A Family Matter

by Will Eisner

Portrays a Jewish family as they prepare to observe their patriarch's ninetieth birthday as he sits silent and paralyzed after a stroke

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Sequential Art, Comic Book, Manga

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

William Erwin 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 series The Spirit (1940–1952) was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term "graphic novel" with the publication of his book A Contract with God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Award was named in his honor and is given to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium; he was one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Family Matter was a compact book that painted a dysfunctional family with broad strokes. Five adult siblings gather to celebrate their father’s 90th birthday, but we find that all of them have their own interests at heart, or have warped relationships with their father and each other. We are introduced to all the siblings in their home environments and also see vignettes of their younger lives and their troubled interactions with their father. Incest, blackmail, marital cheating, abandonment and embezzlement all come into effect in this morality play. The term “A family matter” is hammered in, to show the familial ties that bind these flawed relatives together. No one has any truly redeeming qualities, and as for the inheritance and status they seek, it is overshadowed by their greed and jealousy. The ending came as no surprise, and the narrative pauses as you know their base instincts will take over, once the shock wears off.

This review, plus one for The Name of the Game, can be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2016/12/3...

[Rudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I "En familiesag" ("A family matter") klarer Will Eisner å forteller en vond, men menneskelig, beretning om en familie i oppløsning. De ulike grenene av familien samles for å diskutere skjebnen til familiens gamle far, om han skal bo hos noen av barna, eller om de skal finansiere et opphold på et sykehjem. Gamle konflikter og sjalusier ligger som et bakteppe for handlingen.
Det jeg likte best med denne, var hvor godt Eisner bruker tegneserieformatet. Han forteller en historie med flere veldig ulike personligheter, men måten han fremstiller dem (både visuelt og narrativt) gjør at man fort skjønner hvem de er. Noen blir kanskje litt "typete", men det virker for meg som det er brukt mer some et virkemiddel enn en snarvei.

Jeg liker også godt hvordan den tar opp og problematiserer "familien" som et tema.

[Engrossed Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family Matter has sat on random bookshelves for around 15 years and has moved house with us multiple times and never been read until today. This is an old book, published in 1998 but still holds up as the theme are timeless.

Families, love them, hate them or indifferent. You're likely to have an opinion based on the virtue that you're more than likely part of one.

I read the back cover way back when and knew that my heart would be torn reading it and it was, but in a good way. Excellent writing . Insightful pictures. It had to be the right moment so I couldn't feel too sad at the hurt people I would be introduced to.

It was well worth the wait.

In these 68 pages we see a dysfunctional family portrayal that that is too real for comfort. As we learn more about the characters in particular the patriarch Poppa and the long dead Momma, we despair about the reach of people who should never have been parents. Showing favouritism, undermining self confidence, labelling the children and worse yet abuse. This results in children who as adults have no benchmark for good parenting and repeat the pattern of hurting themselves, their children and others.

"When people are related...they are called families!"

The sibling relationship is challenging, adversarial, ultimately lacking as there was no basis for shared mutual understanding and love. These people are really strangers to each other.

I never wonder why broken people who are self destructive, who can't build relationships, who lash out physically and emotionally to others, who are constantly failing at making positive choices in their life behave the way they do, because it's obvious that something in the background, their past, relationships, whatever, has contributed to the person they are now. The only query is 'what was the big bad' .

In this short graphic novel that background is eloquently told. The family dynamics are ...too accurate, too believable.

"...having a family is important! When you belong to a family you are somebody"

This story and the corresponding images are tight. Seemingly set in the mid 1900's, sepia toned and black and white renderings has a big impact when depicting the gender and cultural issued raised and faced by this family. These are real characters with personalities that jump off the page. Expressions and emotions are wonderfully conveyed, the desperation, desolation and pain are powerfully yet subtly displayed.

A challenging read despite the fact that most 'difficulties' are hinted at, mentioned once, inferred or glossed over. Because it leaves your imagination to fill the gap, between the characters perceptions of what happened and reality as viewed from an external perspective. That gap is an uncomfortable place. It says much about relationships that are forged from biology and not choice.

[Senga krew_w_piach · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 historie, każda zupełnie inna. Różnią się nastrojem, tematyką i gęstością. 3,5*

[Bucciali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Interesting story. Recognisable family saga, but well put together. After the New York series, I'm trying to read more Eisner, including some single Spirit editions. I'm falling for his drawing techniques. Harsh truth, beautifully put.

[Anurag · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very funny-sharp-cruel take on a family and its member's relationships with each other. Arguably, the best graphic novel written by Will Eisner.

[Rudy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will Eisner was a truly gifted storyteller and artist, though I have difficulty recommending this book. A synopsis on the rear of the book reads of "a deeply flawed — and refreshingly real — cast of characters," though there is nothing refreshing about this story. Yes, they are all deeply flawed, and for many readers these characters will hit very close to home. But without any redemptive qualities, this makes for a very bleak story. Honest and authentic, perhaps, but only because life's most troubled acts are on full display.

I don't need a feel-good story for a 5 star review. Maus is my favorite book of all-time and that book displays the absolute worst of humanity. But the difference here is that I'm guided by the author to feel sympathy for depravity, while the characters themselves have no remorse. When the characters have no redemptive qualities, I cannot feel sympathy. Instead, I simply feel ill.

[Hogfather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never expected Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, to be capable of something like this. Eisner's work - even here - is based around the aesthetics Americana. But elsewhere (at least in my experience with him), he is placing his personal experiences and the experiences of others in the context of Americana, showing how it shaped them and how they relate themselves to it. In A Family Matter, a shockingly pessimistic Eisner uses it to issue what feels almost like a damnation of Americana. Eisner's characters aspire to their own American dreams, but their striving does little more than expose them in all their nakedness and shame. They want American money, American authority, American respect, and American sex. Only some children and the mentally ill are, by virtue of their remove from "the real world," protected from these ambitions.

[Shawna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pour l'anniversaire des 90 ans de leur père, une femme invite ses frères et sœurs pour faire la fête. Pendant ce temps-là, chacun essaie de trouver la solution imparable pour s'emparer de l'héritage. Mais ce que personne ne sait, c'est que chaque membre de la famille a une raison valable pour souhaiter la mort de leur paternel : inceste, des tromperies et infidélités, cupidité. Cette famille est pour ainsi dire vraiment tordue! Et avec eux, tous les coups sont permis !

Une bande dessinée assez spéciale pas mauvaise, originale mais un peu trop pleine de ressentiment et c'est vraiment dommage. De plus, les dessins sont grossiers et c'est justement ce qui a été très difficile à apprécier... Le seul point positif à ma lecture a été qu'elle soit rapide.

[Paul Simm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read A contract with God some time ago and recently found this little gem in a charity shop and has sat on my shelf for a while. After finishing Norwegian wood, I opted something for something quite short and visual. This is the second book I’ve read of Eisner’s the first being Contract with God and you can see many similar themes that run through tales, which are linked with parent hood, adolescent trauma, addiction, family/ social conflict and societal struggles of the classes. Nicely observed,tho it did all fall heavy on the darker side the plot head a good balance with some of the characters like Sammy and Greta and tho it wasn’t fully explored you can see reasons for the behaviours of other characters. Overall it made for a good read.

[Carlos Úbeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Eisner da en el clavo con esta historia, repleta de acidez, basada meramente en las horas previas a la reunión de los hermanos de una familia para celebrar el cumpleaños de su padre. Con un puñado de detalles es capaz de abordar personajes atractivos y sentimientos complejos que, además, retrata con uno de sus mejores trabajos gráficos y de composición. Sin embargo, deja muchas ganas de un mayor desarrollo, se hace demasiado corta y no permite que aborde la profundidad a la que parece encaminada.

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great example of how Will Eisner was the ultimate fell-bad cartoonist. Everything is handled so maturely, better than other books of his that rely a little more on shock value. Things get worse and worse until everything finally comes to a head in one of Einser's, in my opinion, best sequences.

[Matti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huh huh! Tämä oli ihan kamala! Siis hyvällä tavalla. Perhe on pahin. Kaikilla on vaikeutensa ja salaisuutensa ja perhesuhteet kunnolla sotkussa. Upeasti kuvitettu ja hienosti kerrottu tarina perheen kokoontumisesta isän 90-vuotisjuhliin. Viiva on elävää ja valo ja varsinkin varjo hallussa. Mahtavia hahmoja. Tarina liikkuu koko ajan. Lisää salaisuuksia paljastuu sen edetessä.

[Steven W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply incredible!! a tale about how families treat and mistreat each other. A story about greed and class. A story about how the past is never gone as it intrudes constantly on the present. A masterpiece!!

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Nobody writes and illustrates like Eisner. This is a very grim graphic novel that revolves around a family gathering to celebrate the 90th birthday of their father.

Eisner was such a brilliant illustrator that I believe one could understand the story even without words.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first comic book, A Family Matter, a tense family psychodrama, is absolutely brilliant. I found the other ones, A Contract with God and Life on Another Planet, rather disappointing; especially the latter one is chaotic and confusing.

[Gabriel Infierno · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Will Eisner books

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful little story about a family with an aged patriarch. A study of family - a concept that is given, not chosen.

[Danny Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eisner is so good. I could look at his stuff for hours and hours and hours.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark themes woven into a single family's narrative, including sexual abuse and suicide. The way the story wraps up reminds me of an EC story or less supernatural twilight zone.

[Marysia · Rating 5 out of 5]

To było totalnie świetne, szczególnie ostatnia historia

[Jack Mills]

lots of flashbacks

[Elzira Rai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who could have possibly thought it was a good idea to ruin Eisner's black-and-white contrasts by colorizing this edition in sepia?

[Kyle Hutchins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Left me wanting more, for both better and worse

[Al Capwned · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Family Matter seems familiar but still, Will Eisner is a master of his craft and manages to succeed, even in the type of story that feels cliche.

[gosia · Rating 4 out of 5]

drobne cuda i sprawa rodzinna🫵

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another graphic novel hit by Will Eisner, this one takes a look at family dynamics. A 90-year old man is confined to a wheelchair after a stroke and one his daughters invites the rest of the family over to celebrate his birthday.

As we are introduced to each of his sons and daughters, we're given an initial glimpse into their current lives. When they each come over to the party, we're given a glimpse into their past relationship with their father. Family relationships can be complicated, and there is none better than Mr Eisner at exposing the darkness in the souls of men and women while offering a glimmer of light.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will Eisner’s touching and insightful story about a family that comes together after a long time, on the eve of the death of the family patriarch. Through revealing scenes the reader is taken behind all the pretence that is going on, into deeply buried secrets and dark memories hidden behind false smiles. Human greed, sadistic cruelty and selfishness fuel the story, but it also has a deeply compassionate take on its unfortunate characters. Touching stuff, and extremely sharp.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you make such sort of banal, obviously cliched stuff so powerful, sir? I dunno, but you really do, and I really love it, and I'm going to have to ration it out. Way to make timeless, timely stuff.

[Dipa Sanatani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will Eisner is a master of his genre. I keep in mind that he was one of the graphic novel genre whenever I pick up one of his books. This book is worth a read. It's short, but dense and easy to read at the same time.