CELEBRATING WILL EISNER

[MattBrady]

To both honor and celebrate the life of Will Eisner, Newsarama is asking all comic fans and creators to post remembrances or personal stories of one of the brightest stars to shine in the comics firmament in the history of the medium.

Over the years, Eisner touched thousands of people, both through his work, as well as by being a role model, a mentor, a teacher, or just one of the nicest people working in comics.

Personally, for me, it was always a pleasure to talk to Will, and I always tried to make up excuses to do it, from covering his upcoming work to just getting his opinion on some topic or another. He never gave the impression that he was bothered by my (sometimes) frequent calls, and was always a joy to speak with, happy and eager to share his views on his more recent work, as well as reflect upon his years in comics, as well as the people he knew and times he lived through. His love of comics was highly contagious – and palpable. You couldn’t come away from a chat with Will and not love comics just a little more – you couldn’t talk to him, and start to wonder about the potentials that the medium still has yet to explore – the stories that will still be told.

You could catch that same hint of Will’s spirit (no pun intended) when you read any of his work – it’s hard to point to any of it that isn’t timeless, that can’t be used to teach generations of creators that “this is how you do it.”

If there’s any hint of a smile that crosses my face this day, it’s that Will continued doing what he loved to do up until the very end. Virtually every time I spoke with him, I would come away from the conversation and tell someone – some folks who probably got tired of hearing it from me, surely, of how inspired I was by him, that even well into his ‘80s, he wasn’t slowing down – he was continuing to do what he loved, he was still innovating the industry, trying new things, and remaining as vital a part of comics as ever.

Would that we all could follow that model in whatever path we walk.

Given Will’s outlook and abundant energy and joy for the medium and for life itself, let’s take this time to celebrate the life of Will Eisner: a pioneer, an individual, a teacher, a creator, and a friend to all he met.

Matt Brady

[smoky man]

It's a real sad day for all of us comics readers.
It's a sad day for Arts.
Will Eisner will be forever be in my, in our heart. And his stories will be forever alive.

I can't find the right words.
It's like I have lost someone of my family.

His works made me laugh and cry. Always innovative in the storytelling and art. Pure genius.

He was as a friend, always available. I have just to open and read one of his works.

I am sure he is in Heaven drawing for God.

smoky man - www.ultrazine.org, co-editor of "Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman" (Abiogenesis)

[Darth Presley]

Growing up in the '70s, my favorite comics were Spider-Man, the Hulk, Gold Key digests, MAD, CREEPY, and EERIE.

One day, standing at the magazine rack in Lane Drugs, I decided to take a look at THE SPIRIT (since it was from the same guys who put out Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and - my favorite - Famous Monsters). Even at 10 or 11 years old, I knew I was looking at something different and wonderful. The way the pages were drawn, the logos, the whole new (to me then) way of really using the comic page to tell a story, the stories that were both funny and sad at the same time, the real heart that shone through everything in the book.

Will Eisner helped open up this kid's eyes to the artistry in comics. I think reading THE SPIRIT helped me to appreciate things like ZOT!, Love and Rockets, Lloyd Llewellyn, Dalgoda, Neat Stuff and a host of other books outside the funny pages and superhero genres.

Will's later work was always superb and thoughtful and his book on sequential art is an essential starting point for anyone with creative aspirations.

Thanks for everything, Mr Eisner. I know where your secret hideout is now but don't worry - I won't spill.

[BClayMoore]

I don't think I could begin to explain how much the work of Will Eisner has meant to me since I was a kid.

It takes me back to the warm lazy days of my childhood in Texas, where I first discovered everything comics history had to offer, and where I first became a SPIRIT fanatic...

I grew up on Will Eisner. I don't really know what to say.

-BCM

[davidhopkins]

I remember Will Eisner at the San Diego Con. It was an incredible moment for me to meet him. He was a kind person. He believed in the comic book medium, the artform. He was a supporter of young talent-- and the future of this industry.

This past year, at the San Diego Con, after the Eisner's Awards, I was walking behind Mr. Eisner as he and his wife went back to the hotel. He seemed so content, a man on top of the world.

[David Bird]

What a lousy way to start the new year.

