It reached as far as Tokyo, where the Japanese businessmen would be found reading comics. During those days, the French artists were also creating comics with the right combinations of pictures and words. Often, comics are not given the importance they deserve in the world of arts.

Nevertheless, this art survives and thrives with the support of millions of comic book fans. Today, the influence and appeal of comics can be seen in the popular culture. It has inspired several movies and television shows over the years. Many novelists and artists have created some of their works based on the themes and characters of comic books.

Even with the overwhelming presence of the digital media, comic books have survived in some form or the other. Here we’ll take a look at some of the influential comic book artists:

1. Brian Bolland

Born in the mid-20th century, Brian Bolland was one of the first comic book artists to popularize British comics. He got his first job in the early 1970s after studying Art History and Graphic Design. His job involved working on a Nigerian comic called Powerman. In the year 1977, he got the opportunity to design 2000 AD and Judge Dredd. In the late 1980s, Bolland worked with Alan Moore, an iconic writer.

Their project was a book titled Batman: The Killing Joke. The narrative of this book explores the origin of Joker. It still remains a highly controversial Batman story. The graphic novel was one of the inspirations behind the famous portrayal of The Joker by Heath Ledger. It led to the massive success of The Dark Knight franchise.

2. Will Eisner

Born William Erwin Eisner in 1917 in Brooklyn, he is often considered as the father of graphic novels. Eisner was a writer, cartoonist, and entrepreneur. He had a great influence on the comic book industry and contributed immensely towards its growth. One of his most popular series was The Spirit. It went on to receive great praise for its innovative content and form.

Published in 1940, the comic book series was made into a live action movie in 2008. However, Eisner never got the chance to see his work coming alive on the screen. Will Eisner passed away in 2005. The Eisner Award was named after him. It is given as a recognition for achievements in the field of comics every year.

3. Osamu Tezuka

It would be a mistake to ignore the comic book scene of the Far East. Japan is the birthplace of ‘manga’, a popular form of comics. Osamu Tezuka is known in the world of comics as the father of manga. He was a Japanese cartoonist, animator, film producer, and activist. The comic series Astro Boy, Black Jack, and Kimba the White Lion are his most popular works. Many call him the ‘Walt Disney of Japan’.

Tezuka led the vast manga universe owing to his pioneering techniques, innovative skills, and redefinition of genres. By 1989, the year of his death, he had created more than 50,000 pages of manga. He had also created over 60 animations.

4. Steve Ditko

Ditko was born in the year 1927 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A reclusive artist, he was the co-creator of the iconic superhero Spider-Man. He was also the creator of Doctor Strange, one of the popular supernatural heroes. He studied in New York City at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School. Batman artist Jerry Robinson regularly mentored Ditko.

Later on, he worked on the legendary superheroes such as Iron Man, Hulk, and The Amazing Spider-Man. Ditko being a very reclusive genius stopped working with Marvel when it was beginning to gain success worldwide. Since the 1960s, he declined to appear in most interviews.

He was of the opinion that his work and not his personality defined what he had to offer. In the years that followed, he worked with DC Comics and small independent publishers.

5. Frank Miller

Most of the prominent works of this American artist, film director, and writer have been subject to harsh criticism. Despite the official critics and peers criticizing most of his works, they were quite successful. Some of his best known works are Sin City, Ronin, 300, Daredevil: Born Again, and The Dark Knight Returns. He is typically famous for dark and film noir style.

Miller is the man behind the transformation of comics and making them suitable for the mainstream adult audiences. His gritty and grim style was a differentiating factor of his artwork. It set his works apart from the more popular colorful representation of superheroes in comics. He is the winner of three Harvey awards, four Kirby awards, and six Eisner awards.

6. Jean Giraud

Jean Henri Gaston Giraud, popularly known as Moebius, was a French writer, cartoonist, and artist. Growing up with comic books, he went on to create his own comics during the years of his adolescence. He went through a formal training at the Institute of Applied art. Despite this, the French comic medium was his real school. The Franco-Belgian bandes dessinees tradition was his predominant area of work.

