Journalista is reporting the death of Mad magazine pioneer and Little Annie Fanny co-creator Will Elder at 86.
Elder was born as Wolf Eisenberg in New York City on September 22, 1921. He attended New York’s High School of Music & Art. After graduation, he was drafted and saw action in World War II, at the Battle of the Bulge, according to science-fiction writer Steve Stiles‘ article about the artist.
Returning from the war, he eventually formed an art studio with Harvey Kurtzman, and found his way to E.C. Comics by 1951, where he frequently worked as an inker for John Severin.
Elder was one of the original Mad magazine artists when the magazine launched in late 1952, spearheaded by Kurtzman. Elder’s parodies of characters including Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes and other well-known characters put him at the forefront of Mad illustrators.
In 1962, Elder and Kurtzman began “Little Annie Fanny” for Playboy. Elder worked on “Annie Fanny” until his retirement in 1988.
“A finer cartoonist never lived,” said Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics, who published a retrospective on Elder’s work in 2003.
The funeral is scheduled to take place on Sunday in New Jersey.