Born in Osaka, Japan

Died: November 30, 2015 (aged 93)

Shigeru Mizuki basically defined youkai manga. He's best known for Gegege no Kitarou, the horror series that made him a household name and spawned countless adaptations. If you've seen any youkai story in manga form, there's a decent chance his work either influenced it directly or set the template everyone else followed.

Beyond manga, Mizuki documented his experiences in World War II, and his memoirs stand as significant historical accounts. He was also a respected writer and biographer in his own right, bringing the same meticulous attention to detail he'd honed in his comics to nonfiction work.

Fans and critics consistently point to him as the master of his genre—someone who didn't just draw monsters and spirits, but understood the folklore deeply enough to make it feel authentic and genuinely unsettling.