'I Think I Can Manage' is a weekly column by retailer Steven Bates, who runs Bookery Fantasy, a million dollar retail operation in Fairborn, Ohio. This week, Bates shares his thoughts on the passing of Will Eisner:
I never had the honor of meeting Will Eisner. Last week, as scores of friends and fans poured out their heartfelt sorrow over the loss of this legendary man, I was at loss. What could I possibly add to their observations? I had no fond memories, no humorous anecdotes, no fitting tribute. Yes, I did and do recognize his greatness, and acknowledge the man's contribution to the comics art form. But would I miss him?
As I searched for something appropriate to say about the man, it occurred to me that Eisner has no heir apparent in the industry. For such an influential artist, Eisner's legacy seems doomed to be relegated to retrospectives and museums, all-but-ignored by today's superstars in favor of flashier graphics, more vibrant colors, and an increasingly exaggerated human anatomy. Where are the rumbled suits and slouch hats in starkly-lit alleys; the sexy femme fatales who turn the heroes head, even with their clothes on; the carefully-crafted cinder block stairway spelling out danger amidst wind-borne handbills?
A few small press creators, such as Davids Hahn, Lapham, and Mazzuchelli, come closest to capturing Eisner's craft in the modern comics medium. Critics would call them 'derivative,' while fans would use words like 'homage.' Each in their own way, in Private Beach, Stray Bullets, and City of Glass, respectively, utilize Eisner's motifs and methodologies to tell complex and gripping tales of people not too unlike you and me. Yet, as powerful as these comics are, they cannot compare to Eisner's seminal works, breaking little new ground and expanding the medium only in iotas.
Don't get me wrong -- comic books have never been as good as they are now. Stories are more mature, writing is deeper and more honest, and the art... well, the art is phenomenal. Anyone longing for the 'good ol' days' is simply in denial. Comics have real relevance, not just the kind forced by confronting timely issues like racism, Viet Nam, drug abuse, or homosexuality. Graphic novels are being read in classrooms alongside War & Peace and Ulysses, and reviewed in The New York Times and on MSNBC. Stories are being written by prizewinning novelists, journalists, and renowned Hollywood personalities, and illustrated by classically trained painters, computer geniuses, and the next generation of comic book greats.
That being said, I guess I am touched by Will Eisner's passing after all. He had been there at the beginning, worked through the intervening years, and was still drawing at the time of his death, still influencing the direction of the medium. Like a bridge through time, Will Eisner was the embodiment of the comic book industry. Though his graphic storytelling style may never be seen again, his spirit lives on in the art-form he may not have created, but arguably defined.
