Lynn Varley

1958–

Lynn Varley is a colorist notable for her collaborations with her former husband, writer/artist Frank Miller. She provided the coloring for Miller’s Ronin (1984), an experimental six-issue series from DC Comics, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), a four-issue miniseries that went on to become a commercial and critical success. Subsequently, Varley colored other Miller books, including Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, 300, Elektra Lives Again, and Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (with Geoff Darrow).

Inducted 2024

Mort Walker

1923–2018

Mort Walker was one of the best-known gag-a-day cartoonists in the world. He created three long-running and famous newspaper comics: his signature series Beetle Bailey (1950– ), Hi and Lois with Dik Browne (1954– ), and Boner’s Ark (1968–2000). Walker was not only a creative spirit in comedy, but he also loved his profession. He wrote various essays and books about comics. He was the first to think up names for comics symbols and imagery that had previously remained unnamed. Walker also turned the National Cartoonists’ Society into an actual professional organization and established its annual Reuben Award to honor artists and writers. He founded a Museum of Cartoon Art (1974–2002), whose huge collection of original artwork is nowadays part of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

Inducted 2023

Lynd Ward

1908–1985

As a pioneer in the graphic novel, Lynd Ward produced six wordless novels in wood engravings from 1929 to 1937. His first novel, God’s Man, was followed by Madman’s Drum, Wild Pilgrimage, Prelude to a Million Years, Song Without Words, and Vertigo. All six books have been collected in a two-volume slip-cased edition by Library of the Americas.

Inducted 2011

James Warren

1930–

James Warren published Famous Monsters of Filmland, a magazine that influenced just about everyone in comics in the 1950s and 1960s, then went on to publish such landmark comics magazines as Creepy, Eerie, Blazing Combat, Vampirella, and The Spirit in the 1960s–1980s. Creators whose work was highlighted in these magazines included Archie Goodwin, Louise Jones (Simonson), Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Bernie Wrightson, Billy Graham, Neal Adams, Wally Wood, Alex Toth, John Severin, and Russ Heath.

Inducted 2024

Bill Watterson

1958–

Cartoonist Bill Watterson created the strip Calvin and Hobbes, which was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate from 1985 to 1995. The wildly popular series featured the highly imaginative little boy Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who came to life only with Calvin. In 1986, Watterson became the youngest cartoonist ever to receive the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award—the industry’s highest honor. Watterson refused all merchandising for the characters, and after its 10-year run, he ended the series, saying that he had done all he could with Calvin and Hobbes. The final strip ran on December 31, 1995.

Inducted 2020

Len Wein

1948–2017

Len Wein is the co-creator of the legendary comic book series Swamp Thing, Human Target, and Brother Voodoo, as well as Wolverine and the New X-Men. He is noted for long runs writing almost every major character in the business, ranging from Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Green Lantern, and the Flash, at DC to Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Mighty Thor, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men at Marvel.

Inducted 2007

Mort Weisinger

1915–1978

The Superman editor at DC Comics during the 1940s–1960s, Mort Weisinger is also credited with co-creating Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Johnny Quick. It was under his tenure that many aspects of the Superman universe came into being, from Supergirl and Krypto to the Legion of Super-Heroes and the various types of kryptonite.

Inducted 2010

Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson

1890–1968

In the fall of 1934, Major Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications and published New Fun #1, the first comic book containing all-original material. The magazine was retitled More Fun in 1936. Wheeler-Nicholson added a second magazine, New Comics, in 1935, which became New Adventure Comics with issue 12 and finally Adventure Comics with #32. The third and final title published under his aegis was Detective Comics, premiering in 1937.

Inducted 2009

Ogden Whitney

1918–1975

Ogden Whitney is best known as the artist of “Herbie, the Fat Fury,” the strange boy addicted to lollipops who appeared in ACG Comics from the late 1950s to mid-1960s. Herbie (scripted by Shane O’Shea aka Richard Hughes) made his first appeared in Forbidden Worlds in 1958 and got his own feature in 1964. In the later 1960s.

