Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers | Tagged: bernie mireault, rip, the jam

Bernie Mireault, Comic Creator Of The Jam, Has Passed Away At Age 64

Bernie Mireault, creator of the independent comic book series The Jam, has passed away at the age of 64.

Bernie Mireault, creator of the independent comic book series The Jam, has passed away at the age of 64. It has been reported by friends and colleagues that he took his own life. Born in Marville, France, and raised in Quebec, he came to prominence in the Montreal underground comix and zine scene, moving into a greater profile as a comics artist, colourist, animator, and illustrator. This saw him draw comics as diverse as The Blair Witch Chronicles, Grendel, Wonder Woman, Planet Of The Apes, Two-Fisted Science, Dr. Robot, and Batman, as well as several series with Matt Wagner and Mike Allred.

He also played in his band, Bug-Eyed Monster, for which he wrote songs. He is credited with increasing the diversity of comic styles in the mainstream comic book industry. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame as part of the Joe Shuster Awards.

Nat Gertler, recent republisher of The Jam from About Comics, issued his own memories of working with the man. "Word has reached me that Bernard Edward Mireault, best known as the creator of The Jam Urban Adventure and its very mellow, very Canadian hero, The Jammer, brought his life to an end earlier this week."

"Bernie was a cartoonist's cartoonist, better appreciated by his fellow creators than by the comics readership at large. He crafted great work through both hard effort and unique vision; his comics were not a poor man's version of someone else's, it was all clearly Bernie. It is not just a sadness but an injustice that the industry was not able to find a proper home for his efforts. This was not helped that his key work was done before collecting storylines into books was the default, and for many years it was just scattered across the back issue bins. As his most recent work had shown, he had lost none of his touch as a creator, still creating lovely work in ink and color."

"When About Comics got the chance to start publishing Bernie's work, I was both honored to have that opportunity and saddened that it had come to this. (This is a publishing line that subsists not on high investment in creators and generating large royalties, but in keeping both expenses and expectations to a minimum.) Fully warned that the returns would be meager, he still put his effort in, laying out his books by himself, reworking the original The Jam material to avoid some aspects he thought hadn't aged well, and optimizing the art for the format it'd be appearing in. He brought in new material, fully knowing it would not be financially justified."

"Folks, comics is a great art and a tough business. For those of you who consider yourself fans, particularly of the quirky and outlying cartoonists, the best thing you can do is to support the creator, not only with your purchases but with your kind words and with spreading the word about their work. The field is filled to the brim with skilled folks who love comics more than it ever loves them back. And if anyone out there feels there is no hope, no point to continuing, please reach out for help. Give people the chance to prove you wrong. If this note rambles a bit, forgive me. Rather than give some definitive closer on my own part, I'll end it with the last page from the last The Jam story Bernie created (and to the best of my knowledge, the last comic book story he ever finished.) This is from The Jam: Super Cool Color-Injected Turbo Adventure From Hell #2, published in 2022."

Matt Wagner: "Hey gang…this morning I couldn't possibly be sadder than to learn of the untimely death of my one-time friend and GRENDEL collaborator, Bernie Mireault. Bernie and I haven't been close for many years at this point, but I still marvel at his brilliant talents as a comic artist. His clever, innovative and, indeed, ground-breaking grasp of graphic storytelling marks him as a true genius in our beloved art form. Sadly…Bernie was a genius creator who just never quite found the broader audience he so richly deserved. He apparently died in poverty, devoid of much hope. Many readers hailed his talents and held him in a lofty position of artistic honor and respect, but the quirky aspects of his drawing that so delighted the rest of us just never connected with most comics buyers. Sadder still, considering the diversity of talent and visual styles that flourish in the industry today…I can't help but think that if he'd only been born 25 years ago, he'd be a mega-star nowadays—widely read and frequently imitated. I hope that this sad event serves to spark a belated interest in Bernie's work and exposes his narrative brilliance to an all-new generational audience. But for now, I'm just heartbroken that such a deserved renaissance could only occur too little and too late."

