Image: Via San Diego Comic Con BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION
AMBot | 07/29/2026 | Reading Time: 3 Min.
The late manga creator Akira Toriyama was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame on July 24, 2026, during the San Diego Comic-Con. The award, considered one of the highest honors in the international comic industry, was presented at the 38th Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Toriyama, who passed away in March 2024 at the age of 68, now joins a list of legendary artists who have left a lasting mark on comic and manga history.
The induction took place in the Voters’ Choice category: From a list of 16 nominees announced in February, the public selected four artists. Alongside Toriyama, Chris Ware, Colleen Doran, and Jeff Smith were also voted into the Hall of Fame. In January, a jury had already chosen 19 additional honorees via Judges Choice, including manga pioneer Go Nagai, creator of Devilman and Mazinger Z. Thus, two exceptional Japanese talents were honored this year.
Toriyama, who debuted in 1978 with the one-shot Wonder Island and achieved his first major success in 1980 with Dr. Slump, became known worldwide primarily for Dragon Ball. The series, serialized from 1984 to 1995 in Weekly Shonen Jump, sold over 260 million copies and is considered one of the most influential manga works of all time. The accompanying anime adaptations turned characters like Son Goku into global icons. Additionally, Toriyama shaped the video game series Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon as a character designer.
Toriyama had already been nominated for the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2019 but was not selected. In 2024, he was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame. With this honor in San Diego, he follows a series of prominent Japanese artists who have entered the Hall of Fame: Osamu Tezuka (2002), Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima (2004), Katsuhiro Otomo (2012), Rumiko Takahashi (2018), Moto Hagio (2022), Keiji Nakazawa (2024), as well as Shigeru Mizuki and Junji Ito (2025).
Other manga and their creators were also recognized at this year's Eisner Awards: Shintaro Kago received the award for Best Short Story for Blood Harvest, Sanho's Purgatory Funeral Cakes won in the category Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia, and AKIRA by Katsuhiro Otomo was awarded Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books. Andrea Horbinski was honored with the award for Best Academic Work for her book Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989.
The presentation of this year's Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards took place at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel during the San Diego Comic-Con. Toriyama's induction into the Hall of Fame underscores the enduring influence of his work on generations of readers, artists, and developers worldwide.
The induction took place in the Voters’ Choice category: From a list of 16 nominees announced in February, the public selected four artists. Alongside Toriyama, Chris Ware, Colleen Doran, and Jeff Smith were also voted into the Hall of Fame. In January, a jury had already chosen 19 additional honorees via Judges Choice, including manga pioneer Go Nagai, creator of Devilman and Mazinger Z. Thus, two exceptional Japanese talents were honored this year.
Toriyama, who debuted in 1978 with the one-shot Wonder Island and achieved his first major success in 1980 with Dr. Slump, became known worldwide primarily for Dragon Ball. The series, serialized from 1984 to 1995 in Weekly Shonen Jump, sold over 260 million copies and is considered one of the most influential manga works of all time. The accompanying anime adaptations turned characters like Son Goku into global icons. Additionally, Toriyama shaped the video game series Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon as a character designer.
Toriyama had already been nominated for the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2019 but was not selected. In 2024, he was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame. With this honor in San Diego, he follows a series of prominent Japanese artists who have entered the Hall of Fame: Osamu Tezuka (2002), Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima (2004), Katsuhiro Otomo (2012), Rumiko Takahashi (2018), Moto Hagio (2022), Keiji Nakazawa (2024), as well as Shigeru Mizuki and Junji Ito (2025).
Other manga and their creators were also recognized at this year's Eisner Awards: Shintaro Kago received the award for Best Short Story for Blood Harvest, Sanho's Purgatory Funeral Cakes won in the category Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia, and AKIRA by Katsuhiro Otomo was awarded Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books. Andrea Horbinski was honored with the award for Best Academic Work for her book Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989.
The presentation of this year's Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards took place at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel during the San Diego Comic-Con. Toriyama's induction into the Hall of Fame underscores the enduring influence of his work on generations of readers, artists, and developers worldwide.
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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical support and editorially reviewed before publication.
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