VISITOR GUIDE — ROOM 1 — THE SPIRIT OF WILL EISNER For its 10th Comics Biennial, the Thomas The one hundred works in this exhibition, Henry Museum is honouring one of the on loan from private collections, present the most influential authors of American comic major stages in the career of an author who books: Will Eisner (1917-2005). Will Eisner was focussed on elevating his discipline left an indelible mark on pop culture with to the rank it deserved, that of an art form The Spirit, a cult series which was to have in its own right. In the complete stories of an impact on the creativity of several The Spirit, Eisner’s very specific narration is generations, from the underground comix there to be discovered (or re-discovered): movement of the 1960s (Robert Crumb, plunge into the very dark atmosphere of Harvey Kurtzman) to the dark comics of the his flagship series, wander through his 1980s (Frank Miller, Alan Moore). theatrical sets and view New York City and the life of its most humble inhabitants from THE THOMAS HENRY MUSEUM Following the end of The Spirit in 1952, Will a different perspective. HAS ADAPTED TO THE CURRENT REGULATIONS RELATING Eisner pondered the theory of his art and TO THE HEALTH CRISIS AND IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. taught a ‘sequential art’ class, at the School of Visual Art in New York. After a long break, THIS EXHIBITION HAS BEEN CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP during which he was creating comics and WITH GALERIE 9e ART (REFERENCES). illustrations for educational purposes, he returned to the forefront of the comic book scene in 1978, inventing a new form of narration: the graphic novel. Over a quarter of a century, he produced a multitude of stories centred on the daily life of the working-class neighbourhoods of New York. — — ROOM 2 ROOM 3 — — BIRTH OF A HERO DENIS KITCHEN: THE REDISCOVERY OF EISNER BY THE UNDERGROUND Will Eisner, born William Erwin Eisner in Despite the success of Eisner & Iger, Eisner During the first half of the 20th century, comic surprised to learn there that The Spirit 1917, grew up in working-class Brooklyn. left his partner in 1939 for the Register and books were the prerogative of the press in still enthused many readers. He also met Like many young boys from modest Tribune Syndicate, one of many agencies the United States. Comic books were sold representatives of the underground, a new backgrounds, he sold newspapers after creating graphic content for the daily press. at news-stands. A new network emerged generation of artists who were opposed school to contribute to the family income. His new partners commissioned him to in the 1960s, linked to the hippie pacifist to the comics published by mainstream There he discovered the comic strips of create a superhero series for publication and protest movements of the same era, publishers such as Marvel Comics and DC Milton Caniff (Terry & the Pirates), Alex in the Sunday supplements of the major questioning the American Way of Life. This Comics, and to the Comics Code Authority. Raymond (Flash Gordon), George Herriman newspapers who wished to compete with revolution appeared in the form of fanzines, (Krazy Kat) and Elzie C. Segar (Popeye), the booming comic book market. Eisner independent magazines created by fans or It was also at this 1971 convention that which completed the literary and artistic created a private detective who, left for artists, many of which had no legal deposit. he met Denis Kitchen, a cartoonist and education of the young boy. Encouraged dead, reappeared under the pseudonym of Aimed at an adult audience, these comix, pioneer in underground publishing in the by his father, Eisner began his writing The Spirit. Far from the standard generated or underground comics, fostered social United States. Kitchen had just founded career with various contracts ranging from by Superman, The Spirit is more of an heir and political criticism, dealing with themes his own underground publishing house, advertising to illustration. Then in 1936, to the detective story: he has no powers, such as sex, drugs and alcohol, which were Kitchen Sink Press. He is responsible for he and Jerry Iger founded Eisner & Iger, a no vocation to save the planet and, at the prohibited by the Comics Code Authority, the editorial resurrection of Will Eisner’s company producing comic book series for express request of the syndicate, would only a self-censorship committee created mythical series. Their collaboration led to various newspapers and magazines. Will be masked from the second issue. Eisner in 1954. Alternative and independent a remarkable exchange of influences, to Eisner was just 19 years old. drew his inspiration from the thriller genre publishing houses appeared at the same which the different works presented in this which was enjoying widespread favour in time as specialized sales outlets and section bear witness. American popular culture during the 1930s. allowed fandom - communities of fans who It first featured in the American pulps and the organized themselves around their passion cinema, and later in the press, with series - to develop. Fans and professionals alike such as Dick Tracy by Chester Gould, and were soon meeting at comic book fairs, such Secret Agent X-9 and Rip Kirby by Alex as the New York Comic Art Convention, to Raymond. which Eisner was invited in 1971. He was — — ROOM 4 ROOM 5 — — EISNER-MILLER: A VISION IN NOIR NEW YORK AND THE GRAPHIC NOVEL This room brings together the graphic The term graphic novel was coined by The Eisner style of graphic novel shows a universes of Will Eisner and Frank Miller. Richard Kyle in 1964, in a fanzine article desire to break away from the comic book A major cartoonist and screenwriter of the about the future of comics, but it was not format and thereby free itself from its childish Dark Age of Comics, Miller is best known properly defined until the publication of image. It is a book free from all the constraints to the public for the film adaptation of one Will Eisner’s A Contract with God (Baronet of pagination, aimed at an adult readership, of his own key works, Sin City, but also for Books) in 1978. This book marked a turning endowed with a real literary intention and his very dark and pessimistic Dark Knight point in American comics, as well as in Will whose narrative passes, above all, through Returns, often considered as one of the Eisner’s career. Eisner created a new graphic the image. This new custom-made format best Batman comics. These plates of his expression which met the expectations of offers a predominant place to the drawing, two series, Sin City and Batman, echo those a more demanding readership as well as the text often being treated as a graphic of The Spirit, cited as a real influence in the satisfying his ambitious vision of comic element. Eisner made New York, the city he development of his style. This minimalism books. The influence of A Contract with had lived in all his life, the privileged subject in the scenic construction, along with the God, exceeded Eisner’s expectations, and of his stories: the metropolis provided him dynamic framing and systematic use of a he then devoted his time to this new type of with an almost infinite number of fictional or radical black and white is inherent in the publication. Even if Eisner did not create the real urban dramas which he re-transcribed work of Frank Miller, and particularly in the graphic novel, he most certainly gave it the with a look which was both realistic and aesthetics of Sin City. narrative and formal ambition necessary to benevolent, tinged with a bitter-sweet irony. establish it as a literary genre in its own right. The series, winner of several Eisner Awards, is in the tradition of film noir, but Miller’s outrageous style pushes the genre to its limits. Will Eisner Studios, Inc. THE SPIRIT trademark is owned by Will Eisner Studios, Inc. and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.