Famous 21st Century Cartoonists

Alan Moore is an English writer best known for his contributions to popular comic books, such as Batman: The Killing Joke, Watchmen, and The Ballad of Halo Jones. Some consider him to be the best comic book writer in the English language. His works have influenced several literary and television figures, such as Damon Lindelof, Joss Whedon, and Neil Gaiman.

Bill Watterson is a retired cartoonist and author. He is credited with writing the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. In 1988, Watterson became the sixth person to win the Reuben Award twice. In 2020, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

Todd McFarlane is a Canadian writer, artist, comic book creator, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. Renowned for his artistic work on The Amazing Spider-Man, Todd became a comic book superstar during the 1980s and 1990s for his work on the Spider-Man franchise. As an entrepreneur, Todd McFarlane is credited with founding Todd McFarlane Productions and its subsidiary McFarlane Toys.

Gary Larson is an American environmentalist, cartoonist, and former musician. He is credited with creating a single-panel cartoon series titled The Far Side, which was syndicated for 15 years to over 1,900 newspapers around the world. In 1990 and 1994, Gary Larson was honored by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) with the prestigious Reuben Award. 

Joseph Barbera was an American animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is credited with co-producing Tom and Jerry along with William Hanna while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Barbera is also credited with co-founding the popular animation studio Hanna-Barbera which produced world-renowned programs like Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, and The Smurfs. Hanna-Barbera's shows have been translated into over 28 languages.

Robert Crumb is a cartoonist whose work displays a satire of contemporary American culture. Crumb played a major role during the underground comix movement of the 1960s, contributing to the movement's seminal works. He is credited with founding Zap Comix, the first major underground comix series. In 1991, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Best known for his iconic comic strip Dilbert, Scott Adams has an MBA degree and has worked in banks and tech firms earlier. The character Dilbert first appeared in Adams’s office presentations and was inspired by his co-workers. His social-media video series, Coffee with Scott Adams, too, was quite popular.

Aaron McGruder is an American writer, cartoonist, screenwriter, producer, and lecturer. He is best known for writing a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip titled The Boondocks. He also wrote its TV series adaptation where he served as the creator, head writer, and executive producer.

Korean-American comic-book artist Jim Lee began his career with Marvel and then soared to fame with his X-Men series. Though initially trained in psychology, he skipped medical school and became a comic writer instead. Apart from co-founding Image Comics, he also created WildStorm, which he sold to DC later.

The son of a manual laborer, J. Michael Straczynski grew up to graduate in psychology and sociology. Best known for writing the Marvel Comics series The Amazing Spider-Man, he has written for both TV and films, apart from authoring his own books and creating the sci-fi TV show Babylon 5.

Cartoonist Alison Bechdel is best known for her Dykes to Watch Out For strip, which gained a lot of popularity in various LGBT weeklies. The strip’s prime character is believed to be modeled on her. The lesbian artist’s works gave rise to the Bechdel Test, which targets gender inequality in Hollywood.

Justin Roiland is an American animator, voice actor, writer, director, and producer. He is credited with co-creating popular adult animated series like Adult Swim's Rick and Morty and Hulu's Solar Opposites. He is also credited with founding an animation studio named Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions as well as a video game studio named Squanch Games.

Steve Ditko was a writer and comics artist. He is credited with co-creating popular Marvel Comics superheroes like Doctor Strange and Spider-Man. Ditko is also credited with co-creating Captain Atom, a character that appears in DC Comics. Ditko received several awards including many Alley Awards. In 1994, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

Dav Pilkey is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and author of children's literature. Pilkey is best known for illustrating and authoring a popular children's book series named Captain Underpants which earned him the prestigious Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Award in 2007.

Caroll Spinney was an American cartoonist, puppeteer, artist, author, and speaker. He is best remembered for playing Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird on the popular educational children's TV series Sesame Street from 1969 to 2018. Over the course of his illustrious career, Caroll Spinney was honored with two Grammy Awards and four Daytime Emmy Awards.

Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novelist, illustrator, cartoonist, children's book author, and film director. Satrapi achieved international recognition in the early-2000s after releasing her critically acclaimed graphic novels. She is best known for writing and directing an animated biographical drama film titled Persepolis, which received nominations at prestigious award ceremonies, such as the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globes.

Rob Liefeld is a comic book creator best known for co-creating characters like Deadpool and Cable. In the 1990s, he achieved popularity for his work on Marvel Comics' X-Force and The New Mutants. Rob Liefeld is credited with co-creating Image Comics which went on to become the third-largest comic book publisher.

Doug Jones is an American actor, mime artist, and contortionist. Jones is renowned for playing non-human creatures in sci-fi films and TV series. Over the years he has played important roles in popular films like Hellboy, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Absentia. His portrayal of Captain Saru in Star Trek: Discovery earned him a Saturn Award.

Art Spiegelman is an American cartoonist, comics advocate, and editor. His graphic novel Maus earned a special Pulitzer Prize for popularizing the comics medium among scholars. Over the years Spiegelman has helped promote a better understanding of comics. In 2005, he was named in Time's Top 100 Most Influential People list. He has also won many awards like Inkpot Award.

Best known for his Xanth novels, such as Well-Tempered Clavicle and Esrever Doom, bestselling science fiction and fantasy author Piers Anthony was born to Quaker parents in Britain, who later settled in the U.S. He lives with his wife in a remote forest area in Central Florida.

Jeff Kinney is an American cartoonist and author best known for writing a series of children's fiction books named Diary of a Wimpy Kid which was adapted into a movie series of the same name. Jeff Kinney is also credited with creating a child-oriented website called Poptropica which was later adapted into an online role-playing game of the same name.

Bryan Lee O'Malley is a Canadian cartoonist and musician. He is best known for his work in the Scott Pilgrim series. One of the most celebrated cartoonists of his generation, O'Malley has won several prestigious awards, such as the Doug Wright Award and Joe Shuster Award.

Jake Tapper is an American author, cartoonist, and journalist. Over the years, Jake Tapper's work as a journalist, which includes the coverage of President Barack Obama's inauguration, has been praised by many critics. As the Chief Washington Correspondent for CNN, Jake Tapper plays a vital role in the TV channel's coverage of political matters.

Randall Munroe quit his career as a NASA roboticist to re-live his childhood obsession with comics by creating the award-winning webcomic xkcd. He also writes a science blog and has penned New York Times bestsellers such as What If? and Thing Explainer. His other interests include kite photography.