Will Eisner is the most important figure in the history of comic books. That's a bold claim, but let me explain. Eisner was one of the earliest creators of new content for the burgeoning field of comic books, the weaker sister of the noble comic strip. After a brief tenure in comic strips, he and Jerry Iger formed a partnership to supply comic material for the sundry publishers who rose up after the hit Superman made a new industry viable. Leading other great talents he helped contribute to comics such as Sheena of the Jungle, The Flame, Doll Man, and Blackhawk among others. Eventually he left to set up his own shop called logically enough Eisner Studio and out of that came The Spirit. The Spirit was a comic book produced for inclusion in newspapers which had seen the potential for such things to raise circulation. The singular thing about the Spirit is that Eisner maintained his rights over the character which proved critical over the next many decades. The comic was hugely successful and ran for a until the early 50's during which time Eisner had created a range of different kinds of stories which deviated greatly from mere crime yarns.
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Will Eisner proved comic books could be more than just disposable junk. He then when to work for the military where he used comics to teach soldiers about their equipment in P.S. Magazine, and left his most famous creation behind, but people remembered. There were revivals in the 60's and 70's and beyond. Eisner began to create longer form stories which were grounded in stark reality and later still adapted novels and fairy tales. He wrote at least two books about creating comics. Eventually DC acquired the rights and hold them today. Will Eisner was there at the beginning, the revival, and was a major influence on many creators both in the mainstream and underground. His stories are exceedingly well crafted and touch on themes which still resonate today. No single talent was as good as long as Will Eisner. Even so a mighty talent as Jack Kirby bends the knee to Eisner who combined great storytelling and longevity with a sharp business acumen that made for a successful working model for comics.
IDW's Artisan Edition of The Spirit stories is wonderful way to get an intimate look at Eisner's work on his greatest and most enduring creation when he was at the peak of his artistic powers. Below are the splash pages of the particular "Spirit Sections" which are included in this tome in order, though of course they are in glorious black and tan. It's an economical version of the Artist's Editon produced some years ago and much more readable.
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