A very good bio and history both of Eisner and the comics industry itself. There's enough info here to truly flesh out the significance of Eisner's work (especially his autobiographical graphic novels like A Contract with God) without losing the reader in minutiae.

Highly recommended for anyone thinking of a creative career as well as comics fans. Now to go and read The Spirit.... ( )

Will Eisner was not the creator of the graphic novel, but he was the first to show the world what the medium was capable of, and he was instrumental in the movement toward general respect for comics as a medium that could educate and inspire. This was his vision long before it became fashionable (largely through his efforts). This well-researched and clear-eyed biography traces Eisner from his beginnings as he struggled to run his own business (the artists he employed in his stables reads like a comics Who's Who). I have always greatly admired Will Eisner as the creator of "The Spirit", and the creator of such seminal graphic novels as "A Contract With God". It's nice to learn through this book that there was much more to the man. It's a measure of his creative greatness that he was still vital and productive when he somewhat unexpectedly passed away at 87, and still it seemed like it was too soon. ( )