Along with cartoonists such as Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, and Carl Barks, Kurtzman is regularly cited as one of the defining creators of the Golden Age of American comic books. In 2003, "The New York Times" described Kurtzman as "one of the most important figures in postwar America" over "Mad"s influence on popular culture. This was an upgrade from the "Times" obituary for Kurtzman in 1993, which said he had "helped found "Mad" Magazine." This prompted an angry response to the newspaper from Art Spiegelman, who complained that awarding Kurtzman partial credit for starting "Mad" was "like saying Michelangelo helped paint the Sistine Chapel just because some Pope owned the ceiling."