Will Eisner: A Comics Biography, written by Stephen Weiner and Dan Mazur is about the man, the myth, the legend who created the genre of graphic novels devoured by millions today. The book begins with “Billy’s” immigrant parents meeting in New York City early in the 20th century. Racism, constantly moving to new homes, and financial struggles shaped his childhood. According to our authors, it was during Eisner’s childhood that literature diverged on two paths: respectable and the “pulps”. Eisner was introduced to the pulps by a neighbor. More fast-paced and perhaps more lurid, Eisner’s imagination took off in the form of sketching. To help his family during the Depression, he began selling newspapers, and in newspapers, he discovered the comics. A high school art class gave him the confidence to ask to work for his high school newspaper. This also led to a new friend who introduced him to the concept of selling his talents, putting out daily comic strips, and inventing comic books sold at newsstands. This was the beginning of Eisner’s fame.

Authors Weiner and Mazur enrich the story in unique ways. They detail exactly how comics were physically put onto a newspaper back in the day with printing plates. They display how Eisner and his fellow business partner shift from creating pulps to jumbo comics, including hiring more people and building a drawing system to keep production smooth, and knowing when to say no to a deal that took away the creator’s copyright of the work.

People recognized Eisner as a pioneer after he came back to his art in the early 1970s. Entire books with full-length drawn stories that bookstores didn’t have a name for were given the name “Graphic Novels”. Weiner and Mazur weave their words and drawings into a detailed biography of Eisner, using the ‘illustrated novel’ style that Eisner himself invented. Perhaps without realizing the irony, students who pick this up will realize that they are learning the ‘origin story’ of the genre. And if they make it to the end, they will see that Eisner’s success is because he chose to do what he loved.