Comic writer and publisher Roger McKenzie, who was known for his work on Daredevil, died in hospice care on August 21, 2026. He passed from end-stage heart failure and kidney disease at the age of 75.

McKenzie was known for giving Daredevil comics a more grounded, grittier style. His work on the book helped to save it from cancellation.

He was born on November 8, 1950, and started working in comics in 1976 with a short story in Vampirella #50. McKenzie was a regular writer at Warren Publishing on Vampirella and other horror magazines like Creepy and Eerie. Around that time, McKenzie started writing for DC on western titles like Weird Western Tales, where he created Cinnamon. He also wrote for their horror anthologies like House of Mystery and House of Secrets.

McKenzie took over writing Daredevil with issue 151, and the darker tone he employed was adopted by creators who followed him. He created Ben Urich and began collaborating with Frank Miller to produce a successful run of the title.

When he was writing Daredevil, McKenzie also wrote Captain America. He originated the idea of having Captain American run for president, but Marvel rejected the idea. Later, they approved it when John Byrne and Roger Stern were on the title, and McKenzie was given credit for the idea.

He wrote the comic adaptation of Battlestar Galactica from ’79 to ’80, and wrote a handful of Ghost Rider issues. McKenzie wrote stories in Marvel Fanfare, which included an Iron Man vs. Doctor Octopus story. He wrote the Star Hawks newspaper comic strip.

McKenzie wrote for independent publishers including Next Man at Comico and Sun Runners at Pacific. In 1986, he and Mark L. Hamlin co-founded Pied Piper Comics, where McKenzie was co-publisher and managing editor.

He spent a long time working outside of comics, then returned to be executive editor of the Charlton Neo line in the mid-2010s. He wrote The Charlton Arrow and co-created and wrote the Spookman weekly webcomic.