William Erwin Eisner was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series The Spirit (1940–1952) was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term "graphic novel" with the publication of his book A Contract with God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Award was named in his honor and is given to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium; he was one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt, was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2005. In 1946 Hugo Pratt became part of the so-called Group of Venice with Fernando Carcupino, Dino Battaglia and Damiano Damiani.
Image Comics is an American comic-book publisher and is the third-largest direct-market comic-book and graphic-novel publisher in the industry by market share.
Manuel Rodriguez, better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M.C., provided inspiration for his work, as did his left-wing politics. Strongly influenced by 1950s EC Comics illustrator Wally Wood, Spain pushed Wood's sharp, crisp black shadows and hard-edged black outlines into a more simplified, stylized direction. His work also extended the eroticism of Wood's female characters.
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, referred to as the comics industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the comics industry. They are named in honor of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner, who was a regular participant in the award ceremony until his death in 2005. The Eisner Awards include the Comic Industry's Hall of Fame.
Eric James Shanower is an American cartoonist, best known for his Oz novels and comics, and for the ongoing retelling of the Trojan War as Age of Bronze.
Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist. He is best known as the creator of the self-published comic book series Bone.
Lewis Trondheim is a French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons. He explained his choice of pseudonym after the Norwegian city of Trondheim as follows: "As a last name I wanted to use a city's name, but Lewis Bordeaux or Lewis Toulouse didn't sound so good. Then I thought about this city, Trondheim… Maybe someday I will publish a book under my real name, in order to remain anonymous."
Craig Matthew Thompson is an American graphic novelist best known for his books Good-bye, Chunky Rice (1999), Blankets (2003), Carnet de Voyage (2004), Habibi (2011), and Space Dumplins (2015). Thompson has received four Harvey Awards, three Eisner Awards, and two Ignatz Awards. In 2007, his cover design for the Menomena album Friend and Foe received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package.
Shadowline, Inc., is an imprint of Image Comics established by Image co-founder Jim Valentino. The name is an homage to Valentino's character, ShadowHawk.
Ben Templesmith is an Australian comic book artist best known for his work in the American comic book industry, most notably the Image Comics series Fell, with writer Warren Ellis, and IDW's 30 Days of Night with writer Steve Niles, which was adapted into a motion picture of the same name. He has also created book covers, movie posters, trading cards, and concept work for film.
Everett M. Arnold, also known as Busy Arnold, was an American publisher and an early comic-book entrepreneur whose company Quality Comics published during the 1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. He was also instrumental in the publishing arrangement that led to Will Eisner's newspaper Sunday-supplement comics series The Spirit.
Charles J. "Jerry" Grandenetti was an American comic book artist and advertising art director, best known for his work with writer-artist Will Eisner on the celebrated comics feature "The Spirit", and for his decade-and-a-half run on many DC Comics war series. He also co-created the DC comic book Prez with Joe Simon.
Derek McCulloch is a writer, known for graphic novels such as Stagger Lee, Gone to Amerikay, Pug, and Displaced Persons. He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, raised in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and lives in Oakland, California.
ACT-I-VATE was an American webcomics collective based on an original idea by Dean Haspiel and founded by Haspiel and seven other cartoonists. It started out on the blogging platform Livejournal, and then moved to its own dedicated website.
Comicraft is a company which provides graphic design and lettering services to various companies.
Joe Keatinge is an American comic book writer and editor, best known for his writing work with Marvel Comics and Image Comics, and as the co-editor of Popgun with Mark Andrew Smith.
Gabriel Bá is a Brazilian comic book artist best known for his work on The Umbrella Academy, Casanova, and Daytripper. He is the twin brother of fellow comic book artist Fábio Moon.
Mike Cavallaro is an American comic book writer and artist. His most notable work is in the realm of middle grade comics, including collaborations with Jane Yolen and his own graphic novel series Nico Bravo.
Dave Olbrich is an editor and executive in the American comic book industry. He was instrumental in the creation of two awards for achievement in comic books, voted on by professionals, the Kirby Awards and the Eisner Awards. He was a co-founder and publisher of Malibu Comics. While at Malibu, he helped launch Image Comics. Currently he produces and hosts a YouTube channel about comics and comic-related issues, Geekview Tavern, which began releasing episodes in 2020.
