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Will Eisner (1917-2005) was present at the birth of the comic book industry in the 1930s. At the age of 19, Eisner formed a “packaging shop” with partner Jerry Iger, employing future legends Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, Lou Fine, Bob Powell, George Tuska and many others who churned out strip art, pulp illustrations, and eventually comic books for eager audiences. Eisner originated and assigned such characters as Dollman, Blackhawk, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

In 1940 he created The Spirit, a masked crime-fighting vigilante, in a unique and innovative 16-page Sunday newspaper insert that ran in syndication for nearly 12 years, with a weekly circulation of five million readers. Not only was the format innovative, but Eisner used The Spirit as a vehicle for bold graphic experimentation and story-telling, setting a genre standard that few have matched. All the more astounding is that at the age of twenty-two he negotiated ownership of the property at a time when creator ownership of comics was unheard of.

Taking a temporary leave from The Spirit to serve as a Pentagon-based warrant officer during World War II, Eisner pioneered the instructional use of comics, creating inspirational and instructional posters and manuals. He continued to produce them for the U.S. Army post-war under civilian contract into the 1970s, along with educational comics for clients as diverse as General Motors and public elementary schools.

Eisner developed A Contract with God after being away from the comics industry. Inspired in part by autobiographical underground comics, Eisner's 1978 graphic novel centered on life in a fictional Bronx tenement at 55 Dropsie Aveue. The semi-autobiographical four-part book delves into religion, guilt, crime and sex, intentional forays into adult concepts and themes. As in The Spirit nearly four decades earlier, Eisner insisted that the work be published in an unusual (for comics) format: a square-bound book. With a conventional book format and content aimed at adults, Eisner was able to break the mainstream bookstore barrier that blocked pamphlet-format comic books. A Contract with God created immediate industry ripples, effectively starting the graphic novel revolution.

In his later years, Eisner went on to create nearly 20 more graphic novels, with translations into many languages. He also began teaching at New York City's School of Visual Arts and traveling the lecture circuit, spawning a new generation of ambitious comic book artists worldwide. The comics industry’s most prestigious annual award for excellence, The Eisner, is named after him.

Eisner himself received many worldwide honors and awards, including the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême (Europe's comics epicenter) and the second-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture (2002). Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Kavalier and Clay is based in good part on Eisner. The father of the graphic novel died in 2005, but his talent will forever influence, inspire and entertain us...less

Pen and ink pages from A Contract with God
8.5 X 11" art size :: framed and matted size 12 x 15"

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PENCILS
Tight pencil preliminary drawings from A Contract with God
Pencil on paper; unframed, 8.5 x 11"

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More fabulous Pen and ink pages by Will Eisner:

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The Spirit, July 6, 1947 p.3
[14 x 22.5" art; 20 x 27.5" framed]
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  The Spirit, Sept. 26, 1948 p.2
[16 x 22" art; 22 x 27.5" framed]
SOLD		   The Spirit, Sept. 26, 1948 p.4
[16 x 22" art; 22 x 27.5" framed]
SOLD		   To the Heart of the Storm, page 33
[11 x 14" art; 15 x 18.5" framed]
   To the Heart of the Storm, page 34
[11 x 14" art; 15 x 18.5" framed]

 

For more information about Will Eisner, please visit willeisner.com
•View photos of the opening party!

                 

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888 Newark Ave.
Jersey City, NJ 07306 
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