This caused a language barrier, which didn’t give him much of the global fame that he deserved. Although language came in the way of his worldwide recognition, many creators still hold him in high regard. Giraud created a variety of fantasy and science fiction comics in a surreal and imaginative style.

Among his most popular works was the Blueberry series. It was notable for featuring an anti-hero, which was one of the first in Western comics. The French artist also contributed concept designs and storyboards to many successful films. Among these movies were Tron, The Fifth Element, Alien, and The Abyss.

7. Jack Kirby

Born in 1917, Jack Kirby is considered as one of the major innovators in the field of comics. This influential creator of comics began his career in the 1930s. During those times, he worked on drawing comic strips using various aliases. He finally chose to sign his works as Jack Kirby.

Along with writer and editor Joe Simon, he created one of the most popular comic book characters, Captain America. Kirby had also worked for several publishers, creating some iconic superheroes such as The Hulk, Thor, and The X-Men. He was sometimes referred to as the William Blake of comics.

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One of the largest distributors of comics in the English language has some statistics that provides some interesting insights. According to the statistics, Boston is one of the leading places in America with the most comic book shops.

In recent times, the superheroes are growing in popularity owing to the recent Marvel releases. As a result, there has been an increase in the sales of comic books across the United States. This has brought in some good fortunes to the local book stores selling comic books. Such shops can now be seen in many places across the country.

A more lively comic book scene

Boston has an active comic book scene and many of the local book stores agree on this fact. Some of them have been in business since many decades. It’s certainly amazing that the comic book stores in this part of the country continue to thrive. With the exception of Brooklyn, there’s hardly any other place in the country where you’ll see such a scene.

The high demand for quality comic books is partly to the city’s large population of college students. These books are also in great demand among the tech-savvy young professionals. Younger fans like them have also fueled the growth of geek media in Boston. This city along with New England has produced many talented comic book artists.

This has contributed to the immense popularity of comic books in the region. Boston and New England have a large concentration of colleges with students who appreciate literature and art. These areas are also home to several creative individuals such as Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. They were the ones who came up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The change in demographics

You’ll know how far the comic book culture has come in the city from the annual Boston Comic Con. It was once a one-day show held in the Back Bay Events Center’s basement. Today, Boston Comic Con is a convention that has grown exponentially. In the recent years, this convention has drawn thousands of attendees. This is the kind of culture that comic book fans love to see.

Earlier, comic books were purely a superhero genre owing to the censorship that existed in the 1950s. During those days, they were considered as something meant only for children. Today, comics are an art form that the young and old appreciate. There’s also a wider acceptance of comic books as a form of literature.

There was a time when the comic books were used by young boys as a fodder for their fantasies. Over the years, the popularity of comic book culture resulted in a shift in demographics. Now, more comics that are about female characters release frequently for female audiences. They are written by women authors. You’ll also see more diversity in content that the authors come up with in recent times.

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He had an amazing mastery over the creation of funny running gags, slapstick violence, and amusing puns. Goscinny was also instrumental in co-founding Pilote, a French comic magazine. Besides being the chief editor from 1963 to 1974, he played an important role in its success. Among his greatest achievements is that he was able to raise children’s interest in a sophisticated form of comedy.

Early years

Goscinny was born in Paris to Jewish immigrants Stanislaw Simkha Gościnny and Anna Bereśniak-Gościnna in 1926. When he was two years of age, the Goscinny family went to live in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires. Rene Goscinny enjoyed a happy childhood and received his education in French-language schools in the city. He had a natural shyness, so he compensated for it by making everyone laugh in class.

