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Will Eisner: A Comics Biography

Name: Will Eisner: A Comics Biography
Rating: 4.27 (8 reviews)
ISBN: 9781681123578

Steve Weiner, Dan Mazur (illustrator)

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Explore the life of Will Eisner, one of the most influential artists in the history of comics through the most appropriate medium: a graphic novel! From his immigrant roots and childhood in New York, starting his own comics studio and business, and the creation and publication of his beloved comic, The Spirit, through inventing the term "graphic novel" to convince a general trade publisher to publish the groundbreaking A Contract with God, you'll follow along in Eisner's life journey.

With the most prestigious comics awards named after him, Will Eisner is forever celebrated not only in what he created but his unerring belief in comics' capacity to be better, to reach higher, to be a full art form in its own right. This is the life of this man of vision who helped to put comics on the map.

GenresGraphic NovelsHistoryComicsNonfictionBiography MemoirBiography

300 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 2025

2 people are currently reading

3060 people want to read

About the author

Steve Weiner

8 books26 followers

Born in Wisconsin, now based in Vancouver, Steve Weiner studied writing and film animation in California. He is a contributor to The Clear Cut Future , a Clear Cut Press anthology. Weiner's first novel The Museum of Love was nominated for the Giller Prize.

"Mr. Weiner's fictional world has an affinity with the work of the writers Ben Okri and J. G. Ballard, the photographer Joel-Peter Witkin and the film makers Guy Maddin and Todd Haynes. But he is, one suspects, less a disciple of these latter-day Surrealists than a kindred spirit. Employing a dream logic that taps directly into the unconscious, he pushes narrative to the outer limits of what it can do."
(Michael Upchurch, New York Times)

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5 stars

12 (46%)

4 stars

9 (34%)

3 stars

5 (19%)

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

Mylesgorton

234 reviews2 followers

August 13, 2025

prior to reading this I was a big fan of Will Eisner's later work but knew Very little about Will Eisner himself. this book has changed that entirely. and the style of the storytelling and the artwork is very reminiscent of Will Eisner's style. if you are a fan of Will Eisner, you will definitely enjoy this book!

Leo88

1 review

Want to read

August 3, 2025

★ sam ★

12 reviews

August 22, 2025

my coworker gave me an ARC bc she's trying to take me under her wing to do more comics reporting. people tend to take me under their wings and i don't know how to react except to go with it bc it's a nice feeling, most of the time. or it was in this case. was pleasantly surprised to find out that the guy who invented graphic novels was a first-gen NYC yid, stubbornly idealistic, and committed to an artistic format that he got people to take seriously by sheer force of will. pretty simplistic bootstraps narrative, but uplifting despite myself. i read it all essentially in one sitting finishing at like 2 am. i think this is the start of my graphic novels reading arc

graphic-novels jewish

Chad

10.1k reviews1,045 followers

May 31, 2025

It makes complete sense to give the creator of the graphic novel, a graphic novel biography. I really enjoyed this one. It mainly focuses on his younger years from childhood up to running his own publishing company and then syndicating The Spirit before World War II. The rest of his life is still covered, just not in the same depth. Anyway, I thought this was really informative and brings one of our most historic comics creators to light. Keep these biographies coming NBM!

2025 edelweiss-2025 netedel-2025

cauldronofevil

893 reviews2 followers

May 9, 2025

This is actually only the Free Comic Book Day version.

Well, it was pretty brief and it was only the very beginning, but it was well drawn and intriguing.

I wouldn’t suggest buying it off eBay but if you find a deal on the whole book I’ll bet it would be interesting.

I’m giving this 3 stars. The extra star because it was free….

S.Matt Read

89 reviews1 follower

July 23, 2025

Wonderful overview of a comics icon, touching upon milestones from the artist's life and career. An engaging read for adults and very accessible for younger ages interested in Eisner's life. Quick, enjoyable read.

Brandi

449 reviews5 followers

July 24, 2025

i loved reading a biography this way. it was fantastic.

Mariga Temple-West

Author 4 books10 followers

March 6, 2025

Will Eisner grew up in New York City, poor but with big dreams. A talented artist/writer, he rode the wave of the popularity of comics in the 1930's and revolutionized the genre. A great story of the triumph of creativity in the face of failure and adversity.

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews