After class on Wednesday, I was thinking a lot about how Will Eisner identifies himself through his graphic novels. He has an obvious link with Frimme in 'A Contract with God' as pointed out in his preface, and his subsequent novels reflect his life growing up the Bronx during the Great Depression. He even creates scenes in the novels that actually happened to him, such as the one with a young boy and his brother getting picked on by neighborhood kids.
Eisner shows a lot of his childhood in the graphic novels like 'A Contract with God', but he shows his connection to Judaism in later works. It is interesting to see how he defends and defines Judaism in graphic novels like 'Fagin the Jew', and 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'. These graphic novels show his dedication to the credibility and reputation of Judaism by defending characters that were otherwise misrepresented or misunderstood. I feel that Eisner shifted to more Jewish storylines because he wanted to contribute to Judaism as well as to the world of comics.
It is interesting for me as a Psychology major to see how so much of Eisner's life comes out in his work. I feel that most people show their personality and experiences in what they do whether it is intentional or not. He definitely shows his personality and religiousity within the storylines of the graphic novels. Perhaps this has a lot to do with why they are so highly acclaimed.
I completly agree with you on this. I believe the best stories are the ones that are inspired by things that actually did happen. It just brings a sort of realistic insight to the story that just makes it a really good story.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering your opinion about something. I agree with what you posted in this blog but I think someone in class brought up the idea that Eisner was 'anti-God'. I could be wrong but at the same time that argument could be made. What is your take to against that? I think the same as you do but like I said I could understand where Eisner could be taken as anti religious. Just curious to hear your facts.
ReplyDeleteWell as far as the portrayal of Christian characters such as the woman in Cookalein, I believe that Eisner was just showing that in our materialistic society, we often put religion on the back burner, even though we identify by it. It's kind of like the difference of belief with the head versus belief with the heart. As far as A Contract With God goes, I strongly believe that Eisner was just exploring the philosophical issue of an all-good God allowing pain and suffering in the world as we know it. Aside from this, Eisner's later works were mostly in defense of Judaism.
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