Ty Templeton: "I am devastated by the loss of Bernie Mireault from this world. We started out as young puppy cartoonists together decades ago, sleeping on each other's couches when visiting each other's cities, and inking each other's pages late at night. Brimming with an explosive need to draw and tell stories. Bernie drew my first ever "Bun Toon" story because he found the thumbnails on my drawing board one evening and compulsively drew the final pages overnight while I slept. It was finished in the morning, but Bernie decided I wasn't a rabbit, but a bear, and drew the story as such. When I was editing Planet of the Apes for Mr. Comics, Bernie was my colouring department, making one headache go away every issue with stunning work, always by the deadlines. Of course, nothing was ever more wonderful than Bernie's "The Jam: Urban Adventure" comic book– charming, laid back, cool and fun–exactly like the man himself. Bernie never found the success or fame he richly deserved and it ate away at him to the point he felt he had to leave us. Go read his Riddler origin story, (When is a Door.) written by Neil Gaiman – it's online somewhere, and you're better off for reading it. Then go find some issues of THE JAM at a convention. Or listen to a Bug-Eyed Monster song. Or hug your family. Goddamnit Bernie."

Steve Bissette: "R.I.P. the late great Bernie Mireault, who I count as a friend and have for decades. Bernie was among the first-ever contributors to TABOO, and before that I painted covers for his comic book series MACKENZIE QUEEN back in the mid-1980s. Trips to Montreal weren't complete without at least one sit-down with Bernie, and he turned me on to my favorite Montreal restaurant. This is absolutely devastating news. Life is too, too short…"

Howard Chackowicz: "I am completely heartbroken to say that my dear, dear friend, the great artist/cartoonist Bernie Mireault has passed away, by his own hand, this Monday. I'm devastated, so I will keep this brief (while I hope many out there, fans and comic book historians will never stop writing and talking about him):
Bernie was a wonderful friend (truly like a brother to me). I can't tell you how much he's helped me over the years, what a great, great person, I love him so much. My heart and soul goes out to his two sons and his three sisters, his family and friends. Bernie was an incredible, important and influential artist -there should be and there will be lots written about him now, you'll see. It's cruel that this happens to great, under-appreciated artists after they die. I think many of us feel that there could have been much, much more support and respect for Bernie while he was alive. Thanks to the many, many of you who did love, appreciate and support him and his work. Bernie was a great songwriter, too. One of my great pleasures in life was drumming with him in his band Bug-Eyed Monster (as did the wonderful painter and drummer Mark Lang); Bernie wrote such beautiful, catchy tunes (you can find 'em on Youtube). Bernie Mireault, like Henriette Valium (two GIANTS of comix and art in Canada/Québec) died in poverty. That's one of the main reasons Bernie gave for taking his own life – poor health, no money, no hope. Both these great artists did everything right: they mastered their craft, they worked VERY hard and put out a ton of great and important work over decades, they worked hard at promoting themselves and being good "community" members… it's criminal that internationally well-known and respected artists like these died in poverty. Bernie always championed other artists, too – he was just such a great, great, wonderful human being and all of us who knew him will miss him so, so very much. Bernie's work was very important to him, so please everyone – feel free to search out his work, read his comics, write about him, talk about him, publish his work, play his music, call his name from the mountain-top… THE GREAT BERNIE MIREAULT, rest in peace, my dear pal."

Paul Levitz: "It's strange to mourn someone you never met, someone whose body of work you know only from a sample so small it could qualify as a biopsy. But I find myself mourning Bernie Mireault this morning, as word of his death spreads over the web. Maybe I mourn him as an archetype…the creative artist defeated by the world, broke and broken, and choosing to give up in the most brutal fashion. Maybe I mourn him because he echoes the death of Wally Wood over 40 years ago, but still painful to me as one of the greats of my childhood and, briefly, a collaborator. Being a creative artist (and by that I include writers, performers and others as well as visual artists) in America is a challenging life. Success brings temptations that bring down some when they seem to have won the game, and for most, every win is transient at best, and personal and professional survival is tough. Others will write better about Mireault's talent, or know details of his life. I mourn his struggle, the failure of our community to provide whatever support might have eased his pain, and the similar challenges others face. Please support creatives: donate to Hero Initiative, look for them on Patreon, or just say kind words at conventions to those whose work meant something to you. And most important, listen for pain whether from creatives or just plain folks in your community, and try to connect them to help they need."

