No cause of death is currently known or made public. Lee Moder was a brilliant comic book artist credited for the co-creation of Courtney Whitmore who would go on to become DC’s Stargirl.
Stargirl and Dream Girl
While Moder has built an impressive career in comic books, spanning almost 30 years, he is best known for Stargirl. Back in 1999 he, alongside Geoff Johns, introduced the world to Courtney Whitmore. She made her first appearance in issue zero of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.
Prior to that, Moder spent time working as the regular artist for DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes. For the three years he worked on that project, including the landmark hundredth issue of the series. It was during that time that Lee Moder, alongside Tom Peyer and Tom McCraw created the Dreamer identity for Dream Girl. This is the version of the character that was seen in The CW’s Supergirl series.
Lee Moder’s Body of Work
Moder also spent time working on other iconic characters for DC. He lent his talents to other DC titles like Wonder Woman and Batman: The Last Angel. He also spent some time working on Marvel’s X-Factor, Highlander and Red Sonja for Dynamite, CrossGen’s Scion, and Boom! Studios anthology Zombie Tales.
However, in 2011 Lee Moder would help create another iconic character. He would team up with writer Ron Marz to create Shinku, a Japanese vampire series for Image Comics. During that time, Moder shared that he was excited to work on the comic as it focused on “two concepts [he] hadn’t heard before when thinking about…a cool comic”. Those concepts being “vampire” and “Japan”.
Friends and collaborators are sharing their favorite memories of the artist amid news of his passing. Geoff Johns shares that, “the industry lost a wonderful talent with the passing of Lee Moder”. While Ron Marz is simply numb acknowledging that “Lee wasn’t just someone I collaborated with, he was a friend, he was almost a part of my family.”
Lee Moder’s work will live on as a testament to his talent. While the man will live on in the lives he touched. Those wishing to honor the artist are asked to donate to the Hero Initiative.