Today would have been Will Eisner’s 94th birthday. It’s sad that such a legend is gone, but his legacy live on in the form of his works and accomplishments. Google knows that too, so today on their homepage, they have a great tribute to the man who is arguably the most influential artists that the comics medium has ever known.
As seen above, Eisner’s The Spirit is used in the image and it demonstrates the man’s penchant for elaborate (and downright cool) uses for the title page of his book, and example can be seen below.
In addition to honor Will Eisner and the Spirit today, Google also has a complimentary blog post written by Scott McCloud who has some great insight on the man, you should all check it out. Here’s an excerpt:
Eisner was one of the first cartoonists to understand the power of visual education, and wrote eloquently about the process of making comics in Comics and Sequential Art (1985) andGraphic Storytelling (1996). As early as 1941, he publicly advocated treating comics as a distinct literary and artistic form, and—nearly four decades later—was instrumental in the rise of the graphic novel in America, beginning with A Contract with God in 1978.
I think Google is a pretty cool company for doing this, not only because the art is snazzy, but to let people who may otherwise not know who Eisner is to be educated a little. If you want to find out more about Will Eisner, I suggest Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. It’s a great tale, and a fascinating read. We here at BSR salute you Mr. Eisner!