Comics Folk React To The News Of The Death Of Sir Patrick Stewart

Posted in: Comics | Tagged: react, rip, sir patrick stewart

Comics Folk React To The News Of The Death Of Sir Patrick Stewart

My mum used to go and seeSir Patrick Stewart on stage in London and Stratford quite a bit in the sixties, alongside the likes of Sir Ben Kingsley and Ian Richardson. Less so when she moved to Yorkshire. But whenever he’d pop up on the telly, such as in I Claudius or Star Trek, she’d point out how many programmes of hers he had signed at the stage door. I mentioned this to him once in a pub on Wardour Street after he’d been meeting oft-collaborator Warren Ellis (and I used it as an in), and he said that X-Men and Star Trek fans had nothing on the dedication of people like my mum at the stage doors, long before he made it so. He never did get to play Spider Jerusalem, but he really wanted to. Yesterday, Sir Patrick Stewart died at the age of 86. His family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources. Many people have wanted to share their memories, their meetings, their experiences with the man. Here are just a few from the comic book world…

Francesco Francavilla: They all hurt, but this one hurts a lil more. Saddened by the news Sir Patrick Stewart is no longer with us… Adieu, Mon Capitaine

Mark Waid: Years ago, when I was running Humanoids U.S., I was having breakfast at some fancy Beverly Hills restaurant with (not to name-drop) George R.R. Martin, whom I’ve known for decades. As we sat there, Sir Patrick Stewart came up to us shyly, and before my eyes could stop bugging out of my head — he said to George, meekly, “My wife and I are huge fans, and she’d never forgive me if I didn’t ask…but would you mind terribly, Mr. Martin, if we got a picture with you?” It was the most adorable, awesome moment of celebrity-on-celebrity fanboying that I’ve ever experienced. I was speechless. I was wracking my brain for something, anything, to say to this great man that wasn’t “I love you on Star Trek,” but it was all just too much to process. All this to say, yes, I have personally handled Sir Patrick Stewart’s phone since I was the one who silently took the photo. And, yes, George was impressed, but I promise you Stewart was positively agog. Farewell, good sir.”

Gail Simone: “Very sorry to hear about the passing of Patrick Stewart. The perfect Charles Xavier, so good he made you believe someone cared enough to shelter and encourage young outsiders.”

Jessica Martin: I am broken-hearted to hear Patrick Stewart has left us. I had the great privilege of meeting and working with him at a special cabaret for Prince Charles at Highgrove (Jan Hartley Michael Haslam Simon Green were there too. A momentous occasion for all of us). He was just the most warm, lovely, generous man…oozed charisma and left us all with the abiding memory of a ‘hero’ who had not disappointed us. RIP Sir Patrick Stewart.

Kieron Gillen: I was trying to find an image of Patrick Stewart from Excalibur, and got lost in how much great stuff he was doing in that movie, and then rapidly realised that was one movie, and very much not one of his big, core works and I’m still lost in it. What a talent and body of work.

Nancy Collins: October just won’t let up. The first time I remember seeing him on screen was in I, Claudius.

Martha Thomases: Like so many of you, I enjoyed Patrick Stewart in many movies and television programs. Maybe starting with I, Claudius? But this is my very favorite role he played. He’s enjoying himself so much. Jeffrey.

Daniel Irizarry: There should be institutions in real world society to teach us to empathy, kindness and integrity, but a lot of what I believe is right and wrong I learned from watching Captain Picard on the Enterprise making the hard decision to respect and protect life in all its forms. RIP my Bald King.

Leonard Sultana: TNG was how me and my best mate met: I was DJing in a quiet pub, Neil was in with his mates, I made a T’Pau reference. He came up, said he was a Trek fan and we bonded. 2 days later, he loaned his ENTIRE TNG VHS collection to a bloke he’d just met; weekend after, we gatecrashed a Trek con in Leeds.

J.M. DeMatteis: How unspeakably sad. Safe travels, Captain.

Benjamin Dewey: So grateful that we had Patrick Stewart to delight us for so many years. Some personal favorite moments: sitting and watching TNG for the first time with my dad, His stunning performance as an older Prof. X in “Logan” and masterful comedic charm in Frasier. On and On.

