ZOMBIE PANCAKE

I’ve lost something important, it’s a photo of me shaking hands with Will Eisner.

You might not know who Will Eisner is, and you probably don’t know that this is the seventh anniversary of his passing, and while I don’t know if I can adequately articulate why Will Eisner is important to me, I feel I have to try.

I could go down the road of saying I’m a fan, but that wouldn’t be fair to true Eisner fans. I am a fan of the man’s artwork. I always love how the images from “The Spirit”, wrap sexiness around a screaming mystery and cap it with a portion of humor. I’ve always liked how the lettering became a part of his images. I liked his bold choice of subject matter. When illustrated stories (comic books, graphic novels, etc.) are usually dominated by spandex clad heroes and heroines Will Eisner, in the graphic novel “A Contract with God”, told the story about a Hasidic Jew whose adopted daughter dies. But just because I’ve seen a few pieces of his artwork and know of a few stories I don’t think that I can call myself a true fan.

I know that he, and his work impacted, a lot of people. Frank Miller for one. I’ve seen plenty of interviews where he admits that it was Will Eisner’s work that inspired him. Other big names in comic books have sung his praises; Neil Gaimen, Scott McCloud, and Stan Lee. (To be honest I don’t think Stan Lee could say a bad thing about anyone.) But, while the opinions of those people matter to me, they don’t truly say why Will Eisner is important to me.

I think Will Eisner is important to me is because I met him. I met in the early 90′s at a trade show in Madison, Wisconsin. He was sitting at table signing autographs and shaking hands. I was feeling a bit apprehensive at the time, and he must have sensed it, because he stood up, reached out and shook my hand. He was one big grin from ear to ear, and seemed genuinely glad to meet me. He stood long enough to have the picture taken, and then patted me on the arm and said good luck. I’m sure he said that to a lot of people, and I’m sure he meant it every time.

So if you find a Polaroid picture of a young man of 22-25, shaking hands with Will Eisner, please contact me. It’s important.