by Daniel L. Friedman

Each year Comic-Con bestows upon a member of the comics and entertainment community its prestigious Icon Award.

This year is unique in that, for the first time, Comic-Con has conferred two awards. The first 2017 Icon Award was presented posthumously, to legendary comics artist Jack Kirby, coinciding with his 100th birthday. A regular guest at Comic-Con beginning with its inception in 1970, Kirby was a familiar face to people who attended the convention until his passing in 1994. Members of the Kirby family were on hand to accept the award at Comic-Con this past summer.

Comic-Con also wanted to honor a living individual who deserved this special recognition. So, on November 2, before an audience of more than 200 people in Long Island, New York, renowned Marvel Comics artist and colorist Marie Severin was presented with the Icon Award by Comic-Con's Chief Communications and Strategy Officer, David Glanzer. He happily informed those present that Marie had been named this year's recipient for her pioneering work in creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular arts. Marie’s introduction to the comic book industry began eight decades ago when her talented older brother, the famed artist John Severin, suggested she take a job as a colorist for EC Comics. At EC, her natural adeptness with coloring enabled her to blaze the trail for women who wanted to enter what was then an almost exclusively male field.