San Diego Comic-Con Artist Alley organizer and comics colorist Clydene Nee died this week. She died peacefully in her sleep. SDCC announced this news:
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Clydene Nee. As a member of the Comic-Con family and a long-time volunteer, Claydon has been instrumental in overseeing Artist Alley. Her advocacy and promotion of independent artists led to thousands of friendships with these artists and anyone who knew her. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her sister Sarah, brother John, the rest of her family and all those who were lucky enough to call her a friend.
Nee was well known as a kind and giving person who was instrumental in managing SDCC’s Artist Alley, a launching pad for many careers. She has experienced numerous health issues in recent years, including a recent partial amputation of her leg.
Her work in comics includes working as a colorist for Wildstorm and as a copy editor on several projects. She worked closely with her brother, John no, Longtime comics executive responsible for early computer colorization of Wildstorm. As the operator of Artist Alley, she helps find sponsors to help sustain the area. It’s important to remember that while SDCC’s Artist Alley is a relatively small area now, when Nee started it was a much larger part of the exhibition grounds, so organizing it wasn’t an easy task.
Social media was flooded with tributes, with many talking about how she went out of her way to support artists and give newcomers a start.
Jackie Estrada:
Cooley Hamner: Just learned of this heartbreaking news of his death. Clydene Nigeria. We have been friends for almost 35 years (next year will be that milestone). She’s known as being friends with almost every artist in the industry, and that’s how we met. In 1991, I went to SDCC for the first time—I knew almost no one, and no one knew me. She didn’t know me at all and had no real reason to give me a break. I had just started and she saw something in me – something she reminded me of many times over the years. She ran Artist Alley and gave me a table on the spot (which I guess is almost unheard of today), an act of kindness that gave me a career so to speak. Look, I know I’m not the only one she did that to, she probably started the careers of a thousand artists. This has been her personality from as long as I’ve known her. But it meant the world to me, a skinny, unknown guy from Alabama who could draw some and just needed this opportunity.
We are always in touch. She likes to send me links to books, news articles, and recommendations that she thinks I might like. She especially loves talking to me about all the crazy things in the world, from politics to the paranormal. She has a keen eye for it, she appreciates it like crazy – maybe that’s why she likes our artists so much.
Everyone who knows her knows she’s endured a lot of physical hardship over the years, but I never knew she couldn’t handle it all like a champ, even though she recently had to lose a leg. She has the most unbreakable attitude of anyone I know.
I’m sorry to see you go, Claydon. You are important to all of us. I was going to say “more than you know,” but I don’t know if that’s true.
I like to think you do know this.
Condolences to the Nee family and my beloved old friend John Nee. The comic book world has lost a man that fans didn’t recognize, but who has been an integral part of the industry for a long time.
Hug your family and reach out to friends. You never know how long you have them.
Leonard Sultana: My heart is broken: Clydene Nee was one of the first to join the group comic con international The family welcomed me as a friend – first because they saw my passion for the event and invited me to join her Artist Alley team as a volunteer in 2012, and later simply because Caroline and I would Meet her. I was saddened to hear that she passed away after years of medical ordeals that she struggled to overcome in the years I knew her.
Clydene However, he is better known as a respected artist and an incredible and inspiring supporter of others, curating the vibrant conference floor area and during the informative and educational Room 2 conference sessions. There will be many tributes over the coming days and weeks as many who entered the industry under Claydon’s guidance learn this sad news. 
For myself, this news is even more sad because I feel like Clayden is turning over a new leaf and getting better, even after recently losing a leg to an infection. I now regret not meeting her this year in San Diego because I thought we would have enough time to meet in 2025. 
Brandon Shifflett: Clydeney Nee is a tireless advocate for the Shifflett brothers. Jarrod I will never forget what she did for us.
She almost single-handedly created our career when she included us in Artist Alley at San Diego Comic-Con in the early nineties, before sculptors graced those aisles. She gave us a chance.
Twenty-five years later she would generously tell those in our group that it was the “easy and obvious” choice for us to attend Alley at the time, but we knew she had to defend the decision when she made it.
She has a lot of power at SDCC, and every time I see her wield that power, it’s for the artist, not for the scam, not for the publisher, not for the man. But for individual artists.
Like when she decided to let two unknown guys from Beaumont, Texas, make clay sculptures in her flat, two-dimensional paper art.
She will be greatly missed. All our love to her friends and family
I am friends with Clydene in real life and on Facebook, and I follow her struggles and encourage her whenever I can. She is a lovely person and one of those people who keeps things going while helping others. Sometimes the most influential names aren’t the most recognizable names, and Clayton made a huge difference for many at the world’s biggest pop culture event. Without her, nothing would be the same.
