10 People Who Changed The Comic Book Industry Forever

4. Will Eisner

If you've been following the industry for a while, chances are you've heard of the coveted 'Eisner Award'. Handed out yearly to comic book creators and journalists, the Eisners is the most prestigious event in the comic book calendar for professionals, and its namesake - Will Eisner himself - is a legend of the medium.

The creator of The Spirit, the graphic novel and a pioneer of the industry all around, Eisner's influence is almost impossible to overstate. The Spirit formed the basis for dozens of vigilante comics after his 1940 debut, and Eisner went on to define his career as a pioneer thereafter. Having created pamphlets for the army during WWII, Eisner's post-war resurgence came in the seventies where he produced A Contract With God, an opus that told the story of New York's immigrant communities during the early 20th century.

Later works came in the same decade and after, with The Building, To the Heart of the Storm and Fagin the Jew all intimating the quality of Eisner's bibliography in their own way.

He was a true leader of the art-form, and a true presence on the industry and off.