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Title: A Contract With God: And Other Testament Stories by Will Eisner ISBN: 1-56389-674-5 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 May, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: It was a very different world
Comment: Most of us think of Will Eisner as the creator of a terrific comic of the 1940s called The Spirit -- which he is. But we forget that in this book, first published in 1978, he also practically invented the modern "graphic novel." No superheroes here, just ordinary Jewish immigrant families in a tenement building in the Bronx. There actually are four stories here. "A Contract with God" is the story of Frimme Hersh, who made a deal with the Almighty when he was a boy in Poland, that he would do his best in life and God should look out for him in return. He comes to America, becomes quietly successful, is respected by his neighbors and his synagogue, and things are going okay. Then his adored adopted daughter dies suddenly. God has broken the contract, and Frimme is no longer bound by it, either. It's a very satisfying, Sholom Aleichem sort of story. "The Street Singer" tells of an out-of-work bookkeeper during the Depression who finds he can earn a few thrown pennies singing in the allies of tenement buildings. An ex-diva decides to promote him (for her own purposes), but the money she gives him goes for booze instead. This one is interesting -- there really were street singers in New York -- but I found it much less readable. "The Super," about an authoritarian German building superintendent, is a cautionary tale, sort of, about not messing with Lolitas when they come a-calling, and it's rather a lightweight piece. "Cookalein," however, is a superior work, about the escape of young city-dwellers to the Adirondacks in the summer, searching for social and financial advancement through marriage. There's some delicious irony here. Eisner is generally a very good storyteller of this milieu, and he does it all in black-and-white pen work. He's a master of characterization through facial expression and other detail, and there's a reason this volume has been reprinted so many times in the past quarter century.
Rating: 5
Summary: Enthralling and beautiful.
Comment: A must-have for any fan of the medium of comics. Wonderful stories, fully-realised characters, charming artwork.
Rating: 5
Summary: True Storytelling
Comment: It is an accepted fact in the comic book world that Will Eisner is one of the giants. He has pushed the envelope, single-handedly transforming the medium from one only capable of churning out simplistic kid's fantasies into an accepted vehicle for Art (with a capitol "A!"). The comic book industries highest award, The Eisner, is named after him. All possible accolades are piled upon Will Eisner. Strange, then, that so few comics fans (myself included) have actually read his comics. I decided to change that by buying this book.
"A Contract with God" is a deliberate attempt, the first actually, of using the combination of words and pictures to relate a story of the human condition on par with any works of great literature. It is the first ever "Graphic Novel," printed solely in book form and not merely a collection of serialized stories. Eisner had lofty goals for this slim volume. Semi-autobiographical, he told stories of the Jewish slums of New York around the time of the Great Depression. Being neither Jewish, nor from the East Coast, nor alive during the Great Depression, I was not sure how well I would relate to the book.
Well, because he is one of the giants, Eisner uses words and pictures to bridge the gap between his experience and mine, finding common ground and understanding. "A Contract with God" is entertaining, addictive and enlightening. I can honestly say that I am better for having read it. Go ahead, give it a try.
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Title: Dreamer, The by Will Eisner ISBN: 1563896788 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Maus : A Survivor's Tale : My Father Bleeds History/Here My Troubles Began/Boxed by Art Spiegelman ISBN: 0679748407 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 19 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Fagin the Jew : A Graphic Novel by Will Eisner ISBN: 0385510098 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: To the Heart of the Storm by Will Eisner ISBN: 1563896796 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi ISBN: 0375422307 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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