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Anime, Manga Essayist Fred Patten Passes Away at 77

The Twitter accounts for writer Roz Gibson, Dogpatch Press editor David Popovich and Otaku USA magazine reported on Monday that writer Fred Patten passed away earlier in the day shortly after 8:00 a.m. He was 77. He was found unresponsive on the morning of November 1 and never regained consciousness.

Patten was a prolific writer, essayist, and critic who contributed for over five decades to numerous publications centered around science fiction, fantasy, anime, manga, and the furry fandom, including Newtype USA and Animation World Magazine. He was a founding member of the original Los Angeles-based Cartoon/Fantasy Organization (C/FO), one of the first fan clubs for anime in the United States.

He was also one of the first employees of Streamline Pictures, and worked in the company from 1991 to 2002 as a story and script editor on such titles as Dirty Pair: Project Eden, Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Wicked City, Barefoot Gen, 8 Man After, Casshan, and many others.

Patten published the Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews book, which collects much of his writing about anime and manga, in 2004. He had suffered a stroke in March 2005, but continued to contribute to fandom up until this year. Among his numerous honors were Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award in 1980 and the 64th World Science Fiction Convention's Special Committee Award in 2006.

Sources: Roz Gibson's Twitter account, Dogpatch Press Editor David Popovich's Twitter account, Otaku USA Twitter account