Inducted 2007

Al Williamson

1931–2010

Al Williamson was the “young guy” among the EC artists of the early 1950s, producing classic stories for the various science fiction titles, often in collaboration with Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, and Roy Krenkel. After the EC heyday, Williamson moved on to draw a wide variety of stories for Atlas, ACG, and other companies. In the 1960s, he found his niche in adventure comic strips, with a regular gig on Secret Agent X-9 and then a memorable stint as the artist on the Star Wars comics strip.

Inducted 2000

Barry Windsor-Smith

1948–

As “Barry Smith,” Barry Windsor Smith became an immediate fan favorite in the early 1970s as penciler for Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian. After pursuing a fine-arts career, producing limited-edition fantasy-themed prints, he returned to Marvel in the 1980s, drawing and coloring Machine Man and writing and drawing “Weapon X,” his own take on Wolverine. In the early 1990s he served as creative director and lead artist at Valiant Comics. Since that time his work has been published by Malibu, Dark Horse, Image, and Fantagraphics.

Inducted 2008

Bill Woggon

1911–2003

Bill Woggon created “Katy Keene, the Pinup Queen” for Archie Comics in 1945. Katy appeared not just in her own book but also in Laugh and Pep Comics, giant comics like Katy Keene Pinup Parade, and occasional issues of Archie Giant Series Magazine. Notable about Woggon’s comics was that he encouraged fans to send in their designs for clothes (as well as cars and even rocketships), for Katy and her accompanying cast of characters. The series ran until 1961. Woggon then went to work on Millie the Lovable Monster for Dell. A revival of Katy Keene comics occurred in the 1980s, with reprints of Woggon’s stories, as well as new stories illustrated by other cartoonists.

Inducted 2015

Marv Wolfman

1946–

Marv Wolfman is best known for Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths at DC and as the writer/creator of Blade, the Vampire Hunter and Bullseye (the prime villain in the 2003 movie Daredevil) at Marvel. Marv has also been editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, senior editor at DC Comics, and founding editor of Disney Adventures magazine.

Inducted 2011

Basil Wolverton

1908–1978

Although he will be forever associated with the “Lena the Hyena” drawing he did for Al Capp’s Li’l Abner, Basil Wolverton produced memorable science fiction comics during the Golden Age, including the “Spacehawk” and “Space Patrol” series. He also produced hundreds of caricatures and other drawings in his distinctive stippled style and produced work for MAD.

Inducted 2000

Tatjana Wood

1926–

Tatjana Weintrob immigrated from Germany to New York in 1948, attending the Traphagen School of Fashion. In 1949, she met comics artist Wally Wood, and they married in 1950. During the 1950s and 1960s, she sometimes made uncredited contributions to Wood’s artwork. Beginning in 1969, she did extensive work for DC Comics as a comic book colorist. She was the main colorist for DC’s covers from 1973 through the mid-1980s. She did coloring on the interiors of such acclaimed series as Grant Morrison’s Animal Man, Alan Moore’s issues of Swamp Thing, and Camelot 3000.

Inducted 2023

Wallace Wood

1927–1981

Wallace Wood ‘s art style first captured readers in EC’s science fiction titles and particularly in MAD. He gave the distinctive look to the “Mars Attacks’ trading cards and created, edited, and drew T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in the 1960s. He also produced work for Marvel, including Daredevil, and for DC (All-Star Comics). In his later years, he published one of the most polished fanzines (Witzend) and self-published a wide variety of works, from The Pipsqueak Papers to Cannon and the adult Sally Forth.

Inducted 1992

Bernie Wrightson

1947–2017

Bernie Wrightson is perhaps best known as the co-creator (with Len Wein) of Swamp Thing. He worked for both DC and Marvel early in his career, with Swamp Thing hitting big for DC in 1972. In the mid-1970s Bernie’s work in Warren’s horror magazines brought him further popularity, and in 1975 he formed The Studio with Michael Kaluta, Jeffrey Jones, and Barry Windsor-Smith. During this time he produced the art for an edition of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. The early 1980s saw the appearance of his own Captain Sternn for Heavy Metal, the Freakshow and Creepshow graphic novels, and other collaborations with Stephen King.

Inducted 2014