[Dan Fraga]

Hearing of Will Eisner's passing has put a void in my soul.


Will Eisner was not only a great teacher and artist, he was a master of time. Anyone who is fortunate enough to have read any of his work knows what I'm saying. Will had a knack for giving you the right context and sequence to make you feel those long moments and those palm sweating micro seconds as if they were happening at the moment you were reading them. He took us all on adventures. His stories weren't just action packed capers, but ones of human nature and difficult, trying times. These stories were both touching and relevant. I owe much of my storytelling sensibilities to the works of Will Eisner.

Thank you Will.

We will all try to do you proud.

Dan Fraga

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

San Diego won't be the same this year. An Eisner Awards ceremony without Will Eisner? It'll take some adjusting.

I never met Will Eisner, but he always struck me as the grandfather of comics. He's the active feisty guy who never looked down at today's kids who create comics for not necessarily doing them the same way he did. He'd be there to tutor them, instead, and encourage them with a kind smile. Then he'd retreat to his studio and show us all how it's supposed to be done at a time when he should just be sitting by the pool and enjoying the sun.

I'm most grateful that there's a big stack of books with his name on them for us to enjoy forever. I picked up his GRAPHIC STORYTELLING & VISUAL NARRATIVE book at Christmas, and it'll be the first thing I dig into tonight now, for sure. His other one, COMICS AND SEQUENTIAL ART, helped define a lot of concepts of comic book storytelling for me.

-Augie

[RobSchamberger]

An artist friend of mine had taken his copy of Comics and Sequential Art to a show Eisner was appearing at, to get it autographed. It was a new copy of the book. Eisner opens up the front cover, signs it, then looks up at my friend and tells him that if he brings it to the next show Eisner's at and it's well-worn, he'll give him a sketch on the inside cover. Well, my friend used the book front to back and back to the front, his storytelling jumping by leaps and bounds. It's got a sketch inside it by Eisner, now, too.

[Simon DelMonte]

What always struck me most about Mr. Eisner was that he was openly and proudly Jewish. A lot of people in the field are Jewish, of course, but how many would write something like "A Contract with God?" How many would devote themselves to writing a book debunking the anti-Semitic myth of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? How many would come to Yeshiva University, my alma mater, and give a talk about the Bible and its influence on super-heroes?

I am a proud Jew, and while I take pride in how much men like Kirby and Lee and Siegel and Shuster and Chaykin and Levitz have added to the comic book, I look to Eisner as a man who understood that being Jewish is something you can use in ways unexpected to inform your art, and in turn can use art in ways unexpected to inform your religion and culture.

The world has lost a great one. May his family and friends and fans be comforted.

[Velvet Glove]

The very first "graphic novel" I ever read was "A Contract With God" back in the early '80s. Changed my life, and Eisner's like will never be seen in comics again. Bless you and keep you, sir. You were one of the greats.

[Aaron Weisbrod]

Whenever I think of "comics" in the broadest of terms there are a few specific scenes that come into my mind... and one of them (and perhaps the most prominent one) is from Will Eisner's "A Contract With God."

I don't want to ruin the full effect of the scene for anyone who hasn't read the book yet, but I'm sure many of those who have read it will be able to recognize it from this vague description...

It featured a man, looking up into the sky, shouting at the sky. Up to that point in the story things have not been going his way. Angry and frustrated, he cries out a single phrase to the heavens that reflects the title of the book.

Seeing that page just blew my mind -- never before had a static image seemed so alive.

The man was truly an inspiration in every sense of the word, and it comforts me to know that we were all lucky enough to have the opportunities to remind him that we knew this (so many times over) when he was alive.

Godspeed, Mr. Eisner.

Best wishes,
Aaron Weisbrod

[Cully Hamner]

Reposted from what I said on the Gaijin board, somewhat revised:

For me, I first met his work about twenty years ago as a teenager, and was immediately a lifer. The effect on me and influence on my work was almost immediate. I didn't get to meet him until around maybe ten years ago when I was asked to participate in a workshop at the Savannah College of Art & Design, along with two of my heroes: Mike Mignola and Will Eisner. Those of you who've met me know that I'm not particualrly bashful, but I was completely unable to express myself that weekend, totally intimidated. I went home feeling like an ass for having contributed so little to the discussion. Eisner, however, was thoughtful, engaged, and gracious, as I've since discovered was just the way he was.

