Eisner Hall of Fame announces 19 inductees for 2024

Comic-Con International has announced 19 inductees for the Will Eisner Awards Hall of Fame this year, as chosen by their panel of judges. These 19 will automatically be inducted, while additional choices for the general vote will be announced in April.

With four more inductees typically chosen by voting professionals, that means we’re looking at a Hall of Fame class of 23 people. So it’s a good thing they have their own separate ceremony now, prior to the evening’s ceremony where the Eisner winners are announced.

Last year the Eisners announced the split in the ceremony, which was also the first year they began honoring a larger group of people. Typically the Eisner judges would pick 2-6 people to automatically induct, and then voters would choose four more. Last year that number jumped to 15 automatic inductees.

This year’s automatic inductees are:

• Creig Flessel, comics art/writer for DC who created the Shining Knight.
• A. B. Frost, an illustrator/cartoonist whose work in the late 1800s and early 1900s influenced other early newspaper comic strip artists.
• Billy Graham, one of the co-creators of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire and artist on Don McGregor’s influential Black Panther stories.
• Albert Kanter, producer of Classic Comics, which later became the well-known Classics Illustrated line of comics.
• Warren Kremer, the Harvey Comics veteran who created Casper and Richie Rich
• Oscar Lebeck, one of the founders of Dell Comics known for hiring Walt Kelly and John Stanley.
• Frans Masereel, a Flemish woodcut artist who is credited with creating some of the earliest graphic novels.
• Keiji Nakaszawa, renowned manga creator whose work includes Barefoot Gen and the autobiographical Ore wa Mita (I Saw It).
• Noel Sickles, political cartoonist and artist on the influential aviation comic strip Scorchy Smith.
• Cliff Sterrett, creator of the first comic strip starring a heroine in the leading role, Polly and Her Pals.
• Elmer C. Stoner, one of the first African American comic book artists whose work included Blue Beetle, Iron Munro and Detective Comics, among others.
• George Tuska, longtime comics artist whose career spanned newspaper strips and comics; also co-created Luke Cage, Shanna the She-Devil and Moondragon, among others. .
• Kim Deitch, pioneer underground cartoonist who created Waldo the Cat.
• Gary Groth, comics critic and publisher of The Comics Journal and Fantagraphics Books.
• Don McGregor, longtime comics writer known for his work on Black Panther, Killraven, Sabre and Nathanial Dusk.
• Bryan Talbot, UK underground creator referred to as the “father of the British graphic novel;” also known for his work on 2000AD, Sandman, The Nazz and the Tale of One Bad Rat.
• Ron Turner, founder of the underground publisher and distributor Last Gasp.
• Lynn Varley, a colorist known for her work with Frank Miller on The Dark Knight Returns, Ronin and more.
• James Warren, publisher of Creepy, Eerie, Blazing Combat, Vampirella and The Spirit

The 2024 Hall of Fame judges include Dr. William Foster, Michael T. Gilbert, Karen Green, Alonso Nuñez, Jim Thompson and Maggie Thompson. Inductees will be honored at a ceremony during the San Diego Comic Con on the morning of July 26.