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.
Al Feldstein served as editor, writer, and artist for EC Comics beginning in 1947. He wrote most of what are considered the “classic” EC stories for the horror and science fiction titles, along with producing covers and interior art. He took over as editor of MAD magazine in 1956, which he shepherded until his retirement in 1984. Still active as an artist, Feldstein is now a well-known painter. Inducted 2003
Lou Fine is known as one of the best artists to work in the Golden Age of comics. His career began at the Eisner/Iger Studio, where he specialized in covers for Fox Features titles. For Quality, he drew such features as “The Black Condor” and “Uncle Sam,” and he drew The Spirit for Will Eisner during Eisner’s stint in the service. His most highly regarded efforts were his art on “The Ray” in Smash Comics and his covers for Hit Comics. Inducted 2005
One of the unsung heroes of the Golden Age, Bill Finger, along with Bob Kane, co-created Batman. Besides writing the first Batman stories and the first Robin story, he is credited with dreaming up such villains as the Penguin and Catwoman. He also wrote the first Green Lantern story and is the namesake of Comic-Con International’s Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. Inducted 1999
For decades Harold R. Foster produced gorgeous Sunday comic strips of Tarzan and his own creation, Prince Valiant, which he wrote and illustrated for almost 40 years. He is lauded by all as one of the great artists of the comic strip field. Inducted 1998
Gardner Fox was the first “full-time professional” comic book writer, with a career that spanned 34 years, from 1938 to 1972. In all, he churned out more than 4,000 scripts for DC, where he created the Flash, Sandman, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Adam Strange, the Justice Society, and the Justice League, and he wrote for numerous other titles, from Batman to the Atom. Inducted 1999
Working in what was primarily a men’s industry, Ramona Fradon drew comics for DC in the 1950s and 1960s, with a memorable run on Aquaman. She also co-created Metamorpho. After a hiatus in the late 1960s, she returned to DC to draw such titles as Plastic Man. She left DC in 1980 to bring her distinctive style the Brenda Starr newspaper strip, which she continued to draw until her retirement in 1995. Inducted 2006
Although he worked on both comic books (EC Comics stories and covers) and comic strips (Li’l Abner, Johnny Comet), Frank Frazetta is best known for his book and magazine covers (Tarzan, Creepy, Eerie, and especially Conan) and movie posters. His style has influenced untold numbers of fantasy painters and illustrators. Inducted 1995
Although most people probably think of MAD magazine when they think of Gaines (he was the publisher of the humor magazine from its inception until his death), William Gaines had his greatest influence in founding and publishing the EC Comics line, from Tales From the Crypt to Weird Science. Inducted 1993
Writer Steve Gerber, best known for co-creating Howard the Duck, wrote such titles as The Defenders, Man-Thing, Omega the Unknown, and Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel and was one of the founders of the Malibu Comics Ultraverse. Inducted 2010
As a penciller/inker, Dick Giordano worked for a variety of publishers, including Charlton, DC, Marvel, and Dell. He also served as editor-in-chief at Charlton and as executive editorial director of DC Comics, where he was the guiding force behind Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, among other projects. Inducted 2010
Jean Giraud first came to the attention of Americans as the artist on the western graphic novel series Lt. Blueberry. In 1975, he founded Metal Hurlant (which became Heavy Metal in the U.S.). His signature art style on such SF/fantasy series as Airtight Garage and Arzach (which he created under the name Moebius), has been highly influential on a wide variety of artists. Inducted 1998
Reuben “Rube” Goldberg was a cartoonist best known for his creation of the “Rube Goldberg machine,” a contraption that performs a simple action in a convoluted way. Golberg drew a number of syndicated strips, including Mike and Ike (They Look Alike), Boob McNutt, Foolish Questions, and The Weekly Meeting of the Tuesday Women's Club. The cartoons that brought him lasting fame involved a character named Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts. In that series, Goldberg drew labeled schematics of the comical "inventions" that would later bear his name. Goldberg was a founding member and the first president of the National Cartoonists Society and is the namesake of the Reuben Awards, which the NCS gives to the Cartoonist of the Year.
Archie Goodwin is considered by all to have been the “editor’s editor.” He left his mark first as editor (and chief writer) of Creepy and Eerie for Warren in the 1960s, then went on to edit the Epic line of creator-owned projects at Marvel. He then moved on to DC, where he served as editor of a variety of Batman titles until his death in 1998. Inducted 1998
One of the most famous of all European comics writers, René Goscinny began his career as the scriptwriter for the popular western strip Lucky Luke. In 1959 co-founded the influential comics weekly Pilote, for which he and artist Albert Uderzo created a new series, Asterix the Gaul. This strip became wildly successful in France and achieved popularity around the world. Inducted 2005
If Carl Barks was Disney’s “Duck Man,” Floyd Gottfredson was Disney’s “Mouse Man.” Floyd began writing and drawing the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip in 1930, with his classic period going up through 1955. He continued to work on the strip until 1975. Inducted 2006
