Favorite Comic Artist Countdown #3 - Will Eisner!

Will Eisner might be the smartest man who ever entered the field of comic books. I became aware of Will Eisner and his creation The Spirit in the book by Jules Fieffer -- The Great Comic Book Heroes. Unfortunately the Spirit story in that tome is an early one and doesn't to my eye represent the true glory of the heyday of Eisner's post-war Spirit tales.

I only chanced upon those when Warren began to reprint them in magazine size and glorious black and white. The awesomeness of Eisner was evident for all to see and his influence on Mike Ploog among others was clear. Eisner is an artist who found new ways to make a career in comics, locating new avenues for publication. The Spirit of course was part of a package delivered weekly in newspapers and later Eisner was stalwart packager of material for the military. After he left that, in a time when he might've retired he became a big part of the Indy market with sensitive and funny tales of just plain folks in the tenements of the big city and beyond. He illustrated fairy tales and epic novels and was one of many who tried to make sense of the war in Vietnam. His Spirit stories are so vital and strong in their pure form that they never age, only become part of a long tradition of tales from decades past well worth the effort. His ability to nail personality was the key and making the Spirit the object of violence at least as often as the delivery boy for it made him all the more real. I think Eisner wished he didn't wear a mask, but the little domino which was ludicrous to hide his identity from his friends but somehow did, elevated the character beyond the singular and made him an archetype. Like the Continental Op, he was at once a man and much more, a symbol of heroism, bravery and steadfastness.

Then Eisner seemed to disappear from comics, but he really hadn't, he'd merely found another lucrative market in producing material for the military and there he fashioned the delectable Connie Rodd to inspire troops up to keep up-to-date on what they needed to maintain their equipment in first rate working order. And then he entered the graphic novel market with thoughtful resonant slices of life like A Contract with God and the science fictional A Life Force. He went on to create many more pieces of art as his Spirit found new generations and his star only glimmered more brightly than ever. Eisner is near the top of my list because he was a man who found the magic blend of business and art, the nexus which forms the classic comic book and he excelled at it like few others.

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