10 most famous comic book artists of all time

Comics have made a huge contribution to pop culture, and literally in every industry - from dynamic blockbuster action films to the Lego cartoon. Today, the influence of comic book artists has reached a climax. In this article, we will take you back in time to learn about the most famous artists who have dedicated their lives to comics.

Pencil drawings were just the beginning

It's been 80 years since Superman's fateful first appearance in Action Comics magazine, but the number of artists eager to draw superhero comics continues to grow.

Coming up and drawing stories and characters is a real art. Comic creators are revered all over the world for these stories, so beloved by the public. These geek gods include a variety of artists ranging from innovator Dave Gibbons to legendary Jack Kirby. Each of them contributed something of their own to the development of comic book culture.

Many people underestimate comics and refer to them as a primitive art form, but this does not stop them from being a huge part of modern pop culture. At least, this can be seen from the fact that during the summer of 2014, as many as three grandiose blockbusters based on comics were released.

In this article, we are going to tell you about the most famous comic book authors. The drawings of these people will forever remain in history.

1. John Romita Jr.

John Romita Jr. was born on August 17, 1956 in New York. His father, John Romita Sr., is also a well-known illustrator who worked on 2 Spiderman comics during the 60s and 80s. His son, John Romita, continued his father's endeavors and, together with the writer Roger Stern, invented the Hobgoblin. Romita Jr. also drew a comic strip about Spiderman's struggle with Juggernaut, and more recently he worked with writer Mark Millar on the comic strip "Mordoba" (Kick-Ass), which served as the basis for the well-known film and sequel.

Romita Jr.'s talent is truly revealed in his famous Iron Man comics, as well as in the often underestimated Demon in a Bottle. In this comic, everyone's beloved, humane playboy billionaire Tony Stark, who turns into a superhero, fights the urge to suck on a bottle and then gets stuck in the abyss of alcohol addiction.

Romita Jr.'s vivid drawings still inspire contemporary artists.

Interesting facts about the artist

John Romita Jr. was nominated at the 1989 Will Eischer ceremony for the comic "Daredevil".
Together with author Mark Millar, he participated in the creation of a comic strip about Wolverine for the character's 30th birthday.
As a donation to the Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation in 2012, John drew characters and signed comics for 50 straight hours.

2. Brian Bolland

Brian Bolland was born in Butterwick, Lincolnshire (UK) on March 26, 1951. Despite the fact that American comics were not released in England until 1959, he fell in love with them from childhood. Bolland earned a degree in graphic design and art history and drew his first comic strip when he was 21 years old. It was the Nigerian comic "Superman".

After a period of illustrating fanzines and then the underground London magazine Time Out, he was offered a job in 1977 on the 2000 A.D. and the character of Judge Dredd. Bolland was part of an era of "British invasion" in which British illustrators ousted American ones.

The now legendary collaboration between Brian Bolland and Alan Moore has resulted in some of the most iconic depictions of the Joker.

Bolland was appreciated and given the choice to work with any DC Comics character. He settled on the Batman: The Killing Joke, published in 1988. This comic, written by the legendary Alan Moore, reveals the origins of the Joker. Batman: The Killing Joke is often referred to as the most controversial Batman story.

This work had a huge impact in the future: Heath Ledger himself admitted that the comic "Killing Joke" strongly influenced his portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight".

Interesting facts about the artist

Brian Bolland received his first Comic Book Society's Best Newcomer in 1977. And after that he went on and on and kept collecting awards, 3 Eisher awards and 3 Harvey awards ... Wow!
Bolland recently worked on 'Dial H for Hero' for DC Comic.

3. Will Eischer

Will Eischer was born in Brooklyn in 1917 and passed away on January 3, 2005. He is known as one of the most respected and beloved comic book companions, often referred to as "the father of the graphic novel." The term "graphic novel" was introduced by him in the 60s, but then it was used more for promotion. That changed in 1978 with the release of the comic "A Contract with God." Asher's career as a comic book creator began as a drawing for the New York African newspaper. Then Eisher was hired by Wow, What A Magazine! in 1935, where he wrote small comics. But his most famous work is Spirit, which was first published in 1940 and then continued as an action movie in 2008.

Will Eischer: Greetings from the "father of the graphic novel"

He also has a comic strip "Heart of the Storm", which tells the story of American life in the 30s and 40s. The Hearts of the Storm is an autobiographical comic that most reflects Eisher's courage. The "Tempest" in the title symbolizes World War II, and Eisher himself is depicted in the comic as a conscript on the first and last pages of the book. The train windows, through which he looks, frame his memories of childhood and adolescence, and the train itself hints at the difficult story of the struggle of his Jewish emigrated family.

