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Will Eisner was an American comics artist and pioneer of the American comic book industry. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1917 and grew up in a poor family that frequently moved around the city. Eisner's career in comics began in 1936 when he sold his first artwork to Jerry Iger, editor of Wow, What a Magazine!. Over his decades-long career, Eisner created several popular comics, including 'The Spirit', an atmospheric detective comic that gained a cult following, and 'A Contract with God', a graphic novel that is credited with popularising the literary genre. He also served in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he produced educational comics.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Full Name | William Erwin Eisner |
| Born | March 6, 1917 |
| Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York City, US |
| Parents | Shmuel Eisner and Fannie Ingber |
| Siblings | Julian Eisner and Rhoda Eisner |
| Notable Works | The Spirit, A Contract with God, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, Blackhawk, The Plot: The Secret Story of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion |
| Occupation | Comics Artist, Writer, Publisher |
| Genre | Crime Series, Detective Comics, Adventure Comics, Graphic Novels |
| Awards | Inducted into the Academy of Comic Book Arts Hall of Fame, Shazam Award Hall of Fame, Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame |
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What You'll Learn
Will Eisner's early life and career
Will Eisner, born William Erwin Eisner, was an important figure in the development of the graphic novel, the literary successor to the comic book. Eisner was born in 1917 in Brooklyn, New York City, and grew up in the Bronx. His father, a Jewish mural artist and theatrical background designer of Austrian descent, encouraged his son's artistic ambitions.
Eisner attended DeWitt Clinton High School, where he drew for the school newspaper, the literary magazine, and the yearbook, and did stage design. One of his friends at school was Bob Kane, who later created the Batman comic series. Eisner's early life was marked by poverty, and he began working at the age of thirteen, selling newspapers on street corners. He often got into physical confrontations due to antisemitism from his schoolmates.
In 1936, at the age of nineteen, Eisner published his first comic in a magazine. Soon after, he and his friend Jerry Iger formed Eisner & Iger, a comic studio. Together, they co-created and scripted many popular 1930s adventure comics, including 'Sheena, Queen of the Jungle' (1937) and 'Doll Man' (1939). In 1939, Eisner left the company when Quality Comics offered him the opportunity to create a newspaper comic, with the possibility of being published in comic book format.
During World War II, Eisner was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he created educational cartoons for the army that taught newly enlisted service personnel how to fix vehicles and maintain weapons. After the war, he returned to writing and illustrating comics, including 'The Spirit', which he ended in 1952 when comics seemed to be waning in popularity. He then founded the American Visual Corporation, which made educational cartoons for the government and companies like General Motors. In the late 1960s, he was drawn back to the world of comics by the emergence of a new form influenced by the counterculture movement.
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Eisner's first comics
Will 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 career spanned eight decades.
Eisner's first job was as an advertising writer-cartoonist for the newspaper New York American. He also started illustrating pulp magazines to supplement his income. In 1936, Eisner's high-school friend, Bob Kane (the co-creator of Batman), suggested that he try selling art for comic books. His first sale was to Jerry Iger, the editor of Wow, What a Magazine!, for which he created the character Captain Scott Dalton, a globetrotting adventurer.
Eisner's other work for Wow included the detective series Harry Karry and the pirate comic The Flame. He and Iger then formed a business partnership, creating an art studio that packaged original content for comic book publishers. Eisner, often in collaboration, created characters such as Sheena, Queen of the Jungle; Doll Man, a size-changing superhero; and the fighter pilot Blackhawk. In 1939, Eisner created Wonder Man for the Fox Feature Syndicate. Wonder Man was powered by a magic ring and bore similarities to the popular DC Comics character Superman. DC sued, winning the first lawsuit in the comic book industry for copyright infringement.
Eisner and Iger dissolved their partnership in 1939, and Eisner began working on comic book inserts for Sunday newspapers. This phase included his characters Lady Luck, Mr. Mystic, and, most notably, the Spirit. The Spirit soon became the weekly insert's main series and was, at its peak, published in 20 newspapers with a total circulation of five million copies from 1940 to 1952. The Spirit was a crime fighter dressed in a blue domino mask, a fedora, and a business suit. He was the alter ego of Denny Colt, a criminologist presumed dead, and his headquarters were under his own tombstone.
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Eisner & Iger
The company was formed to service the emerging market for American comic books, which had originated in the early 1930s as tabloid-sized magazines that reprinted newspaper comic strips, adding colour to black-and-white daily comics. Iger, a former cartoonist and editor, had contributed to seminal early comic books such as Famous Funnies and Wow, What a Magazine!, the latter of which also included some new material and brought Iger together with Eisner.
