The most rewarding aspect of the emergence of graphic medicine over the last 15 years has been the generous, supportive, and enthusiastic community that has formed at the intersection of comics and health. Like any community, we have celebrated successes and suffered losses. This page is a tribute to members of the graphic medicine community who have died.
If you are aware of a member of the graphic medicine community who should be on this page, please email us.
Dan O’Rourke, 1956-2025
Dan was an educator and proponent of the important role comics could play in discussing health issues, particularly The Death of Captain Marvel. In 2019 Dan wrote, “Thank you to all the colleagues advancing awareness of the power of graphic medicine to reach new audiences with important information. I have only just begun to explore the potential of graphic medicine but the power of your tower has made the academic administration at my University take the critical study of comic books more seriously.” You can read his obituary here.
Rinko Endo, 1975-2025
Rinko was a panelist at the 2011 graphic medicine conference in Chicago. She famously dubbed it, “The coolest conference on earth.” At that conference, she humbly presented her “Aggression Management Manga,” created for the conference to be implemented at her workplace. Though she moved back to Japan, she enthusiastically supported the work of graphic medicine via social media and on her too-brief visits back to the U.S. You can read her full obituary here.
Gordon Shaw, 1980-2022
Gordon was a graphic medicine cartoonist and speaker featured in “Long Live My Happy Head,” screened at the 2022 Chicago conference. In fact, portions of the documentary were filmed at the 2019 Brighton conference. You can read Gordon’s obituary here.
Justin Green, 1945-2022
Justin was a pivotal figure in the origins of graphic medicine as his Binky Brown Meets The Holy Virgin Mary is considered one of the first autobio comics. Justin was a keynote speaker at our 2015 conference in Riverside, CA. He and his wife Carol Tyler are featured in the film . You can read all about Justin on his Wikipedia page here and in his remembrance in The Comics Journal here. The film about his work and life with Carol Tyler, Married to Comics, can be streamed on Netflix.
Joyce Brabner, 1952-2024
Joyce was a keynote speaker at the 2012 graphic medicine conference in Toronto, Canada. Joyce co-authored several graphic medicine texts, including My Cancer Year. You can read about Joyce’s career in this tribute in The Comics Journal.
Peter James Burns
Peter James Burns was the son of Jane and John Burns, and the namesake of the Burns Scholarship for travel aid to graphic medicine conference. Jane Burns organized our 2024 conference in Athlone, Ireland. You can read the whole story of the scholarship and James’ advocacy for graphic medicine here.
Nancy and Herb Wolf
It is in honor of Nancy and Herbert Wolf that the Graphic Medicine Awards were born in 2022. Nancy was an artist, especially skilled at needlepoint, and a medical records administrator who chaired the medical records department of a Chicago-area hospital. Herb was a consulting actuary specializing in life insurance. You can read the full origin story of the award here.
Sue Eckstein, 1959-2013
Sue Eckstein was a co-organizer of the 2013 graphic medicine conference in Brighton, England. She was a bioethicist, novelist, and blogger. You can read her full obituary here.