Hall of Fame

Since the founding of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (and their previous incarnation, the Kirby Awards), the following individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Alex Raymond

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Will Eisner Hall of Fame
Alex
Raymond

1909-1956

Alex Raymond made his place in comics history not only by creating Flash Gordon but for influencing artists such as Al Williamson with his beautiful line work and science fiction settings. Raymond’s other comic strip work includes Secret Agent X-9, Jungle Jim, and Rip Kirby. Inducted 1996

Jerry Robinson

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Jerry Robinson

Photo by Dan Chusid

Jerry
Robinson

1922-2011

As Bob Kane’s first assistant on Batman, artist Jerry Robinson was the first to draw both Robin and The Joker, and he played a major role in their creations. He drew numerous Batman stories and covers for Detective and Batman between 1939 and 1946. In the late 1940s, he drew such features as “The Vigilante” and “Jonny Quick.” He moved to the comics strip realm in the 1950s and spent the next several decades in that world, created his own cartoonists’ syndicate, and wrote the seminal book The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art. Inducted 2004

John Romita

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
John Romita

Photo by Jackie Estrada

John
Romita

1930-

John Romita drew Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man from 1966 to 1972, giving the definitive look to such characters as Mary Jane Watson, the Kingpin, and the Punisher. In 1973, he became Marvel’s art director, a position he held until his retirement in 1996, and where he created the initial designs on such seminal characters as Wolverine. In 1977, Romita also co-created the Spider-Man newspaper strip, along with writer Stan Lee. Inducted 2002

Alex Schomberg

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Alex Schomberg

Photo by Jackie Estrada

Alex
Schomberg

1905-1998

The prolific Alex Schomburg turned out hundreds of comics and pulp magazine covers in the 1930s and 1940s. His covers for World War II–era titles are noted for their large casts of characters in dynamic action, and his airbrush science fiction covers are prized for their brilliant colors and attractive females. Inducted 1999

Charles M. Schulz

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Charles M. Schulz
Charles M.
Schulz

1922-2000

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy—the late Charles Schulz gave us these characters and more with the most popular comic strip of all time, Peanuts. The strip was adapted into a series of animated specials for television that are still being shown decades after they were first aired. For many, Peanuts is a cultural milestone. Inducted 1997

Julius Schwartz

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Julius Schwartz

Photo by Jackie Estrada

Julius
Schwartz

1915-2004

Julie Schwartz served as editor at DC Comics for 49 years, starting in the 1940s. In the early 1950s, he edited DC’s premier science fiction titles, Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space, then went on to usher in the Silver Age with revivals of revised versions of such Golden Age characters as the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom, while the Justice League of America became the Silver Age equivalent of the Justice Society. Inducted 1997

E.C. Segar

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Will Eisner Hall of Fame
E.C.
Segar

1894-1938

E. C. Segar originated Popeye, Olive Oyl, Wimpy, and other now-classic cartoon characters in his comic strip Thimble Theater, which debuted in 1919. The strip ran for 10 years before Popeye first appeared; the rest is history. Inducted 2001

John Severin

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
John Severin
John
Severin

1921-2012

John Severin was an artist equally at home drawing humorous and serious comics. At EC Comics he drew wacky stories for MAD (“Melvin of the Apes”), and western and war stories for Two-Fisted Tales. After EC he continued both trends, producing humor features for Cracked along with western and war stories for Marvel, Warren, and other companies. Inducted 2003

Marie Severin

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Marie Severin

Photo by Tom Deleon

Marie
Severin

1929-

Marie Severin was the colorist for all the EC Comics titles in the early 1950s. In the 1960s, she joined Marvel Comics, where over the next two decades she not only anchored the famous “bullpen” but drew such comics as The Incredible Hulk, Kull, and Not Brand Echh! She went back to coloring in the 1990s, primarily for DC titles. Inducted 2001

Gilbert Shelton

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Gilbert Shelton
Gilbert
Shelton

1940-

Cartoonist Gilbert Shelton began his first notable comic strip in the early 1960s, writing and drawing Wonder Warthog for the University of Texas’ satirical magazines Bacchanal and Texas Ranger. He moved to San Francisco in 1968 and became part of the burgeoning underground comix scene. After producing the comic Feds 'n' Heads (published by Print Mint), Shelton created his most famous strip, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in 1968, and a spinoff strip, Fat Freddy's Cat, in 1969, when he also co-founded Rip Off Press. Inducted 2012

Joe Shuster

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Joe Shuster
Joe
Shuster

1914-1992

While teenagers in Cleveland, science fiction fans Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman. And a whole industry was born. The duo co-created Funnyman in the mid 1940s. Inducted 1992

Jerry Siegel

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Jerry Siegel
Jerry
Siegel

1914-1996

While teenagers in Cleveland, science fiction fans Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman. And a whole industry was born. Siegel continued to write comics into the 1960s, including Superman, and the duo co-created Funnyman in the mid 1940s. Inducted 1992

Joe Simon

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Joe Simon
Joe
Simon

1913-2011

With Jack Kirby, Joe Simon co-created Captain America, invented boy gang comics, and produced the first romance comics. Among the titles they created were Young Allies, Boy Commandos, Young Romance, and Black Magic. On his own, Simon created Prez and Brother Power the Geek for DC. Inducted 1999

Art Spiegelman

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Art Spiegelman

Photo by Nadja Spiegelman

Art
Spiegelman

1940-

The cartoonist is best known for his Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novel, Maus. As the co-publisher of the groundbreaking periodical RAW, Art Spiegelman published the works of a wide range of alternative cartoonists. His most recent works have included the book MetaMouse and the Little Lit anthologies of comics for kids (edited with wife Francoise Mouly). Inducted 1999

Dick Sprang

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version
Dick Sprang

Photo by Jackie Estrada

Dick
Sprang

1915-2000

Many comics aficionados consider Dick Sprang to have been the Batman artist. He gave a distinctive square-jawed look to the character from the mid-1940s through the early 1960s. In the 1970s, he joined the list of artists creating re-creations of his original work and was a frequent guest at comic conventions. Inducted 1999

Pages