
William Erwin Eisner was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series The Spirit (1940–1952) was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term "graphic novel" with the publication of his book A Contract with God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Award was named in his honor and is given to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium; he was one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Presents a collection of twenty-two Spirit stories from 1940-1950, featuring the adventures of Eisner's famous crime fighter.
"Eisner was not only ahead of his times; the present times are still catching up to him."--John UpdikeA revolutionary novel, A Contract with God re-creates the neighbourhood of Will Eisner's youth through a quartet of four interwoven stories. Expressing the joy, exuberance, tragedy, and drama of life on the mythical Dropsie Avenue of the Bronx, A Contract with God is a monumental achievement, a must in the library of any graphic novel fan.
Eisner presents the principles of graphic storytelling in this guide, which is based on his popular sequential art course at New York's School of Visual Art. Readers will learn the basic anatomy, fundamentals of storycraft and how the medium works as a means of expression.
alternate cover for ISBN 9780393061055Will Eisner (1917–2005) saw himself as "a graphic witness reporting on life, death, heartbreak, and the never-ending struggle to prevail." The publication of A Contract With God when Eisner was sixty-one proved to be a watershed moment both for him and for comic literature. It marked the birth of the modern graphic novel and the beginning of an era when serious cartoonists could be liberated from their stultifying comic-book format.More than a quarter-century after the initial publication of A Contract With God, and in the last few months of his life, Eisner chose to combine the three fictional works he had set on Dropsie Avenue, the mythical street of his youth in Depression-era New York City.As the dramas unfold in A Contract With God, the first book in this new trilogy, it is at 55 Dropsie Avenue where Frimme Hersh, the pious Jew, first loses his beloved daughter, then breaks his contract with his maker, and ends up as a slumlord; it is on Dropsie Avenue where a street singer, befriended by an aging diva, is so beholden to the bottle that he fails to grasp his chance for stardom; and it is there that a scheming little girl named Rosie poisons a depraved super’s dog before doing in the super as well.In the second book, A Life Force, declared by R. Crumb to be "a masterpiece," Eisner re-creates himself in his protagonist, Jacob Shtarkah, whose existential search reflected Eisner’s own lifelong struggle. Chronicling not only the Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression but also the rise of Nazism and the spread of left-wing politics, Eisner combined the miniaturist sensibility of Henry Roth with the grand social themes of novelists such as Dos Passos and Steinbeck.Finally, in Dropsie Avenue: The Neighborhood, Eisner graphically traces the social trajectory of this mythic avenue over four centuries, creating a sweeping panorama of the city and its waves of new residents—the Dutch, English, Irish, Jews, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans—whose faces changed yet whose lives presented an unending "story of life, death, and resurrection."The Contract With God Trilogy is a mesmerizing, fictional chronicle of a universal American experience and Eisner’' most poignant and enduring literary legacy.
A companion to Comics & Sequential Art, this book takes the principles examined in that title and applies them to the process of graphic storytelling. Eisner shows comic artists, filmmakers and graphic designers how to craft stories in a visual medium. They'll also learn why mastering the basics of storytelling is far more important than the hollow flash and dazzle seen in lesser work. Readers will learn everything from the fine points of graphic storytelling to the big picture of the comics medium, including how * Use art that enhances your story, rather than obscuring it * Wield images like narrative tools * Write and illustrate effective dialogue * Develop ideas that can be turned into dynamic stories These lessons and more are illustrated with storytelling samples from Eisner himself along with other comic book favorites, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb, Milton Caniff and Al Capp.
"An American storyteller, like Ray Bradbury, like O. Henry." - Neil Gaiman With an unparalleled eye for stories and expressive illustration, Will Eisner, the master and pioneer of American comics art, presents graphic fiction's greatest celebration of the Big Apple. No illustrator evoked the melancholy duskiness of New York City as expressively as Eisner, who knew the city from the bottom up. This new hardcover presents a quartet of graphic works (New York, The Building, City People Notebook, and Invisible People) and features what Neil Gaiman describes as "tales as brutal, as uncaring as the city itself." From ancient buildings "barnacled with laughter and stained with tears" to the subways, "humorless iron reptiles, clacking stupidly on a webbing of graceful steel rails," Will Eisner's New York includes cameo appearances by the author himself; several new illustrations sketched by Eisner, posthumously inked by Peter Poplaski; and three previously unpublished "out-takes" - treasure for any Eisner fan, and sure to become a collectible. Introduction by Neil Gaiman.
