Animation & Comics

Mickey Mouse reached a wide audience in the 1928 sound cartoon Steamboat Willie and became a mascot of the Disney company.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs proved feature-length cel animation could succeed as American cinema.

Studio Ghibli, co-founded in 1985, is renowned worldwide for richly detailed hand-drawn animated films.

Spirited Away became the first hand-drawn, non-English film to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Pixar, backed early on by Steve Jobs, released the first fully computer-animated feature film.

Toy Story became the first fully computer-animated feature, following toys that secretly come alive.

South Park pairs a crude animation style with satirical humor produced on an unusually fast schedule.

Superman, widely regarded as the first true superhero, debuted in DC's Action Comics in 1938.

Batman, created without superpowers, relies instead on intellect, gadgets, and physical training.

Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is defined by the idea that great power brings great responsibility.

Wonder Woman, one of comics' first major female superheroes, hails from the mythical Amazon warriors.

The Avengers united previously separate Marvel heroes and later inspired one of film's highest-grossing franchises.

The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening, is the longest-running scripted primetime series in American television.

SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biology teacher Stephen Hillenburg, is set in Bikini Bottom.

Tom and Jerry tells its cat-and-mouse chase almost entirely through physical comedy without dialogue.

Looney Tunes introduced Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck through fast-paced Warner Bros. comedy shorts.

X-Men's mutant heroes and their persecution are often read as an allegory for real-world social prejudice.

Peanuts followed the perpetually unlucky Charlie Brown through nearly fifty years of daily newspaper strips.

Calvin and Hobbes followed a boy and his tiger until creator Bill Watterson ended it at peak popularity.

Shrek subverted fairy tale tropes by centering its story on a grumpy ogre instead of a traditional hero.

Avatar: The Last Airbender drew on East Asian art and martial arts to build its four-element bending world.

Naruto, one of the best-selling manga ever, follows a young ninja seeking recognition from his village.

Dragon Ball helped popularize anime worldwide, centered on warriors seeking magical wish-granting orbs.

One Piece, the best-selling manga in history, follows pirates searching for a legendary hidden treasure.

Family Guy was canceled before strong DVD sales convinced the network to revive it.

Adventure Time set whimsical humor in the post-apocalyptic land of Ooo alongside surprisingly deep storylines.

Archie Comics has followed its Riverdale teenagers continuously in print since the early 1940s.