Will Eisner (1917-2005) saw himself as "a graphic witness reporting on life, death, heartbreak, and the never-ending struggle to prevail." The publication of A Contract With God when Eisner was sixty-one proved to be a watershed moment both for him and for comic literature. It marked the birth of the modern graphic novel and the beginning of an era when serious cartoonists could be liberated from their stultifying comic-book format. More than a quarter-century after the initial publication of A Contract With God, and in the ...
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Will Eisner (1917-2005) saw himself as "a graphic witness reporting on life, death, heartbreak, and the never-ending struggle to prevail." The publication of A Contract With God when Eisner was sixty-one proved to be a watershed moment both for him and for comic literature. It marked the birth of the modern graphic novel and the beginning of an era when serious cartoonists could be liberated from their stultifying comic-book format. More than a quarter-century after the initial publication of A Contract With God, and in the last few months of his life, Eisner chose to combine the three fictional works he had set on Dropsie Avenue, the mythical street of his youth in Depression-era New York City. As the dramas unfold in A Contract With God, the first book in this new trilogy, it is at 55 Dropsie Avenue where Frimme Hersh, the pious Jew, first loses his beloved daughter, then breaks his contract with his maker, and ends up as a slumlord; it is on Dropsie Avenue where a street singer, befriended by an aging diva, is so beholden to the bottle that he fails to grasp his chance for stardom; and it is there that a scheming little girl named Rosie poisons a depraved super's dog before doing in the super as well. In the second book, A Life Force, declared by R. Crumb to be "a masterpiece," Eisner re-creates himself in his protagonist, Jacob Shtarkah, whose existential search reflected Eisner's own lifelong struggle. Chronicling not only the Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression but also the rise of Nazism and the spread of left-wing politics, Eisner combined the miniaturist sensibility of Henry Roth with the grand social themes of novelists such as Dos Passos and Steinbeck. Finally, in Dropsie Avenue: The Neighborhood, Eisner graphically traces the social trajectory of this mythic avenue over four centuries, creating a sweeping panorama of the city and its waves of new residents-the Dutch, English, Irish, Jews, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans-whose faces changed yet whose lives presented an unending "story of life, death, and resurrection." The Contract With God Trilogy is a mesmerizing, fictional chronicle of a universal American experience and Eisner'' most poignant and enduring literary legacy.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book from multilingual publisher. Shipped from UK within 4 to 14 days. Please check language within the description.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. Clean from markings. In good all round condition. Dust jacket in good condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 1350grams, ISBN: 9780393061055.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book from multilingual publisher. Shipped from UK within 4 to 14 days. Please check language within the description.
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New. 2005. Reprint. Hardcover. Published quietly in 1978, Will Eisner's revolutionary literary work A Contract With God marked the invention of the modern graphic novel, took on a life of its own, and inspired a generation of "sequential artists." Num Pages: 528 pages, Illustrations. BIC Classification: FX. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 263 x 188 x 38. Weight in Grams: 1100......We ship daily from our Bookshop.
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Book is considered to be in good or better condition. The actual cover image may not match the stock photo. Hard cover books may show signs of wear on the spine cover or dust jacket. Paperback book may show signs of wear on spine or cover as well as having a slight bend or curve to it. Book should have no writing inside or highlighting. Pages should be free of tears or creasing. Stickers should not be present on cover or elsewhere and any CD or DVD expected with the book is included. Book is not a former library copy.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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I've heard people say that the term Graphic Novel is pretentious, but Will Eisner coined the term as a marketing ploy for his long comic book, since he knew it would be taken more seriously if the word "novel" was used... anyhow, this is the "first" graphic novel, and happens to be a very powerful work of historical fiction. If you consider yourself a fan of comics, this is your roots. If you enjoy historical ficiton, you'll like this. If you are from New York, read it. If all of the above, it should be transformative. I scored a really cheap used copy that had a rip in the jacket, but I'm not the kind of person that bothers. Books are for reading.