A work more disturbing than fiction from "the father of graphic novels" ( New York Times ). "The ultimate illustration of how absurdly comical and cancerous The Protocols has been to mankind."―Thane Rosenbaum, Los Angeles Times Book Review The Plot , which examines the astonishing conspiracy and the fabrication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , has become a worldwide phenomenon since its hardcover publication, taught in classrooms around the globe. Purported to be the actual blueprints by Jewish leaders to take over the world, the Protocols , first published in 1902, have become gospel truth to international millions. Presenting a pageant of historical figures from nineteenth-century Russia to today's ideologues, including Tsar Nicholas II, Henry Ford, and Adolf Hitler, Will Eisner unravels and dispels one of the most devastating hoaxes of the twentieth century.
“Eisner was not only ahead of his times; the present times are still catching up to him.”―John Updike In Dropsie Avenue: The Neighborhood , Eisner graphically traces the social trajectory of this mythic avenue over four centuries, creating a sweeping panorama of the city and its waves of new residents, whose stories present an unending “story of life, death, and resurrection.”
“Eisner was not only ahead of his times; the present times are still catching up to him.”―John Updike Called “a masterpiece” by R. Crumb, A Life Force chronicles not only the Great Depression but also the rise of Nazism and the spread of socialist politics through the depiction of the protagonist, Jacob Shtarkah, whose existential search reflected Eisner’s own lifelong struggle.
An autobiographical graphic novel that examines how anti-Semitism shapes the personality and life of a young boy and his experiences in the America of the 1920s and 30s.
In FAGIN THE JEW, Eisner proves himself to be not only a master of comic storytelling, but also an incisive literary and social critic. This project was first conceived as an introduction to a pictorial adaptation of Oliver Twist, but as he learned more about the history of Dickens-era Jewish life in London, Eisner uncovered intriguing material that led him to create this new work. In the course of his research, Eisner came to believe that Dickens had not intended to defame Jews in his famous depiction. By referring to Fagin as “the Jew” throughout the book, however, he had perpetuated the common prejudice; his fictional creation imbedded itself in the public’s imagination as the classic profile of a Jew. In his award-winning style, Eisner recasts the notorious villain as a complex and troubled antihero and gives him the opportunity to tell his tale in his own words. Depicting Fagin’s choices and actions within a historical context, Eisner captures the details of life in London’s Ashkenazi community and brilliantly re-creates the social milieu of Dickensian England. Eisner's fresh, compelling look at prejudice, poverty, and anti-Semitism lends an extraordinary richness to his artwork, ever evocative and complex. Like the modern classics Maus and The Jew of New York, FAGIN THE JEW blends image and prose in an unforgettable exploration of history.
Last Day in Vietnam is Will Eisner's memoir of stories about soldiers who are engaged not only in the daily hostilities of war but also in larger, more personal combat. During Eisner's years in the military, and particularly during the many field trips he made for P.S. Magazine, he observed camp life at close range. Some of the stories in this novel are comical, some heart-rending, some frightening, yet all display the incredible insight into humanity characteristic of Eisner's entire oeuvre. The first edition of this graphic novel features a full-color cover painted by the artist, with a matte and spot-gloss finish, interior cover flaps, and special sepia-colored ink printed on high-quality antique paper.
A roman à clef about Eisner's early years in the thriving comics industry prior to World War II featuring new annotations that reveal the comics pioneers like Bob Kane and Jack Kirby who appear under pseudonyms.
Le jour où le vieil immeuble fut remplacé par un énorme building, 4 fantômes apparurent...
One of four extraordinary graphic novels celebrating the Big Apple, from the master of American comics art. Before the Lower East Side was cool, there was the grit and grime of Avenue C, a world filled with street musicians, overflowing sewers, and peeping toms, all recalled in Eisner’s unforgettable style.
by Will Eisner
Rating: 3.8 ⭐
This powerful graphic novel confirms Will Eisner as a master of the genre.In this classic graphic novel, Will Eisner?s pen cuts an expansive swath through all aspects of the human condition. A powerful portrayal of Jewish life in the New York City of Eisner?s youth, Minor Miracles encourages similar introspection as it examines how luck and coincidence converge in everyday life in ways that, in hindsight, seem miraculous.
