Raymond Briggs. 

Popular English illustrator, graphic novelist and author who is widely celebrated for his 1978 masterpiece The Snowman, which was adapted into the award-winning Channel 4 animated special directed by Dianne Jackson and produced by John Coates in 1982. His books also inspired animated specials and movies such as When the Wind Blows (1986), Father Christmas (1991), The Bear (1998), Fungus the Bogeyman (2004) and Lupus Films’ 2016 feature Ethel & Ernest. Died August 9, age 88. READ MORE