Jess Nevins: I really liked Patrick Stewart as an actor, and loved it when he was in films like GREEN ROOM and could flex a bit, but I’ll always love him for walking the walk as much as he could about men’s violence toward women. Stewart (and Ian McKellen, and David Tennant, and Michael Sheen) also provided role models of positive masculinity, at a time when those were and are really needed. For my child, and for all those others. I hope Mr. Stewart got the chance to stop by the Midnight Pals before transcending.

Daniel Kalban: Sir Patrick Stewart. Actor. Activist. Gentleman. Ad Astra, Mon Capitan.

Paul B. Rainey: RIP Patrick Stewart. I really thought he was great.

Lew Stringer: Very sorry to hear that Patrick Stewart has died. What a fine and distinctive actor he was.

Joe Glass: Oh no, not Patrick Stewart

Alex Segura: Oof, this one hurts. I’m not one for commenting on celebrity deaths, but Patrick Stewart and the TNG crew were my dinner mates for almost a decade growing up. There was a great comfort in boarding the Enterprise-D for an hour each night, to see what the crew got into. Stewart’s Picard was a powerful and sharp contrast to the only other Starfleet captain we knew. Picard was the ideal – and his performance was equally dramatic, subtle, and awe-inspiring. Watching those episodes created a lifelong love for Trek in me. It was an added delight to be able to join Stewart (and Picard) for those three seasons of ST: Picard, which capped off with a wonderful and heartfelt reunion of the TNG cast. A fitting finale to an iconic, unmatched run. Rest in peace, Captain. A life well lived.

Josh Adams: Growing up, one of my earliest memories of watching television was of Star Trek: the Next Generation. It wasn’t an action-packed melee of a show. Phasers were fired and the occasional Worf was knocked unconscious by a less-than-impressive blow, but even for a kid as young as I was, it was captivating. Many conflicts were solved with words and many of those conflicts were layered in shades of grey rather than black and white. Sir Patrick Stewart, in that performance, was as atypical a hero of the time as one could be. Most heroic figures in film and TV of the late 80s and early 90s were brawny action stars with a gun in each hand and a few cuts and bruises that were carefully placed so as not to tarnish their good looks.

Stewart was not that. He was lean, bald, and in his forties. And his portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard was even tempered, diplomatic, and, while he could get ruffled and pushed to bold emotions or action, sought the to uphold the ideals of Starfleet, peace, and knowledge. He was in every way, the hero we still need. And, it seemed, in real life Sir Patrick Stewart was every bit that noble. He exuded kindness and compassion. His love for his friends was overt and passionate. And he never shied from speaking up for what he believed was right and just. Rest in peace, Sir Patrick Stewart. I’ll still enjoy a good ol’ action flick, but you will always be my hero.

Cody Walker: When the final Wolverine movie, “Logan,” came out, Sam Walker and I sobbed the entire time. I don’t remember who said it but we both agreed that we were so sad because we were not emotionally prepared for Patrick Stewart to die. That movie came out almost 10 years ago and we still were not prepared today. Rest in peace, Captain. We all loved you and cherish you and we are all so lucky to have you on our screens.

Lucy Sullivan: Oooff, this cuts hard. My Dad used to pretend to be Jean Luc & ask me ‘Number 1’ to fetch him a tea. Obviously I told him to get lost. RIP Patrick. Hope you meet my Dad in the great ether

Rhianna Pratchett: Hope they are sharing a good brandy together. The best of us. GNU Patrick Stewart.

Robert Greenberger: This is a gut punch, especially this week. I never met the man, but I have enjoyed his work from Excalibur through ST:TNG, X-Men, and more. He was a consummate professional with a great sense of humor. He will certainly be missed by scores of theatre and genre fans.

Andy Diggle: Make it not so.

Ryan Barr: Rest in Peace Sir Patrick Stewart. It sucks to lose the ones that were really good at their job but also just really good. Just an unforgiving year. Throwback to an old inktober from 2017. Sending universal love to Ian McKellen.

