"Wearing Superman pajamas and covered with his Batman blanket, comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum died Sunday." So begins a remarkable Associated Press story on the death of the man who illustrated the X-Men comics in the 1970 and, apparently, co-created the characters Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Colossus.

The world has lost two stars - veteran Hollywood actor Jack Palance and young Australian Belinda Emmett. Details are at my Celebrity Deaths Archive.
11.37am update: US singer Gerald Levert, of I Swear fame, also died on Friday.

American crooner Freddy Fender has joined the great heavenly chorus. There's more at my Celebrity Deaths Archive.