I saw Eisner talk once. He was extremely kind and helpful to many generations of young cartoonists. When I went to school to get my degree in “Sequential Art” (a term Eisner coined) only two books that even resembled comics text books existed in the school bookstore. One was “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud who wrote this post and the other was “Comics and Sequential Art” by Will Eisner.
From Scott McClouds post on the Google blog:
“For most of his career, Eisner was years, even decades, ahead of the curve. I saw him debating artists and editors half his age, and there was rarely any question who the youngest man in the room was. It helped that he never stood on ceremony. Everyone was his peer, regardless of age or status. None of us called him “Mr. Eisner.” He was just “Will.”
Eisner lived well into his eighties; long enough to see an industry award named after him. Inevitably, the prospect loomed that Will Eisner himself might win an “Eisner Award” leading to some awkward choices; Hall of Fame, maybe? Lifetime Achievement?
His only suggestion was “Most Promising Young Cartoonist.”
And so he was.”
