The “sequential artܫ” medium — more colloquially known as “comic books,” “comic strips” or “cartooning” — came of age in the first third of the 20th century🐈, largely (but not exclusively) founded by a wildly creative coterie of first-generation New York Jews.
“Will Eisner, 🐈Champion of The Graphic Novel” chronicles the life and achievements of one of those giants. Written by former DC Comics president and publisher Paul Levitz in an engaging conversational style and — appropriate to the topic — lavishly illustrated, it’s part personal biography, part history of an industry and a classic New York story.
Eisner was born in Williamsburg in 1917 to two European Jews. His father, Sam, w꧋as from Austria, and his mother, Fannie, literally came into the world on a ship, as her mother gave birth en route from Romania.
The young family (which included both a younger brother and sister) moved around frequently before settling in The Bronx♓, where Will attended 🔯DeWitt Clinton High School — an institution that would later graduate other future giants of the comic book industry, including Stan Lee.
Breaking the stereotypical roles of the time, it was Sam Eisner who recognized and encouraged his son’s artistic talents, even during the Depression. His mother, conversely, counseled him to seek a✨ more stable occupation — such as art teacher. As it happened, those two voices would influence Will Eisner throughout his life, leading him to seek a balance between the creative and the pragmatic.
That proved wise.
Today, the fruit of the early comics pioneers can be seen in billion-dollar superhero-movie ꦑfranchises. In general, the individual creators of iconic characters like Superman (Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster), Batman (Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and Captain America (Joe Simon and Jack Kirby) were barely compensated com𒊎pared to the billions the characters brought (and continue to bring) to publishers and movie studios.
Why? Because the characters were🐠 sold by young creators who had little way of knowing how valued thei🥃r intellectual property would be decades later.
Eisn꧑er went in another direction: His unique creation — The Spirit — was a non-costumed, two-fisted private eye who owed as much to the style of Dick Tracy as anything. A slender mask covering Denny Colt’s eyes would be Eisner’s sole concession to the superhero genre.
Unlike the superheroes featured in monthly comics, The✃ Spirit’s adventures would appear as weekly inserts in newspapers across the country and were stylistically far more dynamic and “mature.” The Spirit would occasionally break the “fourth wall” and interact with his creator. More important for the economics of the industry, Eisner would maintain♐ ownership of his singular creation.
The Spirit feature had a successful 12-year r💮un, after which Eisner transitioned into commercial fare, creating a still-running magazine for the Pentagon as well as numerous educational publications. All the while, however, Eisner imagined an even more creative way of exploring his industry.
Levitz is clear that Eisner didn’t create the first “graphic novel.” But 1978’s “A Contract With God & Other Tenement Stories” was remarkably influential. It was also intensely personal: Set during the period of Eisner’s youth, the main story tells the tale of a deeply religious Jew devastated by the death of his daughter, a man who feels God has violated the terms of their “contrac🐻t.” Its inspiration was obvious: Eisner had lost his 17-year-old daughter to leukemia, a family tragedy that also sent his son into depression.
While not immediately a huge seller, “Contract” sparked a revolution within comics, causing a new generation of creators like Frank Miller (“The Dark Knight Returns”) and Alan Moore (“Watchmen”) to see the possibilities in their medium. It also sparked a new fertile period for E🍸isner, leading to more than a dozen graphic novels exploring themes of New York, anti-Semitism and the concept of creativity itself.
Appropriate to the subject, “Champion of the Graphic Novel” isn’t just words. Abrams ComicsArt has published a coffee-table book featuring Eisner family photos and examples of his best work — full Spirit stories, his commercial and educational work plus excerpts of his several pos𒊎t-“Contract” graphic novels.
Th෴is book comes along at an ideal time, as comics and graphic novels have arguably achieved greater popularity and respect than ever. And it’s an ideal gift for anyone interested in the industry, New York or creative geniuses of any era.
Consider it in The Spirit of the holidays.