Interesting facts about the artist

Will Asher worked as a cartoon teacher at the School of Fine Arts in New York. Many of today's artists studied with him.
The Eischer Awards began in 1988 and is still held every year at San Diego Comic-Con.
The award-winning Australian writer and artist Gary Chaloner continued work on the new "official" "adventures of Eisher's heroes.

4. Jim Styranco

Jim Styranco was born on November 5, 1938 in Pennsylvania, USA. When Jim was a teenager, he collected cans and bottles in order to earn extra money. Jim developed an interest in art early enough. His first comic was for Harvey Comics. The ensuing meeting with Stan Lee led to his work in the first roles in Marvel Comics. Then in 1969 Steranko created his own publishing house, SuperGraphics. He currently works with Radical Publishing to design characters for their comics and toys.

The Hulk cover artwork by Jim Steranko still has a huge impact on comics to this day.

Steranko introduced a lot of new things into the art of graphic storytelling. His little comic about Captain America gave the world a great old superhero, but is best known for the cover of the huge Hulk by Styranko.

This drawing has been parodied many times and remains one of the greatest comic book covers to this day. With his own publishing house SuperGraphics, Steranko has produced his own excellent two-volume Comic History, a must-read for all artists.

Interesting facts about the artist

Steranko drew the first preparatory illustrations for Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, and his drawings greatly influenced the overall look and feel of the film.
He became an honorary member of the Will Eischer Hall of Fame in 2006.
His only major work for DC Comics was Superman # 400.

5. Osamu Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka was born on November 3, 1928 in the city of Takarazuka in Osaka, Japan and died on February 9, 1989.Very often he is called the Japanese "Walt Disney". His most famous character, Astro Boy, first appeared in 1951 as "Captain Astro". Astro Boy appeared regularly in Shounen Manga magazine published by Kobunsha during 1952-1968. This character is still very much loved in Japan: Astro Boy even became an honorary citizen of the city of Saitama, where Tezuka had a studio.

Astro Boy: The first animated series in Japan ... Then few people realized that the cartoon would become a real bomb!

This Japanese legend has a style of its own, and its ardent fans include Disney and Kubrick. Tezuku was called the "father of anime" and the "god of Manga" and was several years ahead of the competition. Tezuka is the author of the style of big eyes in Japanese animation. His manga "White Lion Kimba", which had a direct influence on the cartoon "The Lion King", is also well known. In his work, genres are cleverly replaced by one another, and have a variety of features ranging from science fiction and mysticism, and ending with horror and history. Name the genre, and Tazuka has already done something in it first and best.

Interesting facts about the artist

Astro Boy is the first animated cartoon to appear on Japanese television on Fuji Television in 1963.
By the time of Osamu Tezuka's death, he had drawn over 50 thousand manga pages and created about 60 cartoons.
Tezuka published Com magazine for young writers. He created the classic Phoenix manga series for this magazine.

6. Steve Ditko

Stephen J. Ditko was born on November 2, 1927 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He attended animation and illustration school in New York, and often took lessons from the Batman painting Jerry Robinson, who helped him get a scholarship for his sophomore year. Steve began drawing comics professionally in 1953. He has worked on the science fiction comic strip "Stretching Things" by Bruce Hamilton for Stanmor Publications. He then went on to work for Marvel on the characters of the Hulk, Iron Man and the unrivaled Spider-Man. A reclusive genius, he eventually left Marvel to publish for a small publishing house.

Doctor Strange is one of the most famous characters of Steve Ditko

Despite Stan Lee being the acclaimed creator of Spider-Man, Ditko also made a huge contribution to this comic book icon, but stepped aside once the character achieved global recognition. Ditko truly excels at portraying emotions: his characters look truly intrigued, slightly worried or burning with hatred. His backgrounds were also new to the comic book industry, with many claiming to breathe new life into New York in early Spider-Man issues.

Interesting facts about the artist

Steve became an honorary member of the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and then Will Eischer's Hall of Fame in 1994.
Ditko often refuses to be interviewed, stating that he shares with the audience precisely his work, and not his inner world.
Ditko is a supporter of the philosophy of objectivism.

7. Frank Miller

Frank Miller was born on January 27, 1957 in Olney, Maryland, but grew up in Montpelier, Vermont. His first work was published in 1978, and he painted a royal feast in the 84th edition of the Twilight Zone television series. He soon began working for Marvel, and his first comic to be published was John Carter, God of War on Mars, issue 18. The first comics he painted entirely were The New Adventures of Spider-Man, issue November 27, 1978.

Frank Miller has given Batman a more dark and mysterious look to appeal to an older audience.

