Will Eisner (1917 - 2005; USA)
The Spirit is his greatest creation and is still being reprinted regularly, despite being created in 1940. Renowned for his cinematic style and unusual panel layout and angles, Eisner is highly respected by his peers. Born in 1917 in Brooklyn, he formed a partnership with Jerry Iger to produce comic strips for the voracious comic book publishers of the 1940s. His Hawks of the Sea was a tremendous pirate adventure strip. Lou Fine, Bob Powell, Jules Feiffer, Wally Wood, Jerry Grandenetti, plus many other respected artists have worked for and with Eisner throughout his career.

Over the past few years he has produced a series of innovative graphic novels beginning with the award winning A Contract with God. His book Comics and Sequential Art is one of the top selling books on how to draw comics and is continually being reprinted.