American superhero comics artist Ramona Fradon died on Saturday February 24, at the age of 97, her agent Catskill Comics announced on her Facebook page. She had only fully retired since the beginning of January, according to the specialist site Bleeding Cool.
Ramona Fradon, born Ramona Dom in 1926 in Chicago, was a figure in the Silver Age of comic books and the publishing house DC Comics, which she joined in the 1950s. She is known for her work on the Aquaman series, but also for having brought to life, with screenwriter Bob Haney, Metamorpho from 1965. The designer also created Aqualad, Aquaman’s sidekick, a few years earlier, in the image of what Robin is Batman’s.
However, it would be necessary to wait until 2006 before Ramona Fradon was inscribed in the Will Eisner Hall of Fame, the highest honor for comics in the United States. She thus became one of the first and rare women to be awarded this title, following by a few years her colleague officiating at competitor Marvel, Marie Severin (1929-2018). Many artists from the world of American comics, such as screenwriter Gail Simone, author Francesco Francavilla or designer Patrick Zircher, have paid tribute to the artist on social networks, highlighting her influence as well as the fact that she was a pioneer in an environment dominated by men.
