In these rare examples of autobiographical work from comics master Eisner, we see the artist looking back on the expanse of his life. Shown are the New York of his childhood, a family that came together more out of necessity than love, the young artist at war and the ramifications of anti-Semitism at home and in Europe. In an enthusiastic introduction, Scott McCloud tells us, When you enter a 'graphic novels' section of a bookstore, you're looking at Will's handiwork. Indeed, the sense of witnessing history is strong. In The Dreamer, Eisner tells the story of his entry into and hand in creating the comics industry. This section is thinly veiled as fiction but a helpful annotation from the publisher makes clear what the real-world business corollaries were. The central piece of the book is To the Heart of the Storm, in which the artist rides a train through Europe on his way to the war and, as he looks out his window, sees scenes from the past. Eisner's childhood in the Bronx is played out, as are his parents' early lives. This is a rich story, and Eisner's expression of the difficulties faced by Jews in the early part of the 19th century reveals his gritty side.

Udgivet af W.W.Norton 2007

Will Eisner
Will Eisner var skaberen af den berømte amerikanske tegneserie Spirit. Eisners tegneserie En kontrakt med Gud betragtes generelt som et af hans hovedværker og var med til at udbrede begrebet "den grafiske roman" til et bredere publilkum. Carlsen if udgav i 1981 Byens skygger - en bog om Will Eisner. Denne bog giver en kort introduktion til personen Will Eisner og til hans værk. Desuden byder bogen på to historier om The Spirit, en stor samling omslagsillustrationer, et optryk af Spirit Portfolioen - en serie billeder udgivet i begrænset oplag i 1977, samt et optryk af City Portfolioen - en serie billeder i forlængelse af En kontrakt med Gud. Will Eisner besøkte i 2003 Raptus - Bergen Internationale Tegneseriefestival. Han har desuden fået opkaldt Eisner-prisen efter sig, som er en af de mest prestigefyldte priser i tegneseriebranchen. (Ovenstående personbeskrivelse er taget fra ComicWiki under en Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 licens)