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Loading... A Contract with God and Other Tenement Storiesby Will Eisner
   No current Talk conversations about this book.  raschneid | Dec 19, 2023 |   I had to pick this up for my "Graphic Novel" class, before which I'd never heard of the book. The stories here are really amazing. I really connected to it because of the Jewish backgrounds of many of the characters, which is something I'm not used to in comics. The characters were all very unique, mentally and physically (you could tell them all apart very easily, even ignoring their clothing). I loved the art style, and the way Eisner manipulates the story with just three colors (black, white and gray) is really cool. This is a great read if you're interested in comics. Just be careful where you read it or who you give it to because it does deal with "adult" themes and is rather explicit at times. (  ) AnonR | Aug 5, 2023 |  ) msgabbythelibrarian | Jun 11, 2023 |  ) laytonwoman3rd | Dec 27, 2022 |  ) Alvaritogn | Jul 1, 2022 | no reviews | add a review
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The revolutionary work of graphic storytelling that inspired a new art form. Will Eisner was present at the dawn of comics. In the 1940s, he pushed the boundaries of the medium with his acclaimed weekly comic strip The Spirit, and with the publication of A Contract with God in 1978, he created a new medium altogether: the graphic novel. It was unlike anything seen before, heralding an era when serious cartoonists were liberated from the limiting confines of the comic strip. Eisner's work was a shining example of what comics could be: as inventive, moving, and complex as any literary art form. Eisner considered himself "a graphic witness reporting on life, death, heartbreak, and the never-ending struggle to prevail." A Contract with God begins with a gripping tale that mirrors the artist's real-life tragedy, the death of his daughter. Frimme Hersh, a devout Jew, questions his relationship with God after the loss of his own beloved child. Hersh's crisis is intertwined with the lives of the other unforgettable denizens of Eisner's iconic Dropsie Avenue, a fictionalized version of the quintessential New York City street where he came of age at the height of the Depression. This centennial edition showcases Eisner's singular visual style in new high-resolution scans of his original art, complete with an introduction by Scott McCloud and an illuminating history of Eisner's seminal work. Now readers can experience the legendary book that launched a unique art form and reaffirmed Will Eisner as one of the great pioneers of American graphic storytelling. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)741.5973The arts Graphic arts and decorative arts Drawing & drawings Cartoons, Caricatures, Comics Collections North American United States (General)LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.96)
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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In general, I don't love narratives that are framed around whoever is causing the most pain. In these stories, it's often unclear which character earns this superlative - nevertheless, most are organized around broken men and the inscrutable or one-dimensional women who, like the God of the title story, push them toward their tragic ends. From this perspective, "Cookalein" was probably my favorite story - it's heavy, but felt more multidimensional.
I think the best art resonates even when the creator and audience have different worldviews. From that perspective, A Contract With God is a successful book - I found a lot to unpack in these stories, despite not sharing their assessment of human nature.