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Will Eisner

Will Eisner Biography

Cartoonist

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“Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come from any real, personal life experience; this was all the residue of the accumulation of Rafael Sabatini, O. Henry, all the short-story writers that I'd been reading.”

WorldWarRealStoriesReadingExistenceWar Of The WorldsShort StoryWorld War IiLife ExperienceWorld War IPersonal LifeAccumulationPouringCartoonistStory WritersO Henry
Author:Will Eisner
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“Comics deal with two fundamental communicating devices: words and images. Admittedly this is an arbitrary separation. But, since in the modern world of communication they are treated as independent disciplines, it seems valid. Actually, the are derivatives of a single origin and in the skillful employment of words and images lies the expressive potential of the medium.”

WorldTwoSeemsLyingDealsModernCommunicationDisciplineIndependentFundamentalsCommunicateSeparationTreatedMediumsEmploymentDevicesArbitraryModern WorldSkillfulExpressiveDerivatives
Book:Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist
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“Still,[...] in all forms of comics the sequential artist relies upon the tacit cooperation of the reader. This cooperation is based upon the convention of reading and the common cognitive disciplines. Indeed, it is this very voluntary cooperation, so unique to comics, that underlies the contract between artist and audience.”

StillsFormArtistReadingCommonAudienceReaderDisciplineUniqueRelyContractsCooperationConventionsCognitiveRely UponTacit
Book:Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist
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“Comics, which are really best described as an arrangement of images in a sequence that tell a story - an idea - is a very old form of graphic communication. It began with the hieroglyphics in Egypt, it first appeared in a recognizable form in the Medieval times as copper plates produced by the Catholic church to tell morality stories.”

FirstsIdeasStoriesFormChurchCommunicationMoralityCatholicPlatesArrangementsEgyptSequenceMedievalGraphicCatholic ChurchCopperHieroglyphicsMedieval Times
Author:Will Eisner
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“The term comics long ago became obsolete and inaccurate. It merely defined the content of the early joke-based comical strips. Sequential Art is a more accurate description of the form. I first suggested it because I believed something needed to be done to correct the feeling of inferiority by artists and writers in this field.”

FirstsLongArtDoneFeelingsFormArtistTermFieldsNeededJokesArt IsDefinedDescriptionAccurateLong AgoObsoleteInferiorityComicalArtists And Writers
Author:Will Eisner
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“Superheroes are mostly aimed at young teen-age males concerned with their manhood. The medium will have to address itself more to content. . . . I see 22 year olds draw massive Schwarzenegger types, outfitted with metal studs, pressing a mostly naked woman to their breastplates. And I think Poor girl, thats got to be cold.”

ThinkingYearsAgeYoungGirlPoorTypeColdDrawsConcernedMalesNakedMediumsAddressesMassiveMetalsManhoodSuperheroSchwarzeneggerStuds
Author:Will Eisner
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