Pioneering Comic Artist Will Eisner Dies at 87
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Pioneering Comic Artist Will Eisner Dies at 87
Tue Jan 4, 2005 04:18 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Will Eisner, a master of American comics and a pioneer
of the graphic novel who gave his name to the comic industry's equivalent of
the Oscars, has died at the age of 87, his publisher said on Tuesday.
Eisner died in Florida on Monday from complications following
quadruple-bypass surgery.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1917, Eisner was the son of Jewish immigrants
and grew up in New York tenements that were the inspiration for much of his
graphic novel work.
"A Contract with God," published in 1978, is considered to have launched the
art form of the graphic novel.
His most famous character was "The Spirit," a masked crime fighter who
protects the innocent in Central City using only his guile and his fists.
The comic strip ran in Sunday newspapers from 1940 until 1952.
Eisner was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and helped produced posters to
entertain the troops.
The comic industry awards known as the Eisners are named after him.