I was able to meet him again just about six weeks ago when he was in town to give a speech at a local Jewish community center, and my good friend Benno Rothschild arranged for me (along with my studiomates Brian Stelfreeze and Stine Walsh) to attend and to have dinner with him. I wasn't quite as intimidated this time, but I still spent most of the time listening. He was just as great as ever at dinner, everything you'd want your hero to be. He didn't remember me from Savannah, but I really didn't care. Why would he? I was just the latest in a long, faceless line of artists to bask in the light he gave off and tell him (for what what must have been the MILLIONTH time for him) how great he was and how much he affected what I do. We all stayed up late and talked in the hotel lobby until Mr. Eisner finally admitted that he had to go to bed. The whole evening stayed with me for days, because he was just that cool.

I never got to meet his wife, Ann, but the thoughts of an entire industry are with her today. She should know that her husband was loved and admired by everyone who ever met him, and that's a fact.

[Charles Brownstein]

This morning we are all sitting at our desks and staring blankly at our screens in a state of visceral shock. "What's shocking," someone said to me this morning, "is that it's shocking. When an 87 year old man goes in for open heart surgery, of course this is a risk." But it is still shocking, both the man on the other end of the line and I admitted.

It's shocking because I think we all regarded Will as being so much more than a mere man. He was a giant, and his presence so overwhelming to those of us who followed him in dedicating our lives to this profession, that it is impossible to think of him in the past tense. Will was something of a spiritual guide -- a courageous force that dedicated himself absolutely to the sequential artform and did so with a pride and seriousness that allowed those who followed to do the same.

Will, in a real sense, was the father of our country. He fought an overwhelming cultural resistance to viewing comics in a serious light by employing guerilla tactics that would have made Washington nod with appreciation. Creating the Spirit to address a diverse audience in the context of a newspaper, where the average American received their information, was a masterstroke analogous to Washington's Christmas siege of the British. His decades creating educational, military, and corporate comics allowed him to explore the limits and language of the art form while infiltrating the fields of endeavor that led American life. While the comics business was trafficking in children's fare and escapist fantasies, Will was using comics to teach GIs how to fix their trucks in a war zone. This use of comics was something like guerilla warfare, wearing down the skeptics about the seriousness and usefulness of this powerful language.

Like Madison contemplating the legal template of an ideal nation, Will carefully considered the grammar, characteristics, and potential of comics. He went into the schools and taught the form and the business; he emphasized the field as a literary one at a time when the most pressing concern of a young artist was getting a job on Spider-Man. He pointed out that the art form did not need to bow to these costumes and their work-for-hire kings. He pointed out – this in the seventies! – that we could be self-governors, that is, create content that is resonant as literature. He wrote the books on the craft, Comics and Sequential Art, and later Graphic Storytelling, which would allow a template for his successors to build upon.

But there was a mysticism to Will that made him also stand out like Moses. In the mid-seventies he believed that the medium was capable of a great deal more than it was accomplishing and so he set out to create “A Contract With God.” Many, many professionals have said to me that the publication of that book was a turning point in their lives. In the use of content, format, and style, Will told a generation that they could consider themselves as authors and speak to the serious themes that authorship demands. In the last decades of his astonishing life he pursued this path, creating over a dozen novels, some of which will surely be counted among the most enduring literature not only of this art form, but of the twentieth century as well.

It is a bitter irony that, like Moses, Will was in sight of his promised land when he died. In 1978 when “Contract” appeared, there was no possibility of a venerable literary house publishing a work of comics. But later this year W.W. Norton, among the most venerated publishing houses, will be doing just that, and making “The Plot,” their key offering for the season. While the economic implications of comics becoming a part of the serious publishing industry are debatable, it is not debatable that this was the serious treatment to which Will aspired, for himself, and for his chosen profession.