Goscinny began drawing at an early age. The inspiration for it came from the stories that he enjoyed reading. His father died due to cerebral hemorrhage a year after he graduated from school. This forced the 17-year-old Goscinny to find a job. Although he got his first job the very next year, he was laid off in the year that followed. He soon got a job in an advertising agency as a junior illustrator.

In 1945, Goscinny went to New York along with his mother. To avoid military service in the United States, he traveled to France. He joined the French Army in 1946 and served in the 141st Alpine Infantry Battalion at Aubagne. Later, he was appointed as an illustrator of the regiment. After this appointment, his work in the regiment involved drawing posters and illustrations for the army.

Return to New York

After illustrating the book The Girl with The Eyes of Gold, Goscinny returned to New York the following year. While he was there, Goscinny had to face the toughest period of his life. For quite some time, he was alone, jobless, and completely broke. He was able to come out of this situation by 1948 and began working in a small studio. While he was the art director at Kunen Publishers, he wrote four books for kids.

He also met the chief of the World Press agency, Georges Troisfontaines, who convinced him to return to Paris. In the year 1951, Troisfontaines made Goscinny the head of the agency at its Paris office. While in the French capital, Goscinny met Albert Uderzo. This eventually led to a long-time collaboration between them.

Creation of Asterix and death

During 1959, the syndicate Edipress/Edifrance that he founded with Uderzo and two other individuals launched Pilote, a comic magazine. In the first issue of this magazine, he launched Asterix in collaboration with Uderzo. This comic series was an instant success and went on to become his most famous creation.

Goscinny died in Paris on the 5th of November 1977 from a heart attack. The Rene Goscinny Award has been named after him. It has been presented since 1996 to encourage young comic writers at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France.

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Uderzo is among the most translated authors in the French language according to UNESCO’s Index Translationum. He is also the third most often translated author of comics in the French language. This puts him just behind the author Rene Goscinny and Herge.

Early years

He was born Alberto Aleandro Uderzo. His parents Silvio and Iria were immigrants from Italy. His name comes from a village located in Italy called Oderzo. Despite having immense talents in art at an early age, his aim was to become an aircraft mechanic. He officially became a French citizen in 1934. Those were the times of the Second World War. Uderzo was a teenager during those times.

Career as an artist

After the Second World War, Uderzo began pursuing comic art as a career in Paris. He started off with the creation of some interesting comic characters such as Flamberge and Clopinard. By the mid-20th century, he had created a few other comic characters. Among them were Belloy and Arys Buck. In 1951, he met Rene Goscinny and the duo soon became good friends.

The very next year, they decided to work together at the Paris office of World Press. This was a new office of the Belgian company. While working together at this office, they came up with their first creations. They were Jehan Pistolet, Oumpah-pah, and Luc Junior. In the comic magazine Tintin, they adapted Oumpah-pah for serial publication.

In 1959, Goscinny and Uderzo were working on Pilote, which was a new magazine for older kids. With the first issue of this magazine, Asterix was introduced to the French world. It was an instant success.

The Asterix series

Asterix le Gaulois was first published as an individual volume in 1961 after serializing it in Pilote. By the year 1967, the comic was already enjoying massive popularity. During this period, Uderzo and Goscinny decided to dedicate themselves completely to the Asterix series. After the early death of Goscinny in the late 1970s, Uderzo took up additional responsibility of writing.

In the years that followed, he continued writing and illustrating the Asterix comic books. The pace was significantly slower. The books averaged one volume every three to five years. When he was working with Goscinny, the average was two volumes every year. The cover credits of these books still read ‘Goscinny and Uderzo’.

In 1985, Albert Uderzo got the Knight of the Legion of Honor. He was inducted into the Eisner Award Hall of Fame, United States, in 2005. Two years later, he was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

Death

After suffering a heart attack, Uderzo died in his sleep on the 24th of March 2020 at his home. Bernard de Choisy, his son-in-law, said that he felt very tired for several weeks before he died. He also said that COVID-19 had nothing to do with his death.

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