Austin Briggs was one of the most successful illustrators and commercial artists of his generation, and, as one of the founders of the Famous Artists School, he died a millionaire. In the 1930s and 1940s, before he achieved fame and fortune, he drew two popular comic strips Secret Agent X-9 and Flash Gordon.

Briggs was born in Michigan and grew up in Detroit. Before he was out of his teens, he went to New York with his portfolio. His drawings were very similar to those of the exceptional pen and ink artist, Joseph Clement Coll. He quickly got assignments from such slicks as Colliers and McClures. "This auspicious beginning was blighted by the Depression," art historian Walt Reed has pointed out, "As the magazines retrenched, Briggs, ...