Will Eisner: A Spirited Life

by Bob Andelman

This beautifully illustrated biography explores the fascinating life of Will Eisner, detailing a career that exceeds six decades in which Eisner spearheaded the cause of comics for adult readers and created the first widely accepted graphic novel, A Contract with God. Eisner's influence has been felt by such diverse talents as Batman creator Bob Kane and Jack Kirby. Underground comics legend R. Crumb and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists Jules Feiffer and Art Spiegelman have hailed Eisner's cinematic approach to comics and his enduring character The Spirit. From his childhood to educating Army soldiers to famously turning down a proposal for Superman, Eisner's personal and professional life is told in dramatic detail. Bob Andelman spent almost three years interviewing Eisner, researching his life and work and interviewing his friends, family, and the creative talents he inspired over a seventy-year career. Among those who spoke about their personal experience with Will Eisner Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman, Denis Kitchen, Joe Kubert, Stan Lee, Jules Feiffer, Neal Adams, and Patrick McDonnell.

Genres: Biography, Comics, Nonfiction, Art, History, Business

352 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Bob Andelman is the host and producer of Mr. Media® Interviews. He is also the author or co-author of 15 books, including The Wawa Way with Howard Stoeckel, Building Atlanta with Herman J. Russell, Fans Not Customers with Vernon W. Hill, founder of Commerce Bank and Metro Bank UK, Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and Society of Professional Journalists).

Reviews

[John Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were excellent stories in this book, but sometimes they were a little slow to appear. Way too much time was spent on the on the military jobs--good information but slow reading. Overall, good, but I would only recommend it to big Eisner fans.

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually stopped reading this book halfway through. I found it dull, plodding, and directionless. Eisner himself recounted some of these stories himself in comic form in "The Dreamer" and "To the Heart of the Storm," both of which were recently reprinted in the excellent Life in Pictures collection. Here they're retold artlessly and uncritically. If it's true that cartoonists lead uninteresting lives compared to the subjects of most biographies, then it falls on the biographer to put their subjects' work and lives into historical or critical context. This book read like a report written by a disinterested high schooler. Needless to say, I would not recommend it.

[Comics Alternative · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/comics-a...

[Bart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This thoroughly researched book contains pretty much every little fact and detail from Eisner's publishing career. However, this makes for a bit of a dry read. If you're looking to learn more about the man, his influences and creative processes, you won't find it in this book. There are also not a lot of photos and images of Eisner's work, which I particularly missed.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written biography with a lot of interesting detail and anecdotes.

[Jeanne Palermo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very insightful …only read it because I once worked for Will Eisner

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty decent biography of one of the founding fathers of comics.