Comic-Con International (Comic-Con) has announced that the Eisner Awards judges have selected two individuals to automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame for 2020. These inductees are pioneering newspaper cartoonist Nell Brinkley and cartoonist/illustrator E. Simms Campbell. 

During her nearly four-decade career working with New York newspapers and magazines, Brinkley (1886-1944) earned the moniker “Queen of Comics.” Her comics are a luxuriously rendered visual chronicle of woman’s progress over the decades, from her Victorian era heroines to her Deco-styled independent working women. Her iconic Brinkley Girl, celebrated in song and on stage, surpassed the Gibson Girl in popularity. Her creative legacy can be seen everywhere, from Dale Messick, Ramona Fradon, Marie Severin, and Trina Robbins to shōjo manga. 

Campbell (1906–1971) was an indispensable part of Esquire magazine’s birth in the early 1930s. He established its visual style and invented the original “Esky” character. Campbell may also be the first African-American illustrator not only to break the color line in mass market publications but to earn widespread public acclaim as well. He also produced cartoons for Life, Cosmopolitan, and Playboy, as well as covers for Judge and The New Yorker. He later created woodcut-style illustrations for a Langston Hughes young adult novel.

The judges have also chosen 14 nominees from which voters will select four to be inducted in the Hall of Fame this summer. These nominees include Alison Bechdel, known for her 25-year run with Dykes to Watch Out ForStuck Rubber BabyA Drunken Dream).  

Nominees include Iron Man co-creator and Marvel powerhouse Don Heck; Vampirella and Witzend artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones; Raw magazine founder Francoise Mouly; cartoonist Keiji Nakazawa (Barefoot GenWerewolf Hunter artist Lily Renée Peter Phillips. 

Additional nominees are Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai; notable Uncanny X-Men and The New Mutants contributor Louise Simonson; Comics Buyer’s Guide founders Don and Maggie Thompson; Warren Publishing founder James Warren; and cartoonist Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes). More information on the nominees can be found on the Eisner Awards website. 

Final voting will be done through www.eisnervote.com by professionals working in the comics or related industries as a creator, publisher, editor, retailer, graphic novels librarian, or a comics historian/educator. The deadline for voting is March 15.