Stephen Jones - The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. Volume 23

American writer, editor, journalist and book critic Alan[Peter] Ryandied of pancreatic cancer in Brazil on 3 June, aged sixty-eight. His articles and reviews appeared in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice and other periodicals. The author of such superior 1980s horror novels as Panther! The Kill, Dead White and Cast a Cold Eye , he won a World Fantasy Award for his story “The Bone Wizard”, and his short fiction is collected in Quadriphobia and The Bone Wizard and Other Stories . Ryan was also an accomplished editor whose anthologies include Perpetual Light, Night Visions 1, Halloween Horrors, The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories (aka Vampires ) and Haunting Women . Following a twenty-year absence from the genre, and after suffering a stroke and a heart attack in recent years, he had begun contributing fiction to magazines and anthologies again.

Sixty-four-year-old British author, editor and journalist Tim(Timothy) Stoutdied in County Wexford, Ireland, on 5 June. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for many years. Stout began his career in the genre with contributions to John Carpenter’s fanzine Fantastic Films Illustrated , and he edited the only two issues of the superior British horror film magazine Supernatural (1969). As an author, his short story “The Boy Who Neglected His Grass Snake” appeared in The 9th Pan Book of Horror Stories (1968), and during the 1970s and ’80s he had fiction published in such anthologies as Space 2, 5 and 8, Armada Sci-Fi 1 and 2, The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series III, Spectre 2, 3 and 4 , and The Jon Pertwee Book of Monsters , all edited by Richard Davis, along with Peter Haining’s Tales of Unknown Horror . Stout’s short fiction was collected in Hollow Laughter and The Doomsdeath Chronicles , and his only published novel was The Raging (1987).

Prolific British SF author, professional research chemist and astronomer John[Stephen] Glasbydied of complications from a fall the same day, aged eighty-three. His first novel appeared in 1952 and, while working for ICI, over the next two decades he produced more than 300 novels and short stories in all genres, most of them published pseudonymously (under such shared bylines as “A.J. Merak”, “Victor La Salle”, “John E. Muller”, etc.) for the legendary Badger Books imprint. More recently, he published a new collection of ghost stories, The Substance of Shade (2003), the occult novel The Dark Destroyer (2005), and the SF novel Mystery of the Crater (2010). Glasby also wrote four novels continuing the late John Russell Fearn’s “Golden Amazon” series, and his short fiction was anthologized by, amongst others, Richard Dalby, Robert M. Price, Philip Harbottle and Stephen Jones.

American writer and bookseller Malcolm M.(Magoun) Fergusondied on 11 June following hip surgery. He was ninety-one. Between 1946 and 1950 he had five stories published in Weird Tales , and he was also a regular contributor to The Arkham Sampler . Ferguson was also an antiquarian bookseller, and his own collection reportedly contained around 30,000 volumes.

American scriptwriter David Rayfieldied of congestive heart failure on 22 June, aged eighty-seven. His credits include the allegorical war film Castle Keep (1969), Lipstick, Death Watch (based on the novel by David Compton) and two episodes of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (“She’ll Be Company for You” and “Whisper”). Rayfiel was married to actress Maureen Stapleton from 1963–66.

American comics artist Gene Colon(Eugene Jules Colan) died of complications from a broken hip and liver disease on 23 June. He was eighty-four. Colan began his career in comics in 1944, but he is best remembered for his work for Marvel Comics on such titles as Daredevil, Captain America, Doctor Strange, The Avengers, Howard the Duck, Dracula Lives and The Tomb of Dracula . With Stan Lee he created the “Falcoln”, the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics, and also vampire-hunter “Blade”, whose exploits were adapted into a series of films and a TV series. During the 1980s the artist also worked at DC Comics on such titles as Batman and Detective Comics , along with Wonder Woman, Spectre, Elvira’s House of Mystery and the movie tie-in of Little Shop of Horrors .

American music composer and orchestrator Fred(Frederick) Steiner, who wrote the memorable theme for TV’s Perry Mason , died the same day in Mexico, aged eighty-eight. The son of noted film composer George Steiner, he worked (often uncredited) on Run for the Sun, The Colossus of New York, Teenagers from Outer Space, Snow White and the Three Stooges, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Project X, Return of the Jedi, Cloak & Dagger and Gremlins 2: The New Batch , along with episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Wild Wild West and the original Star Trek .

Prolific anthologist, packager and author Martin H.(Harry) Greenbergdied on 25 June after a long battle with cancer. He was 70. Greenberg — who used his middle initial to differentiate himself from Gnome Press publisher Martin Greenberg — worked on more than 1,000 anthologies in all genres, many of them published through his own Tekno Books business. His first anthology, Political Science Fiction (co-edited with Patricia Warrick), appeared in 1974, and his other collaborators included Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, Peter Crowther, Ed Gorman, Andre Norton, Frederik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, Robert Weinberg and numerous others. Greenberg won the Milford Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1989 and the Life Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association in 2004.

Belgian SF and crime author, anthology editor and comics historian Thierry Martens(aka “Yves Varende”) died on 27 June, aged sixty-nine. He also edited the comic Journal de Spirou .

British novelist, poet and short story writer Francis[Henry] KingCBE died on 3 July, aged eighty-eight. Three of his early novels were published by Herbert van Thal, who also included King’s story “School Crossing” in The 20th Pan Book of Horror Stories .

American author Theodore Roszak, best known for his 1991 novel Flicker , died of liver cancer on 5 July, aged seventy-seven. Among his other novels are Pontifex, Bugs, Dreamwatcher, The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein and The Devil and Daniel Silverman . A professor emeritus of history at Cal State East Bay, his scholarly works include the ground-breaking study The Making of a Counter Culture: Reflections on the Technocratic Society (1969).

Japanese anime artist Shinji Wada(Yoshifumi Iwamoto) died of ischaemic heart disease the same day, aged sixty-one. He was best known for creating the Sukeban Deka franchise in 1979, which was turned into TV series and movies.

Veteran American comedy TV writer and producer Sherwood[Charles] Schwartzdied on 12 July, aged ninety-four. Best known for creating such shows as Gilligan’s Island, It’s About Time and The Brady Bruch , he also co-scripted the 1983 TV movie The Invisible Woman .