Gary Reed, comic book writer and founder of comics publisher Caliber Comics, passed away on October 2, 2016. He had a heart attack at the age of 60. Jennifer Andrews Reed, his wife, announced his passing, saying “It’s with great sorrow that I need to inform friends and family of the passing of my husband, Gary Reed. He was such a special & talented man. That’s all I can say – he was the writer.”

His death was a shock to fans as he had attended Monroe Comic Con over the weekend.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Reed graduated from Redford High School and opened his first bookstore while he was a student at Eastern Michigan University. He earned a Master’s degree and by that time had four stores specializing in used books, comic books, and pop culture collectibles.

Reed started the King Kon Comic & Fantasy Convention in Detroit in 1984, which was the first regular comic con in the Detroit area since Detroit Triple Fan Fair in 1977.

He launched Caliber Comics in 1989. It was a collection of different imprints with specialized lines including Tome Press biographical and historical works, Gauntlet action adventure line, Icongrafix alternative type material, and Tapestry young adult titles. He published big names in comics like Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Guy Davis, Joe and James Pruett, Nate Pride, Vince Locke, Galen Showman, Marc Andreyko, Dave Cooper, Mark Ricketts, and Kevin VanHook.

“When I heard that my first comics publisher and dear friend Gary Reed passed away I flashed back to the ’90s when Caliber Comics, under Gary’s direction, was a young, independent comics publishing house with an eye for raw, untapped talent. Back then, Gary was my champion. He offered me a chance to experiment, make mistakes and grow in public. He nurtured my creative life. I owe so much to Gary Reed,” Mark Rickets, writer and illustrator of Caliber’s Nowheresville.

“I'm heartbroken. Such a great guy. Without Gary, I, and several of today's top talents, would not have a career in this industry. He believed in us. He believed in me. Nothing I can write or say will truly describe what this man meant to me. The world is a less magical place without him,” Joe Pruett, whose Negative Burn was an important critical hit for Caliber, posted on Facebook.

“I was shocked to hear that Gary Reed died. He gave so many creators their start at Caliber Comics. My condolences to his family. He seemed like a great family man with his family, and he was a biology teacher, so I can imagine that he had a major ripple effect on his students as well. As a comic book publisher, he gave such an incredible amount of creators their start at his company Caliber Comics,” David Mack, creator of Kabuki said.

Caliber released 1,300 titles in the 1990s. “Those were the best of times, the ’90s, with Gary and with those writers and illustrators who were drawn into his gravity (one with a mohawk, one with hair down his back, one when he still had hair, a kicker of hallway light fixtures, those bickering twins, the kid too young to drink in the hotel bar, an overworked art director, etc.). I miss those misfits as they once were,” Ricketts added. “I miss the old Caliber. Now Gary is gone, too. Dammit, I thought he’d outlive us all. If I could, I would reunite that old, but still scruffy gang so that, one more time, we could raise our glasses in honor of a great man, an innovator, a friend, a brother, a hero. We’re all going to miss you, Gary Reed. Caliber rules!”

“I will always be grateful for the things that I learned from him at such a young formative age. When I was just 20 years old, he offered me a seat at the Caliber table at the New York Comicon in January of 1993,” Mack shared. “I met so many other creators there, while having a seat to be presented as a professional and to hear his thoughts and philosophies about business and creating comics. Later in 1993, signing at the Caliber table in Chicago, I met Brian Michael Bendis. Brian and I hit it off and began working together immediately.”

He wrote over 200 comics and graphic novels throughout his career. Some of his comics were written using pseudonyms Kyle Garrett, Brent Truax, and Randall Thayer including Saint Germaine, Baker Street, and Deadworld. He also helped launch McFarlane Toys as the vice president.

He closed Caliber and his stores in 2000 and became an adjunct professor at Henry Ford Community College. Then he returned to comics with Byron Preiss, the Desperado imprint with Image Comics and Tranzfusion Comics to reprint and revive his earlier work.

Reed returned to comics in 2004 when Bryon Preiss contracted him to reprint issues of Baker Street as a collection. He wrote graphic novel adaptations of classic horror novels from Penguin Books, launched Deadworld with Desperado Publishing and Image Comics. In 2007 he formed Transfuzion Publishing with fellow writer Rafael Nieves. Deadworld started being released at IDW as well as Curious Cases of Sherlock Holmes. Then in 2014 he announced that he was bringing Caliber Comics back in a partnership with Eagle One Media’s Eric Reichart.

“I'm shocked and saddened to hear of Gary Reed’s passing. Not only was he one of the good guys, he was an innovator and a visionary. Look at the roster of talent who passed through Caliber the 1990s and you’ll see the now-familiar names of some of the top talent in our industry. Gary loved comics and thinking of new ways to reach people with them. My condolences to his wife, Jennifer, his daughters, his extended family, and his many friends and fans,” Steve Geppi, President and CEO, Diamond Comic Distributors said.

“So many of the creators that I am good friends with today, some of my best and most dear friends in this world, are people that I met when I was at Caliber Comics over 20 years ago. The team of Jessica Jones all met while working at Caliber Comics. There was a camaraderie and enthusiasm with our wave of Caliber creators at that time. Especially ’93-’96. Connecting at conventions, signing together, and all eating together after, with our esteemed publisher at the table. Those were the very early days of publishing Kabuki for me, and Gary Reed and I had many phone calls in which he gave me his perspective, advice and his views on publishing. I'm grateful for those formative years of working with him and learning from him. And I know that he had a massive ripple effect in the amount of comic creators that are working today,” Mack added.