From his early newspaper comics to the sophisticated graphic novels he produces today, Will Eisner has been a pioneering force in comics for more than sixty years. Ron Goulart, writing in Book World, declared, “A shrewd, thoughtful man, Eisner has always had a knack for deftly combining dialogue and images to tell his story,” and fellow graphic novelist Alan Moore simply said, “Eisner is the single person most responsible for giving comics its BRAINS.” And Amazon.com, which called him "the Elvis of comics," said, "It's fair to say that Eisner invented modern comic art." 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.

Fagin the Jew: A Graphic Novel

Comics & Graphic Novels

Eisner, Will

Graphic Novels

DOUBLEDAY

Published quietly in 1978, Will Eisner's revolutionary literary work A Contract With God marked the invention of the modern graphic novel, took on a life of its own, and inspired a generation of "sequential artists." Will 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.

The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue (A Contract With God, A Life Force, Dropsie Avenue)

Literature & Fiction

W.W.Norton&Company

"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"―a treasure for any Eisner fan, and sure to become a collectible. Introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Will Eisner's New York: Life in the Big City

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.

Life, in Pictures: Autobiographical Stories

About the Author\nBorn in New York City, Will Eisner (1917–2005) was the author of the legendary comic strip The Spirit, as well as fifteen graphic novels and three influential instructional textbooks. The comic industry’s top awards, the Eisner Awards, are named in his honor.\nJared Gardner is Joseph V. Denney Designated Professor of English at The Ohio State University. He is the author of three monographs, including Projections: Comics and the History of 21st-Century Storytelling and The Rise and Fall of Early American Magazine Culture, and he is the editor or coeditor of several volumes, including The Comics of Charles Schulz: The Good Grief of Modern Life. He has worked closely for many years with the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State, including serving as curator on several exhibits.\n“An essential introductory collection to comics’ most essential figure. Weaving together the works that helped assure comics’ status as a literary medium, the anthology combines Eisner’s slice-of-life masterpieces with an incisive editorial introduction and carefully curated scholarship to provide crucial insight into how comics work, what they mean, and what they can do.” ―Jeremy Dauber, Columbia University and author of American Comics: A History 
This Norton Critical Edition includes: Jared Gardner’s insightful introduction and explanatory notes. Generous selections from four of Will Eisner’s major graphic novels and story collections, carefully chosen with student readers in mind. Will Eisner’s interviews and published writing on comics and the graphic novel genre from 1978 to 2000. Thirteen wide-ranging reviews and assessments of Eisner’s works. Critical essays by Andrew J. Kunka, Paul Williams, Jeremy Dauber, Greg M. Smith, and Derek Parker Royal. A chronology of Will Eisner’s life and work and a selected bibliography.

A Contract with God and Other Stories of Dropsie Avenue: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton Critical Editions)

“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.

A Life Force (Will Eisner Library (Hardcover))

Science Fiction & Fantasy

The first graphic novel―a mesmerizing fictional chronicle of a universal American experience. Through a quartet of four interwoven stories, A Contract With God express the joy, exuberance, tragedy, and drama of life on the mythical Dropsie Avenue in the Bronx. This is the legendary book that launched a new art form and reaffirmed Will Eisner as one of the great pioneers of American graphics.

A Contract with God

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.

New York: The Big City (Will Eisner Library (Hardcover))

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.

City People Notebook (Will Eisner Library (Hardcover))

An extraordinary autobiography story from a legend in American comics. A roman a clef about Eisner's early years in the thriving comics industry prior to World War II―featuring new annotations that reveal comics pioneers such as Bob Kane and Jack Kirby who appear under pseudonyms.

The Dreamer

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Books by Eisner, Will