Will Eisner, Contract with God/Dropsie Avenue

I chose to read Will Eisner over the Blankets graphic novels because I wanted to see the craft of the man who's name is on the highest honor in comics. After reading several different types of comics throughout the course, I was surprised by the level of technique throughout the book. Seeing how far the comics medium has come from those initial comic strips we read at the beginning of the semester. What I enjoyed most was actually seeing the way he lettered everything in Contract with God, that is how I appreciated this GN as a real labor of love, it seemed like the way certain conversations were designed you visually understood the emotions or plot point that was coming. Eisner was an excellent draftsman as well, some beautifully thought out page use that reminded me of James Montgomery Flagg's pen and ink illustrations. The stories being connected to the building and its tenants makes them feel more organic and realistic compared to the Uncle Scrooge comics I read earlier, and those comics had surprisingly good story telling as well. I can see how he influenced so many creators in modern comics today, and I also think if I had read this as a child in the 90s I don't think I would have the same amount of appreciation for the stories it is trying to tell.