Will Elder

Will Elder was born Wolf William Eisenberg on September 22, 1921, and passed away on May 15, 2008. He is best remembered as the wildly inventive cartoonist whose frantic, gag-packed style helped launch *Mad* comic book in 1952 alongside Harvey Kurtzman. Elder's path into comics began in the 1940s, and he quickly became known for his dense, chaotic panels that brimmed with background jokes and visual puns. His signature work includes the long-running *Playboy* strip *Little Annie Fanny*, which he co-created with Kurtzman, as well as contributions to *Two-Fisted Tales*, *Weird Fantasy*, and the satirical magazines *Humbug* and *Playboy*. Elder's key collaborator was Kurtzman, with whom he shared a deep comedic chemistry. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003, and in 2018, critic Tom Spurgeon ranked him among the top 20 cartoonists of the 20th century. Elder's legacy endures as a master of visual satire whose work influenced generations of humorists.