Leonard Rifas

Leonard Rifas was born on April 16, 1951. An American cartoonist, critic, editor, and publisher, he is best known for his work in underground comix, comics journalism, and left-wing political commentary, particularly within the anti-nuclear movement. Rifas also made early contributions to bringing Japanese manga to U.S. readers and was a notable figure in the minicomics form.

His publishing company, EduComics, operated most actively from 1976 to 1982, producing titles such as *All-Atomic Comics*, *Atom Comic*, *Energy Comics*, and *Food Comix/cs*. He is also credited with *Gen of Hiroshima* and *An Army of Principles*. Rifas worked as an artist, colorist, inker, letterer, and writer across 15 issues from 1972 to 1999.

Beyond his comics, Rifas wrote scholarly articles on the anti-comics movement of the 1950s, underground comix, representations of race, and Korean War comic books. His legacy lies in his fusion of activism with sequential art, and his work remains a touchstone for politically engaged cartooning.