Miller's work has a cinematic quality. He is known for his dark noir style used in the graphic novels Sin City and 300. These comics have had a major impact on television. But Miller is best known for his fictional portrayal of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, part of The Holy Three, as well as co-writing The Guardians with Alan Moore and V for Vendetta. These works have transformed the world of comics and attracted an adult audience. Miller's brooding drawings helped resurrect Batman: The Caped Crusader, and have also served as posters for eye-popping films directed by director Christopher Nolan.

Interesting facts about the artist

In the 2005 film adaptation of Sin City, Miller appears as a vicar who is killed by Marv in the confessional.
He also took part in the theatrical production of Will Eischer's Spirit of Libivitz as an officer whose head was cut off by Octopus and thrown to the spirit.
Miller has received 3 Harvey Awards, 4 Kirby Awards and 6 Eisher Awards.

8. Dave Gibbons

Dave Gibbons was born on April 14, 1949 in England. He began his career drawing horror and action films for IPC and DC Comics magazines. Dave is recognized for his collaboration with Alan Moore, but many believe Tornado's work for IPC is his best. Gibbons worked on the 2000AD comic strip as art director. Previously, he became the lead artist for the weekly and monthly Doctor Who comics, and drew the front page for most issues, from 1st to 69th.

The Watchmen comic topped the New York Times' list of pointless graphic novelists.

Gibbons collaborated with Alan Moore in the mid-80s to create The Guardians. The Guardians were revolutionary work, reflecting contemporary concerns and mildly critical of the concept of superheroes. Gibbons returned to Watchmen in 2008, releasing a book of non-comic book art, Watching the Watchmen, to coincide with the release of the movie of the same name in 2009.

Interesting facts about the artist

The art for Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (Director's Cut) for the Nintendo DS and Wii was done entirely by hand by Dave Gibbons.
He received 2 Jack Kirby Awards in 1987.
On April 9, 2011, Gibbons was one of 62 comic book creators to appear onstage at the Kapow! in London. There he received 2 entries in the Guinness Book of Records at once - for the fastest drawing of comics and for the greatest contribution to the comics industry.

9. Steve Dillon

Steve was born in Luton, England. He fell in love with comics since childhood, and even drew comics at school with his high school friends Neil Bailey and Paul Mahon in 1975. These comics were called Sci Fi Adventures. He landed his first professional job at Marvel UK at the age of 16, drawing the cover for the first issue of the weekly Hulk. He then worked on Nick Fury, a comic book about a WWII hero and super spy. With Garth Ennis, he went on to create the excellent graphic novel Preacher, which focuses on Texas and explores the myths and realities of the American Dream.

Steve Dillon's work on The Preacher is considered one of the finest of our time.

A violent story follows a Texas priest, his ex-girlfriend and an Irish vampire named Cassidy. Dillon's drawings and Ennis' gripping text made the Preacher comic one of the most famous comics these days. In July 2007, Dillon sold the comic to Hollywood for a later adaptation.

Interesting facts about the artist

In 1988, along with Brett Evins, Dillon began publishing the comic magazine Deadline, which lasted another seven years.
Dillon invented the character Dogwelder, who appears in the Hitman comic series by Garth Ennis.
Dillon drew the first Wolverine in issues 1 through 25.

10. Jack Kirby

Jacob Kurtsberg was born on August 28, 1917 in New York. Unfortunately, he passed away on February 6, 1994 at the age of 76 from a heart attack. He began drawing small comics in 1930 under various pseudonyms before finally settling on the name Jack Kirby. Together with writer Joe Simon, Kirby created Captain America for Timely Comics, the publishing house that became Marvel Comics. He also created the Fantastic Four and the Hulk, and worked with Stan Lee for Marvel Comics to create Thor and the Avengers.

Captain America from one of the earliest publications

Kirby is the undisputed king of innovation: he came up with not only characters, but from his creative ideas they take the origin of stories, whole comics and genres. For over half a century, he has supported comic book production in-house and created a new style of storytelling with a cinematic style of movement. The force of blows in such drawings looks explosively dynamic, it seems that it is about to spread beyond the borders of the drawing. Without a doubt, it is not even worth starting an argument about Kirby's right to the throne of the comic book creator.

Interesting facts about the artist

When Kirby was called into service during World War II in 1943, he was asked to draw more comics in advance to publish in his absence. He was honorably discharged from service on July 20, 1945.
Kirby has received numerous awards for his comics, including a place of honor in the Will Eischer Hall of Fame. Later, an award ceremony was established, named in his honor.
On May 23, 1942, he legally changed his name to Jack Kirby.

Until then! Who is your favorite comic artist? Tell us in the comments!