This living legend has finally been granted the greatest award in comics.
Earlier today, at the San Diego Comic-Con, the 2018 inductees to the The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame were officially announced. This year, manga artist Rumiko Takahashi was granted the honor, along with five other artists:
- Carol Kalish
- Jackie Ormes
- Charles Addams
- Karen Berger
- Dave Gibbons
Takahashi was previously nominated for the award in 2014, 2016, and 2017.
In the world of anime and manga, Rumiko Takahashi is an icon. Takahashi began her career in 1978 with one-shot Katte na Yatsura, which won the Shogakkan New Comics Award. Later that year, she would launch Urusei Yatsura in Weekly Shonen Sunday. She went on to produce numerous beloved works, including Maison Ikkoku, Ranma ½, and InuYasha, many of which inspired anime and live-action adaptations.
Takahashi stands as the most successful female comics artist, with over 200 million books sold to date. For many fans, she is a household name. Her work has been enjoyed by seemingly everybody, whether it’s an old timer who grew up with works like Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, or a newer fan who enjoyed Kagome’s journeys in Inuyasha, or, heck, just people who enjoyed Ranma 1/2.
The Eisner Awards, describe Takahashi’s career as follows:
Popular manga creator Rumiko Takahashi is said to be the bestselling female comics artist in history, with hundreds of millions of her books sold around the world. Takahashi’s first published work was the one-shot Katte na Yatsura in 1978. Later that year her first major work began being serialized, Urusei Yatsura. She went on to create such classic works as Maison Ikkoku, Ranma ½, InuYasha, One Pound Gospel, Mermaid Saga, and Rumic Theater. Several of her works have been animated.
Previous inductees to the Will Eisner Hall of Fame include Osamu Tezuka (2002), Katsuhiro Otomo (2012), Stan Lee, Will Eisner, and Jack Kirby.
Source: Twitter (VIZMedia), The Hollywood Reporter
