She was 56. Her family said she died of sadness, after her husband's death a year ago. I don't need to know how exactly, I just understand what it means.
Her book, Persepolis, will always be one of those things you can point at if you want to make the point that just because you combine illustrations with a story does not make a piece of work is necessarily for children. It belongs in the pantheon with Maus, and Eisner's body of work on the ordinary people of NYC. and some of Charles Burns' stuff. It was a black and white piece, drawn in a cartoony style, telling her Iranian childhood right around the time of teh revolution in '79, and her family's struggle to adapt to a changing world. It's a friggin' masterpiece.
SHe apparently directed some movies later on, which I am not familiar wit. To me, she's the brilliant author/artist of "Perseopolis", first and foremost.
Life's a giant curveball. Embrace it like you embrace a wild bear,.