Will Eisner is an innovator and a father figure to American comic books. Though he has made many successful comic books and graphic novels, the one that he is most famous for is "The Spirit". The comic was so famous that Frank Miller, producer of "Sin City" and "300", produced a 2008 movie in a style similar.
The 2008 movie pulled in 19.8 million dollars at the box office. The movie featured big name actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendez, and Scarlett Johansson. The movie brought Eisner's comic to life using vivid colors and the top notch Hollywood actors. The plot of the comic is that "The spirit" is the protector of the city and "The Octopus" tries to destroy it. Humor and action combine to make the movie and comic book enjoyable.
"The Spirit" is one of Eisner's comics not related to Judaism. This time period was difficult for Eisner and other Jewish comic book writers as it was not easy to be Jewish in America. While writing "The Spirit" Eisner went off to war which delayed the finishing of the comic. When returning to the United States after the war, Eisner and his staff were able to finish "The Spirit" in 1945.
"The Spirit" has gained a lot of recognition and called attention to his other writings to people outside of the comic book community. Eisner's effect on the comic book community was tremendous and "The Spirit" will live on forever as Eisner's most famous work.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Eisner's Contract with God
"A Contract with God" is actually the first graphic novel I have ever read. I really enjoyed it along with the discussion in class today. Something i really did not pay as much attention to as I will in future graphic novels is the illustrations. There were so many things I did not catch do to my lack of attention to the drawings.
My favorite tale in the graphic novel was "A Contract With God" though parallels could be drawn within all of the stories. I was particularly interested in the ending after the epilogue. When the child, with so many parallels to Frimme Hersh, picks up the stone with the contract on it. The ending seems so open-ended and up for interpretation which we discussed in class. Did Eisner mean to claim that this boys fate was to be the same as Frimme's?
The biblical references we made with the contract in class helped me to understand the story better. Just as there were covenants in several places in Jewish history. The covenants not kept in biblical times were similar to that in "A Contract With God"
The way the tennents on Dropsie Avenue all struggled for happiness in a new country displayed the difficult life these people had. With racism being shown in several areas of the graphic novel, it made it clear that it was not easy for the Jewish immigrants. Eisner potrays a very difficult time in US history for immigrants, and he does it using his own experiences along with fiction.
My favorite tale in the graphic novel was "A Contract With God" though parallels could be drawn within all of the stories. I was particularly interested in the ending after the epilogue. When the child, with so many parallels to Frimme Hersh, picks up the stone with the contract on it. The ending seems so open-ended and up for interpretation which we discussed in class. Did Eisner mean to claim that this boys fate was to be the same as Frimme's?
The biblical references we made with the contract in class helped me to understand the story better. Just as there were covenants in several places in Jewish history. The covenants not kept in biblical times were similar to that in "A Contract With God"
The way the tennents on Dropsie Avenue all struggled for happiness in a new country displayed the difficult life these people had. With racism being shown in several areas of the graphic novel, it made it clear that it was not easy for the Jewish immigrants. Eisner potrays a very difficult time in US history for immigrants, and he does it using his own experiences along with fiction.
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