Eisner, anticipating that the supply of available reprints would soon run out, approached Iger with the idea of forming a company to produce original art for comic books. Eisner put up the money and handled the art, while Iger managed sales and lettering. The company was an immediate success, and the pair soon had creators supplying work to Fox Comics, Fiction House, Quality Comics, and others. Eisner claimed that he "got very rich before I was 22", and that in 1939 alone, he and Iger "had split $25,000 between us".
After Eisner left in 1940, Iger continued to package comics under the name S. M. Iger Studio, eventually bringing on a new partner, Ruth Roche, in 1945. Iger was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.
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The Spirit
Will Eisner is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of American comic books and graphic novels. His signature comic, 'The Spirit', ran from 1940 to 1952 and is credited with influencing the later underground comix movement and filmmakers such as William Friedkin and Brad Bird. Eisner wrote and drew most Spirit entries, with uncredited assistance from his studio of assistants and collaborators. The comic is known for its innovative and unpredictable storylines and visual execution, featuring the masked hero, The Spirit.
Eisner himself, however, saw The Spirit as more of a device to tell short stories about various people rather than a traditional superhero. In his own words, "I never had any intention of creating a superhero. I never felt The Spirit would dominate the feature. He served as a sort of an identity for the strip. The stories were what I was interested in." The Spirit's stories were often self-contained, allowing readers to enjoy them without needing to follow a strict chronological order.
The character of The Spirit has been portrayed in other media, including a 1987 television film by Sam J. Jones and a 2008 film adaptation by Gabriel Macht, written and directed by Frank Miller. Despite its popularity, the 2008 film adaptation was not well-received by fans of the comic, who felt it deviated significantly from the source material.
In addition to 'The Spirit', Eisner also created other comics during his career, including 'John Law', 'Lady Luck', 'Mr. Mystic', 'Uncle Sam', and 'Blackhawk'. He also produced educational comics for the US Army during World War II, such as training and equipment maintenance manuals, and later, the Army's "PS Magazine", which is still in production today. Eisner's work helped elevate American comics as an art form, paving the way for many graphic novelists and contributing to the maturation of the medium.
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Eisner's legacy
Will Eisner is remembered as a pioneer of the American comic book industry. He was inducted into the Academy of Comic Book Arts Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Eisner Awards, considered the Oscars of the American comic book industry, are presented annually at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Eisner's work is characterised by recurring themes of the 1930s, city life, prejudice, family issues, Jewish identity, and existential angst. He was born in 1917 in Brooklyn, New York City, to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His family was poor and moved frequently, and he often experienced antisemitism from his schoolmates. At 13, he started working as a newspaper boy to supplement his family's income. He was tall and sturdy but lacked athletic skills.
Eisner's first job was as an advertising writer-cartoonist for the New York American newspaper, and he also illustrated pulp magazines. In 1936, he sold his first comic art to Jerry Iger, editor of Wow, What a Magazine!, creating the character Captain Scott Dalton. He went on to form a business partnership with Iger, setting up a comic production studio together in 1936. Eisner created characters such as Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and Doll Man, a size-changing superhero. During World War II, he co-created the aviation comic Blackhawk and the crime series Lady Luck.
Eisner's signature work, The Spirit, was published from 1940 to 1952 and featured an innovative, atmospheric detective comic with unpredictable storylines and visual execution. In the second half of his career, he produced educational comics for the US Army before reinventing himself as the "godfather of the graphic novel". His Contract with God trilogy (1978, 1988, 1995) is an autobiographical saga about life in New York City. Some of his last works included retellings of novels and myths, such as Moby-Dick and Sundiata. He also lectured frequently on the craft and uses of sequential art.
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Frequently asked questions
Will Eisner was an American comics artist and pioneer of the American comic book industry. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1917 and died in Florida in 2005.
Eisner is best remembered for creating the series The Spirit, featuring a titular crime-fighting superhero, which was published from 1940 to 1952. The Spirit gained a cult following for its innovative, unpredictable storylines and visual execution.
Eisner's other creations include the detective series Harry Karry, the adventure comic Captain Scott Dalton, and the pirate comic The Flame (later retitled The Hawk and again as Hawks of the Seas). He also co-created the aviation comic Blackhawk and the crime series Lady Luck.
Yes, Eisner gave lectures about the craft and uses of sequential art. He also wrote theoretical books about comics, including Comic & Sequential Art (1985).