Brian Hibbs: "Hearing that the great Bernie Mireault took his life — and because he was in poverty — really has gutted me this morning. He was such a terrific artist, and his run of THE JAM, as well as on the Eppie Thatcher GRENDEL story are *truly* standout examples of comics from the '90s. Here's a scan from the great "When is a Door?" Riddler story Bernie did with Gaiman (the whole thing can be seen here: http://www.oafe.net/blog/2013/11/the-riddler-when-is-a-door/) Was I away when they changed all of the rules?"

Mark Shainblum: "Love you Bernie Mireault. I don't know if you know how much you meant to all of us. I hope you did. Proudest thing I ever did in my life was publishing your comics, but also I loved you as a person. You're one of the best people I ever knew. I told you that many times, I hope you believed it. Just gutted."

Richard Pace: "Bernie and I talked and met more than a few times in the 90s. He was smart, funny, and incredibly talented. Whenever I saw a BEM comic, I bought it — just knowing it would be good. The Jam, in particular. We'd wander apart, reconnect, and then drift again. Among the most damning aspects of life is we always assume there will be more time than we get. I just assumed Bernie and I would reconnect again, but this world is too hard and unforgiving, and that assumption makes me feel more than a little lost. I know everyone's lives are too full of things, both good and bad, and it makes it difficult to keep track of the people who you want in your life more, but distance makes that choice almost invisible. All we can do is try a little harder to have these wonderful people in mind. RIP, Bernie."

Michel Fiffe: "I bought the Secret Origins Batman Special off the racks that summer. I was 10 and it was the first time I saw both Sam Kieth and Bernie Mireault art. Unsettling, quirky, I loved it. This showed me that oddballs get let into the clubhouse. Discovering independent comics later on, I realized it's much cooler to build your own clubhouse. And ultimately, playing well with others ain't so bad either. BEM represented these dynamics, important lessons all. Much gratitude and profound condolences. RIP BEM"

Dean Haspiel: "Dammit. Another cartoonist took their life. RIP Bernie Mireault."

Carle Bacha: "Back in the late '90, early 2000, I had the pleasure to work alongside Bernie Mireault, Bernie Denk, and David Bacha on some fun animation projects. It was the early days of digital animation, and we were a young, scrappy team. We did TV shows, websites, and commercial videos. Anybody who has had the pleasure to work with Bernie on anything, remembers what a great guy he was to work with and such a valuable team member. Imagination, skill, work ethic, sense of humor, team spirit, Bernie was the total package."

J. Torres: "I am so saddened to hear about the death of Bernie Mireault. I loved The Jam. I got to interview Bernie when I was in college as I began my own comics journey. He was generous with his time and advice, real, and really kind. This is heartbreaking. If you or someone you know needs help, please call… 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline, Languages: English and French, Phone Hours: 24/7, Text Hours: 24/7"

John K Snyder III: "I'm very sorry to hear of Bernie Mireault's passing. Bernie inked a lion's share of my pencil work on Matt Wagner's Grendel: The God and the Devil story arc, and we were all fortunate to have him on board as part of the team. Bernie was a true comic book genius, I also loved his work on his own books The Jam and Mackenzie Queen and so much more, he will be sorely missed."

Andre St-Amour: "R.I.P. Bernie Mireault. I met and worked with him in Montreal at Crayon Animation (before it became Cinar) way back in the mid-late 80's. Awesome guy, good friend, irreplaceable peer. Horrible loss. Condolences to his family and friends."

Diana Schutz: "Oh, Bernie. Goddammit."

If you or someone you love is in crisis, there are several ways of seeking help. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.

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