as an animator for Saturday-morning TV cartoons and later did commissioned art for comics fans. A rare example of Heath working on super-hero material was his inking Michael Golden's penciled artwork on Mister Miracle #24 and 25. Heath and writer Cary Bates launched The Lone Ranger comic strip on September 13, 1981. His last comic-book story was penciling and inking the four-page flashback sequence of the 22-page story "The Mortal Iron Fist, Conclusion", in Marvel Comics' The Immortal Iron Fist #20 (Jan. 2009) He went on to provide cover art for publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim's satiric comic book glamourpuss #11–13 (Jan.–May 2010), with his last known published comics work the one-page illustration "That Russ Heath Girl #4", appearing in issue #19 (May 2011). He lived in Van Nuys, California, where in his 80s he had knee surgery after The Hero Initiative and the Comic Art Professional Society of Los Angeles raised money to help pay for an operation. Awards Heath received an Inkpot Award in 1997 and was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009. Heath received the Sergio Award from the Comic Art Professional Society in 2010 and the National Cartoonists Society's Milton Caniff Award in 2014. In 2018, Heath was awarded the Inkwell Awards Stacy Aragon Special Recognition Award for his lifetime achievement as comic book inker. References External links Exhibition and catalog (bilingual) Steel and Flesh. The art of Russ Heath Casal Solleric (Palma de Mallorca). Spain Fan site that includes claimed interview with Heath: "With the help of Jeff Wyman and Alan Barnard, we were able to reach renowned comic book artist, Russ Heath (of DC fame among much other work.) We spoke to Russ directly on 1/8/04 to talk about his classic Comic Book Ads." Russ Heath at Mike's Amazing World of Comics Russ Heath at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators 1926 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists Advertising artists and illustrators American animators American comics artists Artists from New Jersey DC Comics people Deaths from cancer in California Golden Age comics creators Inkpot Award winners Mad (magazine) cartoonists Marvel Comics people Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey Silver Age comics creators United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees