Comic book legend Will Eisner died Monday evening, January 3rd. I’m not an authority on the man’s work, having only discovered him in the last 4 years of my comic reading, but what work of his I did read renewed my appreciation of and fascination with this highly disregarded art form. His work helped to ignite the passions and to expand the imaginations of a new generation to the limitless possibilities of what one could accomplish in the medium. Eisner himself said in 2000, “This medium lives with an undeserved stigma of being a comic book ghetto instead of being treated as a true art form and one of the oldest forms of artistic expression.” Think hieroglyphics as an example of how truly old storytelling is in the forms of what we call ‘comics.’
There’s a reason the most prestigious award in the comics industry is called the Eisner Award.
I’m not the first one to make this statement, but it couldn’t be more true: His Spirit will live on forever. Such is the fate of the artist, to be outlived for all eternity by their creations. Tis the true path to everlasting life.
In the Iron Giant, Hogarth Hughes, while trying to chose a bedtime story to read the Giant, holds up a copy of Eisner’s The Spirit, and announces: “The Spirit – Way Cool!” Way cool indeed. Mr. Eisner, Requiescat in Pace.
Thanks to yesterday’s USAToday for the nice quote.