The Spirit Archives, Vol. 1

The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion

A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories

Moby Dick

An American Master
The Passing of Will Eisner 1917-2005

One of the true American masters of comic art, Will Eisner passed away on Jan 3, 2005. Eisner’s career began in 1936, and he was instrumental in the development of the comics’ medium. In the late 1930s, when the comic book industry was just beginning, he created memorable characters that are still used today such as Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and Blackhawk. But his most lasting contribution to the superhero genre came in 1940, when he created The Spirit, a detective whom the world thought dead and who operated from a graveyard. The Spirit appeared in more than 20 newspapers and the stories were a mix of violence, social commentary, and ironic humor.

When The Spirit ceased publication in 1952, Eisner created educational materials in comics form for the military and other industries. He returned to the storytelling aspect of comics in 1978, with the publication of his “graphic novel” A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories. Although the “Underground” Comics movement attracted adult readers, Contract differed radically from the fare offered post hippies in the late 1970s. Its focus was a 1930 era tenement house in the Bronx, and the characters’ struggled to recover from the blows life and society had delivered.

Contract with God signaled both cartoonists and readers that there was interest in serious work presented in comic book form, and the graphic novel revolution began. Since 1978, Eisner produced more than fifteen graphic novels, ranging from autobiographical (To the Heart of the Storm) to social commentary (The Name of the Game) to classic literature (Fagin the Jew). Ironically, one of his most important works, The Plot, The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, will appear this May.

As well as being a practicing cartoonist, Eisner was dedicated to nurturing new talent in the comics’ field. He taught at the School for Visual Arts for over 20 years, and wrote two books about cartooning techniques. In 1988, awards for excellence, “The Eisners” were named in his honor.

Here is a sampling of Eisner’s work. It is a great compliment that the majority of the work is still in print.

The Spirit Archives: DC Comics, 2000. 240 p. 49.95. ISBN 1563896737.

The Spirit revolutionized adventure storytelling when it first appeared in the 1940s, and conceptually, it remains influential to the current day. DC Comics is reprinting all The Spirit stories chronologically and in color for the first time. Appropriate for all ages. There are currently 15 volumes in print.

A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories: DC Comics, 2000. 200 p. 12.95. ISBN 1563896745.

This book contains four interlocking stories of urban life set in the Bronx in the 1930s, and was the first comic book novel intended for literary readers. In the first story, “A Contract with God,” pious Frimme Hersh believes god has broken their covenant when his young daughter dies mysteriously. Other stories involve street singers, building superintendents, and the disenfranchised intent on marrying up. For older teens and adults.

Moby Dick: NBM, 2001. 32 p. 7.95 ISBN 1561632945.

In Moby Dick, Eisner retells the American classic dramatically. Appropriate for ages 7 and up.

The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion: W.W. Norton, 2005. 128 p. 23.95. ISBN 0393060454.

This non fiction project, published posthumously, was worked and reworked by Eisner for more than two decades. It traces the origins of the anti-Semitic document, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Eisner’s research reveals that The Protocols, attributed to the Jewish authors, was actually a fraudulent rewriting of a French document during the last days of the Russian Tsar Nicolas II. Although exposed in The London Times early in the 1920s, it was used by the Nazis to as explanation for their anti-Semitic behaviors. Eisner also examines the continued use of this document by hate groups despite proof of its forgery. The book includes a bibliography and notes by Professor Stephen Eric Bronner. Appropriate for older teens and adults.

Stephen Weiner is director of the Maynard Public Library in Massachusetts. He has been writing about comic art since 1992, and has published articles and reviews in VOYA, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Bookmarks, The Shy Librarian, and The Children’s Book Council Newsletter. His books include: The 101 Best Graphic Novels (NBM, 2001) Faster than a Speeding Bullet: the Rise of the Graphic Novel (NBM, 2004) and he is co-author (with N.C. Christopher Couch) of The Will Eisner Companion (DC Comics, 2004).