Stephen Perry

May 24, 2010 2:17 AM

Stephen Perry, best known for his work on the cartoons Thundercats and SilverHawks, as well as comics including Timespirits and Psi-Force, has died in mysterious circumstances. Perry recently suffered from both bladder cancer and being uninsured. Through the charity Hero Initiative, he was able to receive treatment. He recounted his battle with the disease and the healthcare system in a post on Steve Bissette's blog. Bissette has started a series of articles on Perry's life and works.
posted by Hartster (25 comments total)

Oh Jesus.
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posted by clarknova at 2:33 AM on May 24, 2010

I heard about this earlier tonight, and hoped that it wasn't true. I still have my Silverhawks toys.

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posted by strixus at 2:51 AM on May 24, 2010

I hope this turns out better than it seems, but I doubt it will.

Thundercats was amazing. I'm also rather shocked at the Timespirits/Avatar similarities, one more to add to Avatar's list of 'influences'.

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posted by knapah at 3:38 AM on May 24, 2010

That's utterly horrible. What's the purpose of Medicaid if you can't get any useful treatment from it? Reading about it made me extremely angry.

And then to read about the house and... no. This shouldn't happen.
posted by mathw at 4:04 AM on May 24, 2010

Oh no! I was just discussing Thundercats this weekend thanks to my boyfriend's Penn State shirt that somebody mistook for a Thundercats shirt. I also apparently loved SilverHawks, although I had no real memory of it until just now.

McKinney said only one human body part has been found and would not say what type or if it was Perry's.

McKinney said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is analyzing the body part and other evidence. He hopes to have results next week.

That is an awful thing to have to read. I thought this post was about healthcare, when it looks to be about something much, much worse...
posted by This Guy at 4:59 AM on May 24, 2010

When I was a kid I found every issue of Psi-Force in my comic store's 50¢ bin. Kept me comic-fed for a long time.
posted by soma lkzx at 5:06 AM on May 24, 2010

Actually he is just missing at this point. Officials haven't confirmed if the body parts found are his, nor have they released what body parts have been found.
posted by HappyHippo at 5:47 AM on May 24, 2010

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posted by chunking express at 5:47 AM on May 24, 2010

Also WTF.
posted by chunking express at 5:48 AM on May 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

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posted by Smart Dalek at 6:13 AM on May 24, 2010

Actually he is just missing at this point. Officials haven't confirmed if the body parts found are his, nor have they released what body parts have been found.

Considering that his two roommates, with criminal records were found alive and he's missing, while his van was left abandoned and bloodied with a body part, it's very likely he's dead.
posted by stavrogin at 6:15 AM on May 24, 2010

Actually he is just missing at this point.

The guy is missing, but not just missing. There's blood all over his apartment and van. There's a body part. The place was ransacked as if it was torn apart by people who are desperate and not very nice. His roommates are desperate and not very nice:

James and Roxanne Davis, a married couple with lengthy criminal histories. James Davis, 45, served three stints in prison on convictions such as robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping. His wife, 49, was a fugitive from the Florida Department of Corrections for skipping out on her felony probation for burglary and grand theft.

They went missing at about the same time he did but are now under arrest. The missing guy's ex-wife, after talking with the police, has told their son that "Daddy is in heaven."

Unless it's an elaborate scam -- is the body part someone's little toe? -- I'd say he's dead. As to whether the Reptilians were involved, we'll just have to wait and see.
posted by pracowity at 6:15 AM on May 24, 2010

Yeah. Like he said.
posted by pracowity at 6:16 AM on May 24, 2010

From the linked article:

Saturday, Carroll talked of Perry in the past tense. She would not say what detectives told her, as she doesn't want to hurt the case.

But she did say her son "knows that Daddy is in heaven."

"So I'll never see him again?" her son said.

She wept. She didn't know what to say.
posted by availablelight at 6:40 AM on May 24, 2010

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posted by The Great Big Mulp at 7:33 AM on May 24, 2010

Ye gods. I loved the Thundercats, even to the really cheesily-named villains.

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posted by Alnedra at 8:08 AM on May 24, 2010

Out of respect I feel we should keep the Snarf level in this thread at a minimum.
posted by sourwookie at 8:33 AM on May 24, 2010

Thundercats happened to come on TV right at the time I'd get home from class for a late lunch. I'd eat a sandwich and watch Thundercats and then go to my next class. At first, the three guys I shared an apartment with ribbed me for watching some cheesy kids show. A few weeks later, there were four of us gathering around the tube every weekday afternoon to see how Lion-o and his posse would thwart Mum-Ra's plans this time.

What seems to have happened to Mr. Perry is just horrific. But the detail that really broke my heart was that he had to borrow money to buy his kids the action figures of the characters he created. That's so achingly sad.

Snarf, snarf.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:47 AM on May 24, 2010

I was at SDCC a couple years back (as I am wont to do) and was standing around shooting the shit with Matt Wagner of Grendel fame. A teenaged boy came up, dropped a sketchbook down, and looks at Matt.

"Whatcha want in there?" Matt said; he's a good sport and he'll sketch for anyone.

The kid grinned and opened the book. It was all Mumm-Ra. There were easily 20, 25 pages of people drawing Mumm-Ra in this book. There was reference material hanging out the sides-- big printouts of Mumm-Ra freaking out and waving his bandages around and the like.

"Mumm-Ra!" the kid proclaimed.

Matt looked over at me and Mr. F. Matt looked at the kid. Matt looked back to us.

"...fuckin' Mumm-Ra!" said the legendary Batman artist, stifling a chortle. "Sure, what the hell. My son would love you, man."

It was a really nice Mumm-Ra, too.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 10:08 AM on May 24, 2010 [6 favorites]

What seems to have happened to Mr. Perry is just horrific. But the detail that really broke my heart was that he had to borrow money to buy his kids the action figures of the characters he created. That's so achingly sad.

See also the Wally Wood post of the other week. Somebody sure as fuck has made a lot of money off Thundercats -- where was this guy's piece? It's disgusting the way these guys get treated by the people they made rich.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:15 PM on May 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

A sad fact in the TV animation industry is that, writers-wise, it's a young man's game; people over 40 are seen as being out of touch with the youth market and have trouble getting work. As for where Perry's share of Thundercats riches went; writers are paid by the script. It's good money, or was; $3k-$5k for roughly 25 pages of hack dialogue and explosions. But there's no retirement plan and sure as heck no health benefits. AND it's "self employed" income, so the IRS takes a HUGE chunk, like a third. Mug's game.
posted by The otter lady at 8:51 PM on May 24, 2010

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posted by nevafeva at 5:20 AM on May 25, 2010

"Perry Got Domestic Violence Injunction Against Leo's Mom"
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:22 AM on May 25, 2010

That is to say, "Perry Got Domestic Violence Injunction Against Leo's Mom"
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:24 AM on May 25, 2010

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posted by Samizdata at 1:01 PM on May 25, 2010