An extraordinary and classic graphic novel celebrating the Big Apple, from the master of American comics art.With an unparalleled eye for stories and expressive illustration, Will Eisner, the master and pioneer of American comics art, presents one of his renowned celebrations of the Big Apple. No illustrator evoked the melancholy duskiness of New York City as expressively as Eisner, who knew the city from the bottom up.Invisible People is a haunting trio of stories about life's forgotten shut-ins in the tradition of Kafka, Gogol, and Melville.
Portrays a Jewish family as they prepare to observe their patriarch's ninetieth birthday as he sits silent and paralyzed after a stroke
Chronicles the struggle for power and privilege of the Arnheim, Ober, and Kayn families as each tries to ensure its family's future with marriage and children.
A thought provoking look at what would happen if life was found on another planet.
An intimate self-portrait of the American icon Will Eisner, and a chronicle of the career that launched a new art form. In what will be the closest thing Eisner fans will see to an autobiography, the great master and pioneer of American graphic arts presents the most intimate and personal perspective yet on his life as a writer, a professional, and an artist. “The Dreamer” and “To the Heart of the Storm” describe Eisner’s gritty early life and career, while “The Name of the Game” chronicles a personal history of his wife’s family. Finally, two shorter pieces illuminate the bookends of a legendary career: “The Day I Became a Professional” ―which will appeal to any hopeful young artist―describes Eisner’s first rejection from a potential publisher, and “A Sunset in Sunshine City” provides a poignant portrait of Eisner in old age. The book features famous characters from the world of comics (under pseudonyms, of course) and other historical figures and family members, all drawn with Eisner’s characteristic mastery and technique.
It would be hard to imagine any creators who have more greatly affected their chosen medium than Will Eisner and Frank Miller have influenced the world of comics and graphic novels. Often misunderstood, but enduringly enjoyed by people from all walks of life, the comic book has in recent years been recognized as a "legitimate" art form by cultural institutions ranging from Harvard University to the Smithsonian, from The New Yorker to the Art Institute of Chicago. Now, culture-curious readers and life-long fans of the comics medium are invited to read along as two of the medium's greatest contributors--legendary innovator and godfather of sequential art Will Eisner, and the modern master of cinematic comics storytelling, Frank Miller--discuss one on one in an intimate interview format, the ins-and-outs of this compelling and often controversial art form. Eisner/Miller is profusely illustrated and features rare, behind-the-scenes photos of Eisner, Miller, and other notable creators.
The first volume in a complete series reprinting Will Eisner's classic crimefighter The Spirit in chronological order from June 2nd to December 29, 1940. Includes "The Origin of The Spirit," "Orang, The Ape Man," "The Kiss of Death," "The Prom," the first Christmas Spirit story and 26 others in full color. Also features a preface by Eisner on how The Spirit came to be, a foreword by Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, AMERICA'S BEST COMICS) and an introduction by comics historian R.C. Harvey.
One of four extraordinary graphic novels celebrating the Big Apple, from the master of American comics art.Character sketches and timeless snapshots of the eccentric denizens of the American city that perfectly capture Eisner?s genius and powers of observation.
by Will Eisner
Rating: 4.2 ⭐
The final volume of legendary cartoonist Will Eisner's celebrated instructional trilogy explores the critical principle of body grammar in comics storytelling.
G1 Glossy paperback 2000 11.00x8.50x0.30 HUMOR STORYTELLING STYLE, COMICS AND BEST ENTERTAINING.
A comic book retells the story about the Spanish gentleman, considered slightly mad, and his servant, who pass themselves off as knights in order to fight evil and establish justice.
Will Eisner's classic 1940s crimefighter returns This second volume finds America about to enter World War II -- and the Spirit facing Fifth Columnists, spies and saboteurs, as well as meeting the series' first great femme fatale, Silk Satin These highly atmospheric stories, which ran weekly in newspapers, range from humorous to darkly moody.
A retelling in comic strip form of the African epic in which an ugly, crippled child grows up to become the liberator and founder of the great empire of old Mali.