As a soul, Will was generous, ambitious, insightful, and fair. He did not hesitate to give of himself in these last decades. A constant presence at conventions, Will made equal time for the captains of this industry, the aspirants looking to break in, and the fans whose lives he touched with his body of work. He was always a gentleman, in the classical sense, where the word actually means something beyond mere politeness.

I would wager that every person in this business has a personal story about Will. That fact alone is testimony of his core generosity. I, luckily, can count myself among the lives that Will has touched. As a teenager publishing a fan magazine, Will gave me time to interview him; and later to read and comment upon the work I was doing. As a young man, he submitted to be interviewed by Frank Miller and myself for a book discussing the art and commerce of this field. On that occasion he and his wonderful wife Ann invited us into their home and shared their time, memories, and insights unselfishly. As a man, in my current occupation, Will was always generous with his time, resources, and creativity, assisting us in bolstering the vitality of the CBLDF.

My favorite memory of Will is a conversation not captured on tape between he, Frank, and myself discussing the decline of masculinity. The truth is that men like Will Eisner are a rarity today. Seldom does one find such a wise and giving soul, passionately devoted to vocation, and above all else embodying a moral decency that held living a good life and doing no harm as its core values.

Of course we will miss Will. We already do. But to merely miss him is not enough to honor his memory. We must do our best, as he did for so many decades, to advance this artform, which he proved could be a life’s work. Will led us to a fertile promised land. Now we must work that much harder to cultivate it properly.

Thank you, Mr. Eisner.

[orcafresh]

Everyone at the Mighty Mini-Con is so sad over Mr. Eisner's death. We extend our heartfelt public condolences and look within ourselves, our hobby members, and this industry for glimpses of a great man that has now left us.

[Al Nickerson]

Will was my college teacher for three years while I attended the School of Visual Arts. My earliest memory of Will Eisner was when he said in class (September 1986), "I think comic books are far more than two mutants trashing each other." I continue to think how funny Will’s statement was whenever I think about it.

I was always a bit intimidated to show Will my work in class. However, one of the nicest things Will ever said to me after reviewing some of my artwork was, "You have a nice line". Now, this was the greatest thing an aspiring comic book inker could hear from one of his heroes.

Will Eisner was a great man.

[wishlish]

Will Eisner is the only person to make comics that my mom enjoys. My mom doesn't read graphic novels at all (what mother really does?), but she devours his work, and would always ask me when his next book would come out.

I'm not looking forward to telling her about this...

In his spirit, I challenge any artist reading this- make comics good enough for my mom to read.

And thank you , Will, wherever you are, for doing what you did.

[Ironhorse]

Will Eisner was the last genius in comics, he was a legend even before his death. Rest in peace Will.

[little kon-el]

I met Wil Eisner once at the Will Eisner Symposium in Gainesville, Florida a couple of years ago. At this symposium, you had Will Eisner, Eddie Campbell, Daniel Clowes, and Joe Sacco hanging out and talking about their life's work along with people giving presentations on academic work pertaining to comic books. I loved talking about and writing about comics, but I never thought of how to do it academically.

But to have Will Eisner tell us that this is what he had always envisioned in his fantasies, where academics could discuss comic books like they were Shakesperan plays or Da Vinci Paintings or Hitchcock Movies in an atomosphere that truly respected the ideas him and his colleagues were trying to express through comics, really made me go forward in my studies. I became inspired to do greater things with comic books and academia. It made me want to share my passion with my English students and help them learn about how greater masters like Will Eisner used design and dialogue to create compelling stories.

Every year since 2004, I lecture to a 100 plus students about the joys of comics, using "Graphic Storytelling" and "Comics and Sequential Art" as primers and "A Contract with God" as an example of how design and art and storytelling can combine to entrace and captivate an audience. Sometimes they get it and sometimes they don't. But I don't think I'd be teaching comics without Will Eisner.

Comic Book academia has lost its first and truest scholar, and he will be forever missed.

Gary Ancheta

[rob liefeld]

I'm very saddened by the news of Will Eisner's passing.

Will Eisner was quite simply the best storyteller comic books has ever seen. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word and a true scholar of visual storytelling.

rob liefeld

[Nerby727]

I was already firmly a comics fan before I really knew who Will Eisner was. I knew of him, the "Eisner" award, and I remember thinking it was peculiar that THE AWARD in the comics industry was named after a guy who was still alive. It was about three years ago when I found out why.

