American People Famous Cartoonists from the United States

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List of notable or famous cartoonists from the United States, with bios and photos, including the top cartoonists born in the United States and even some popular cartoonists who immigrated to the United States. If you're trying to find out the names of famous American cartoonists then this list is the perfect resource for you. These cartoonists are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known cartoonist from the United States is included when available.

Dr. Seuss and Matt Groening are included on this list along with many more.

This historic cartoonists from the United States list can help answer the questions "Who are some American cartoonists of note?" and "Who are the most famous cartoonists from the United States?" These prominent cartoonists of the United States may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected American cartoonists.

Use this list of renowned American cartoonists to discover some new cartoonists that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. (882 items)

1
Kevin Smith is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 47 Kevin Smith is a film producer.

2
Stan Lee is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 95 Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor, and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. In collaboration with several artists, ...more

3
Joss Whedon is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 53 Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, film and television director, film and television producer, comic book author, composer and actor. He is the founder of Mutant ...more

4
Dr. Seuss is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 87 (1904-1991) Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and cartoonist. He was most widely known for his children's books, which he wrote and illustrated under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss. He had used the pen ...more

5
Matt Groening is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 64 Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is a U.S. cartoonist, screenwriter, producer, animator, author, musician, comedian, and voice actor. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as ...more

6
Charles M. Schulz is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 78 (1922-2000) Charles Monroe Schulz, nicknamed Sparky, was an American cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Peanuts. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time, cited ...more

7
Mike Judge is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 55 Michael Craig "Mike" Judge, is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, musician, and cartoonist. He created and starred in the animated television series Beavis and ...more

8
Chuck Jones is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 90 (1912-2002) Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts ...more

9
Friz Freleng is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 89 (1906-1995) Isadore "Friz" Freleng, often credited as I. Freleng, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and producer famous for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of ...more

10
J. Michael Straczynski is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 63 Joseph Michael Straczynski, known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or jms, is an American writer and producer. He works in films, television series, ...more

11
Walter Lantz is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 95 (1899-1994) Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.

12
John Byrne is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 67 John Lindley Byrne is a British-born American comic-book writer and artist. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on many major American superheroes. Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel ...more

13
Bill Mauldin is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 82 (1921-2003) Bill Maudlin was an illustrator.

14
William Hanna is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 91 (1910-2001) William Denby "Bill" Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, voice actor, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people ...more

15
Bob Gale is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 66 Michael Robert "Bob" Gale is an American screenwriter, producer and film director. He famously co-wrote the science fiction film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert ...more

16
Allan Heinberg is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 50 Allan Heinberg is an American film screenwriter and comic book writer, who wrote Young Avengers for Marvel Comics, and has been a writer and producer on The Naked Truth, Party of Five, Sex and ...more

17
Samuel R. Delany is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 76 Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., Chip Delany to his friends, is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes fiction, memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society. His ...more

18
Al Capp is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 70 (1909-1979) Alfred Gerald Caplin, better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner, which he created in 1934 and continued writing and ...more

19
Scott Adams is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 60 Scott Raymond Adams is an American cartoonist, creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation. His Dilbert ...more

20
Edward Gorey is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 75 (1925-2000) Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his illustrated books. His characteristic pen-and-ink drawings often depict vaguely unsettling narrative scenes in Victorian and ...more

21
Joseph Barbera is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 95 (1911-2006) Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera was an Italian-American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained ...more

22
Frank Cho is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 46 Frank Cho, born Duk Hyun Cho, is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book writer and illustrator, known for his series Liberty Meadows, as well as for books such as Shanna the She-Devil, ...more

23
Shel Silverstein is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 69 (1930-1999) Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein was an American poet, singer-songwriter, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in some works. ...more

24
Amber Benson is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 41 Amber Nicole Benson is an American writer, director, producer, and actress. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but has also directed, ...more

25
Jack Kirby is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 77 (1917-1994) Jack Kirby, born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic ...more

26
Dwayne McDuffie is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 49 (1962-2011) Dwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television, known for creating the animated television series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice ...more

27
George Booth is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 91 George Booth V is a New Yorker cartoonist. Over time, his cartoons have become an iconic feature of the magazine. In a doodler's style, they feature everymen beset by modern complexity, ...more

28
Steve Ditko is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 90 Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist and co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. ...more

29
Jay Ward is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 69 (1920-1989) J Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & ...more

30
Garry Trudeau is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 69 Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Doonesbury comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the ...more

31
Tex Avery is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 72 (1908-1980) Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did ...more

32
Bill Sienkiewicz is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 59 Boleslav William Felix Robert "Bill" Sienkiewicz is an Eisner Award-winning American artist and writer best known for his comic book work, primarily for Marvel Comics' The New Mutants ...more

33
Walt Kelly is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 60 (1913-1973) Walter Crawford Kelly, Jr. or Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Pogo. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contributing ...more

34
Richard Donner is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 87 Richard Donner is an American film director, comic book writer and film producer. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern ...more

35
Shock G is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 54 Humpty Hump is an actor and musician.

36
Todd McFarlane is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 57 Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, artist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn. In the late 1980s and early ...more

37
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 45 Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series Glee and Big Love. He is Chief ...more

38
Jim Lee is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 53 Jim Lee is a Korean American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He entered the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and The ...more

39
Robert Rodi is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 62 Robert Rodi is an American novelist, playwright, comic book writer, essayist, and performance artist.

40
Eric Shanower is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 54 Eric James Shanower is an American comics artist and writer, best known for his Oz novels and comics and the ongoing retelling of the Trojan War as Age of Bronze.

41
Harvey Pekar is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 71 (1939-2010) Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series ...more

42
Dan Piraro is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 60 Daniel Charles Piraro is a painter, illustrator and cartoonist best known for his award-winning syndicated cartoon panel Bizarro. Piraro's cartoons have been reprinted in 16 book collections. He ...more

43
Sam Kieth is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 55 Sam Kieth is an American comic book writer and illustrator, best known as the creator of The Maxx and Zero Girl.

44
Phil Jimenez is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 47 Phil Jimenez is an American comic book artist and writer, known for his work as writer/artist on Wonder Woman from 2000 to 2003, as one of the five pencilers of the 2005-2006 miniseries Infinite ...more

45
Jim Davis is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 72 James Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strips Garfield and U.S. Acres, the former of which has been published since 1978 and has ...more

46
Herb Gardner is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Died at 69 (1934-2003) Herbert George Gardner, better known as Herb Gardner, was an American commercial artist, cartoonist, playwright and screenwriter.

47
P. Craig Russell is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 66 Philip Craig Russell, also known as P. Craig Russell, is an American comic book writer, artist, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell was the first ...more

48
Jack T. Chick is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 94 Jack Thomas Chick is an American publisher, writer, and comic book artist of evangelical fundamentalist Christian tracts and comic books. His comics have been described by Los Angeles magazine ...more

49
Howard Cruse is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
age 73 Howard Cruse is an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics. Cruse was raised in Springville, Alabama, the son of a preacher and a homemaker. His ...more

50
Danny Fingeroth is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list Famous Cartoonists from the United States
Daniel "Danny" Fingeroth is an American comic book writer and editor, better known for a long stint as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics.