Will Eisner: The Centennial Celebration: 1917-2017

by Will Eisner, Denis Kitchen (Editor), John Lind (Editor)

The legacy that Will Eisner (1917-2005) had on sequential art cannot be overstated--his innovative storytelling, layouts, and art on his newspaper series The Spirit inspired a generation of cartoonists, and his turn toward an acclaimed run of graphic novels beginning in 1978 with A Contract with God helped pioneer the form. This catalogue includes over 175 selected illustrations, reproduced from the original artwork, from the landmark Will Eisner Centennial Celebration exhibitions taking place in 2017 at Le Musée de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême and the Society of Illustrators in New York. Dual English and French text with essays by Denis Kitchen, Paul Gravett, and John Lind.

Celebrating the centennial of a master storyteller!


Over 175 Eisner illustrations, reproduced from the originals!


The official catalogue to exhibitions at Le Musee de la Bande Dessinee in Angouleme and The Society of Illustrators in New York!

Genres: Comics

176 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2017

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

[Meghannf · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a pleasure to read a book dedicated to the art of Will Eisner. As one of my favorite artist, reading and seeing some first prints of The Spirit is a delight.

You learn about his techniques, about comic history and its evolution through the years. You discover some facts about well-known stories of his famous characters. The reader knows what motivate Will Eisner on certain aspects of comics from pencil work to lettering, and so on…

Centered on a recap of Will Eisner’s career, you learn how he worked with the Army and the role that his comics played in soldier’s education. This book provides small glimpses of his work domains.

Will Eisner’s unique style is put on display for you to enjoy (or should I say re-enjoy!). The authors selected different title pages or grids just to highlight how Eisner played with his style and the code of comics. This compilation of artworks makes you realize how major he was as an artist! His heritage is huge and to be honored. I may be less objective here (no really) but it is brillant! There is a lot of title pages presented in this book, which is just perfect for me as it is my soft spot. I love how this book presents a collection of his many experiences with style from title page to the lettering and to the sneak peak for the next week edition. I was so happy to see some good moments between The Spirit and Ellen.

Honestly, every time I turned a page I was amazed by the style which met everything I love in pencil work. The lines are perfect, the shadows are impressive, the face of the characters so precise with emotions! You can also admire rough grids of some issues of The Spirit. Every brush can be observe, every details are here, these archives are a treasure even if you are not a cartoonist.

This book is a particular edition as it is bilingual (French and English) which would be great for people looking to work with both languages.

If you like comics, I definitely recommend you to check it out!

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, was a pleasant surprise that the book was dual language, English and French. I've been learning French for a short time now, though my speaking/listening needs quite a lot of work, my reading has been coming along. This gave me a great chance to practice that.

But of course that was not why I picked up the book. I've read, and read about, Will Eisner for decades. I'm honestly not always a fan of the stories and art, but there are times when I'm completely blown away. What an incredibly talented man, and what a breadth of work! Though I wish it would have shown more of his fine art work. Whether you're familiar with Eisner or completely new to the man, this is a perfect introduction to his life.

[Y.S. Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a lover of comics, there is a high chance you've heard of Will Eisner. If you have not then this book is for you.

Will Eisner is the godfather of comics. His experimentation and vision around the 1940s and 50s are part of the foundations of what we see today as acceptable in comics and graphic novel (he popularised this term). The style of writing, the panel arrangement, and few major things are parts of Eisner's gifts to the world of comics. The present Eisner Award is named after him for his contributions to the craft of comics.

The Will Eisner - The Centennial Celebration traces Eisner's development in comics. It focuses on his efforts and most of his early works, especially the Spirit series. If you want to see the life of a pioneer and a tiny part of how he evolved, then you will do no wrong by picking this up.

Many thanks to Dark Horse Books for review copy.

[Sara Houle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pas fini, même pas proche, mais ce que j'ai, lu était super intéressant, extrêmement bien mis en contexte, bien rédigé et évidemment super beau. Il a fallu que je le rapporte à la bibliothèque, à mon grand dam. Et il est tellement lourd que j'ai donné une petite pause à mon dos. Héhéhé

[Kathrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aand now I gotta read everything Eisner's ever done. I knew about him, but now I've officially fallen in love with him.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.