One day I was walking around my comic shop looking for more excuses to spend the rest of my paycheck, when I saw "A Contract With God" sitting on the shelf. The cover intrigued me and when I saw who was the man behind I decided to give it a whirl. I ended up reading it four times . . . that day. It was amazing. I went straight back to the comic shop and bought every other graphic novel of his. He was fantastic. The world is a sadder, darker place because of this man's passing. But thankfully he left a small part of himself behind for the rest of the world to cherish.

There really is nothing more to say except, "We will miss you Mr. Eisner."

[CMills]

Back in the early Nineties, when Capital City Distribution was still in business, I attended the Capital City Trade Show in St. Louis. I was representing a small publishing house, trying to interest the assembled retailers in our forthcoming bill of fare. Always a fan, I enjoyed also touring the other publishers' exhibits and seeing what products they had planned for the months to come, and meeting artists and writers whose work I had long admired.

This was the year of The Crow, with creator Jim O'Barr riding high on the phenomenal success of his comic and the strong word-of-mouth surrounding the upcoming movie. In fact, the movie was to be shown at the event, and O'Barr's publisher, Kitchen Sink Press, was a major presence at the show. When I stopped by their booth, I wasn't at all surprised to see a long line of retailers queued up to get O'Barr's autograph. I was, however, quite surprised to see Will Eisner, one of the medium's greatest masters, sitting a few feet away, ignored by the crowd.

When I approached Will, his eyes lit up. He rose, grasped my hand firmly and thanked me for stopping by. I had nothing with me for him to sign, but that was okay. We talked for a few minutes, a conversation, I'm sure, that consisted primarily of me gushing incoherently, but Will remained gracious and smiled at my babblings.

That was the only time we met, but I treasure the memory and am grateful that I had the opportunity to express – however inarticulately – my admiration for him and his work.

Will Eisner has always been one of my artistic heroes. Through his work, he's consistently demonstrated that juggling craft, art and commerce doesn't have to mean compromise. That skill and talent, applied with passion, can create narrative works of art that fully realize the medium's potential.

But even more importantly, he's told me stories. Stories that have delighted me, excited me, entertained me and inspired me.

He will be deeply missed.

[phil c.]

I am 31 years old and I love Will Eisner’s art since I am 15 ! This man is my comic books hero. Ther is a lot of great artists around here but this man is, sorry was, the master.
In a very strange (and small) way he’s part of my life :
In 1997 I met him in Angouleme for a few minutes. Claude Moliterni (who created the Angouleme convention) introduced me, saying “Will, this is your biggest fan” Then Will goes laughing “No it can’t be, he’s too young” That was funny. I just had a few more words with him but I won’t forget this day
In 2003 my first daughter was born. I asked two artists (Mike Zeck and Klaus Janson) if they could do a drawing for the birth announcement: The Spirit holding a Baby. And so they did! A wonderful drawing. I sent a card to Will and the amazing thing is that he wrote back, thanking me (me??!!!) because I choose the Spirit.
2 months ago I wrote him again, asking if he had something for an article I am going to write about the art of inking : last month he sent me a partly inked Spirit sketch:
This man was the kindest of men
I miss him already
Philippe Cordier

[valentine]

I remember the first time I opened up Comics & Sequential Art. It was like someone smacked me on the back of my head and everything about this medium I'm so passionate about made sense.

I envy all of you who are seriously interested in working in this storytelling medium. Because if you are, you will eventually be lead to Eisner's teachings. And there's nothing like that moment of clarity that he brings to understanding comics and respecting the craft.

~Valentine De Landro

[Dan Wickline]

I never got to speak to him directly, but I did get to see Mr. Eisner on a panel at the last San Diego con and enjoyed reading this John Law work from IDW recently.

I also got the honor of seeing Will Eisner win and Eisner Award a few years ago.

The man touched so many lives with his stories, his how-to books, his kindness and his amazing spirit.

My condolences to his family and friends... and from what I've read and heard of the man, that means everyone who has ever spoke to him or read a comic.