Hall of Fame

Jack Jackson, aka “Jaxon,” created, wrote, drew, and self-published what comics historians consider one of the first underground comix, God Nose. He was art director at Family Dog and a co-founder of Rip-Off Press. He contributed to such underground anthology titles as Skull, Slow Death, and Tales of the Leather Nun. Jaxon went on to pioneer historical graphic novels with the innovative Comanche Moon series for Last Gasp. He continued chronicling his home state’s history via El Alamo, Los Tejanos, and Lost Cause. Inducted 2011

Bob Kane entered the comic book industry in 1936 as a freelancer for Jerry Iger’s Wow! What a Magazine! At the Eisner-Iger studio, he drew funny animal strips and humor features. His first adventure strip was “Rusty and His Pals” for DC’s Adventure Comics. In 1939 he collaborated with writer Bill Finger to create a new strip for Detective Comics: “The Bat-Man.” The rest is history! Inducted 1998

In the mid-1940s Robert Kanigher wrote the Justice Society of America, Hawkman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman (which he also edited). In 1952 he took over writing and editing the Big Five DC war titles and created Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace, and The Unknown Soldier (all with Joe Kubert) and The Haunted Tank (with Russ Heath). In the late 1950s and early 1960s he was involved in creating such characters as Viking Prince, the Metal Men, and Poison Ivy. He also scripted the first appearance of the Flash in Showcase #4, the comic often credited as launching the Silver Age of Comics. Inducted 2007

With Gasoline Alley, Frank King created a neighborhood full of interesting characters who did something no other comics characters did: they aged. He was also a master of the Sunday newspaper page, utilizing it to its full potential by often creating a full-page image and dividing it into panels. Inducted 2001

Kasuo Koike is the co-creator and writer of such classic Japanese comics series as Lone Wolf and Cub, Samurai Executioner, and Crying Freeman. He is also an influential educator, having established the Gekikia Sonjuka, a college course that teaches manga, and mentoring a whole new generation of mangaka (comics artists). Inducted 2004

Although B. Krigstein was not the most prolific artist in the EC Comics stable, he was one of the most influential. His experiments with storytelling and the use of zip-a-tone contributed to his distinctive style. His story “The Master Race” in EC’s Impact #1 is often cited as among the top comics stories ever told. Krigstein went on from comics to become an influential painter. Inducted 2003

Best known for his wild and wacky humor on the early issue of MAD and the other publications he edited (Humbug, Help!) and for his long-running Playboy strip “Little Annie Fanny,” Harvey Kurtzman also made an indelible mark in comics with the war comics he wrote and edited for EC in the early 1950s. Kurtzman was a major influence on a wide range of writers, artists, filmmakers, and particularly underground cartoonists. Inducted 1989