Harvey Awards sets 5 for Hall of Fame in 2024

Word Balloons #1238: Highly regarded comics creators named to prestigious list

The Harvey Awards will award a slate of comics stalwarts today in New York City as the organization names five inductees into its Hall of Fame. 

Inductees into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame for 2024 include manga creator Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z) and comic book creators Arthur Adams (Uncanny X-Men), Larry Hama (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero), Sergio Aragonés (MAD), and John Buscema (The Avengers).

Harvey Kurtzman (1924–1993), creator of MAD, was a cartoonist and influential American satirist. The Harvey Awards, presented annually since 1988, are named in his honor and aim to recognize achievements of sequential arts in the publishing industry, according to a release from the organization. 

“This year’s induction class includes legendary manga creator Akira Toriyama, and we gratefully honor his genius by inducting him into our Hall of Fame,” said John Lind, co-chair of the Harvey Awards, in a news release from the organization. 

“We at the Harvey Awards are also thrilled to finally induct Sergio Aragonés, a cartoonist whose work defined MAD magazine for a legion of die-hard fans. Additionally, we’re inducting Arthur Adams, one of the most influential artists of his generation—he is your favorite artist’s favorite artist—and Larry Hama, who made long-lasting contributions to comics and pop culture and helped build a world around G.I. Joe that still resonates with fans. Finally, we’ll posthumously induct the esteemed John Buscema, a prolific artist whose work helped shape the look of Marvel Comics throughout the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s.”

More information is available at HarveyAwards.com. 

Here, I’ll share a quick recommended reading for each creator to be inducted. 

Akira Toriyama

Best-known as the creator of “Dragon Ball,” Toriyama created many other popular and influential manga as well. For this list, I’ll nominate checking out the single-volume “Sand Land” from 2000, in which a group of misfits battle the harsh desertlike conditions of their world and the inhumane king who is hoarding the land’s water. 

Larry Hama 

Hama has crafted action-packed tales of Wolverine, Nth Man, Call of Duty and more, but is likely best-known for his work in creating the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” characters, for which he’s written more than 300 issues for three different publishers. He’s also written spinoff “Joe” tales in the continuity from Devil’s Due. I’ll make the obvious pick here and pick “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” #21, “Silent Interlude,” written and drawn by Hama, with inks by Steve Leialoha. When the Cobra ninja Storm Shadow, in his first comic-book appearance, kidnaps Scarlett, it’s up to Snake Eyes to mount a solo rescue mission - silently. 

Sergio Aragones 

You could pick up literally any issue of “Groo: The Wanderer” and be entertained as the dim-witted but nearly invincible barbarian warrior meanders from town to town, inadvertently causing grief and destruction in his wake. I’ll recommend reading what I believe was the first issue I read, issue #25 of the 120-issue run from Marvel’s creator-owned Epic line. “Groo” is plotted and drawn by Aragones and scripted by Mark Evanier. Tom Luth colors and Stan Sakai letters. 

John Buscema 

I’ll recommend the storyline ‘Avengers Under Siege, which is a personal favorite from “Avengers” issues #270-271 and #273-277. The storyline features the art of John Buscema in a Roger Stern-written tale in which the Masters of Evil lay waste to Avengers Mansion. Buscema’s art conveyed both power and humanity in an always-compelling fashion. 

Arthur Adams

Anything Art Adams draws is worth checking out, but I’ll recommend the “Godzilla Color Special” from 1996, which might be as cool as Godzilla ever looked. Adams’ style and detail, as well as the excitement nearly splashing off the pages, influenced a generation of creators with his work.  

The 2024 Harvey Awards Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized at the 36th annual Harvey Awards ceremony during New York Comic Con. The Harvey Awards winners in a variety of comics categories will be announced at this event.

Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.