Geoff Boucher: The great Patrick Stewart has left us after an extraordinary life that went far beyond his legendary stage and screen exploits. I spent a day with him in San Diego when I moderated the “X-Men Days of Future Past” & “The Wolverine” previews for Fox. “Future Past” was easily the largest Hall H panel in history and included Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage and a dozen other stars. They all truly dazzled on that memorable day but none more than the Shakespearean-trained Starfleet icon. Witty, kind, classy, thoughtful, humble, generous — he was, well, absolutely engaging. Farewell Captain.

Colin McMahon: Possibly the last thing I expected to see picking up my phone. What a loss for all of nerddom. But what a life he had.

Ibrahim Moustafa: Meeting up with my “X-Men friend” today to take him to lunch for his birthday. We’ve been friends since high school and X-Men has always been a major point of connection for us; the queer themes always resonated with him. We’ll have to have a toast for Patrick Stewart. May he Rest In Peace.

Rachael Stott: Oh man, this one stings

Khandie Khisses: Early Grey. Hot. Our captain. I hope Sir Ian is being taken care of. They had a bond that was just beautiful.

Make it not so. x

Brandon T. Snider: There was a moment in time, maybe a decade plus ago, when Patrick Stewart was out and about in Brooklyn constantly exploring the neighborhood with his girlfriend. People would always see them giggling in stores and dining together. It made me feel so happy for him.

Zack Davisson: My first Patrick Stewart was in I, CLAUDIUS and then in EXCALIBUR Highly recommend those if you have never seen them. Thank you Patrick Stewart for everything. And for letting me come along.

Marc Andreyko: Oh, no! This one really hurts. Sir Patrick has been giving us great performances since I, Claudius, Excalibur thru Star Trek and he will always be my Professor X. A true gentleman and an actor’s actor, his legacy will be very long lived, studied, and cherished for generations. RIP, Sir. You will be sorely missed. (and if you want to see him tell a hilarious story, google “Graham Norton Patrick Stewart circumcision story” for a smile.)

Joe Illidge: We have lost Patrick Stewart. We have lost Captain Jean-Luc Picard. We have lost Professor Charles Xavier, and many more. The man had many great moments and scenes in popular fiction, but this is one that still chokes me up, as the situation collapses and the music builds and builds, and as he went out a hero in this scene, he leaves us just as heroically for his portrayals of complex men in threatening worlds. History will not forget his name.See less

Steve Ekstrom: I’m hurting today. This was the guy who opened the door for modern male emotional availability for most of us. He was our Captain. He was our Professor. He will be missed forever.

Richard Pace: Dammit. He really felt like a genuinely caring human. We can’t keep losing them.

Alex Paknadel: Genuinely don’t know what to say. The voice of compassion and authority for my entire life.

Peter Sanderson: R.I.P. Sir Patrick Stewart, a great actor both as Shakespearean leads and as pop culture icons Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier. I have seen him in person many times. The first time was in 1971, when he played Snout the joiner in director Peter Brook’s legendary production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Broadway. This is one of those cases in which I saw an actor play a minor role in a play, who subsequently became a famous and major performer decades later. I think I first really noticed Patrick Stewart when he played Sejanus in “I, Claudius” on television. After he became a star, I saw him play Prospero in “The Tempest” in Central Park, I saw his one-man performance of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on Broadway, as Macbeth at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and then again on Broadway teaming up with his friend Sir Ian McKellen in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” and Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land.” I also saw him speak at two Wizard World conventions. Of course I saw him play Picard in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” television series and movies and in “Star Trek: Picard,” whose third season was so good. And he was perfect as Professor Charles Xavier in the. “X-Men” movies. (I suspect that Alex Ross portrayed Xavier as Stewart in the original “Marvels” series.) Unfortunately, the “New York Times” obituary does not mention that Sir Patrick portrays Xavier (alongside McKellen as Magneto) in “Avengers: Doomsday,” which will premiere in December. That will be his farewell performance.

G. Willow Wilson: In honor of our captain, one of my favorite candid moments: giving his partner an impromptu acting lesson while stoned out of his gourd. Godspeed, Sir Patrick. The stage will never be the same.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!