Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative by Will Eisner

Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative Reviews

• 
  Dominick

  Disappointing. Eisner's reputation as a master cartoonist does not translate well to telling others how to do it--and furthermore, his examples from his own work of how to do it don't exactly work as ringing endorsements of his argument. This book is profusely illustrated (mostly with Eisner's own work, though some classic work by other hands appears too) to demonstrate his generally superficial and underdeveloped comments on various aspects of graphic storytelling. There are insights here, sure, but since Eisner never devotes more than a few hundred words to any one point, there's just no sustained or developed articulation of a theory of graphic narrative. Instead we get assertions and assumptions about how such narratives work (admittedly from someone with years of experience with them), followed by demonstrations of these assertions/assumptions in action (many original to the book) by Eisner. These demosntrations by and large are not impressive. I suppose that one could say all he's doing is providing demonstrations of the ideas, not really fully-developed narratives, but several of the examples are in fact previously-published works so presumably represent his idea of the best example from his oeuvre to demonstrate the point. And even these are for the most part pretty simplistic narratively and psychologically, and stylistically hyperbolic. Not that there's anything wrong with exaggerated style, but it militates against the thesis here that comics can be used to serious and subtle ends, I think. I suppose for someone who has some drawing skill but who is unfamiliar with comics while also having a desire to give comics a try (of whom I doubt there are many), this book would be a useful primer, but a primer is all that it is, really, and I have the impression that we're supposed to think it's much more than that.
• 
  Anna

  I guess I prefer Eisner’s theoretical writings to McCloud’s.
• 
  Pam

  Lighter reading than I was expecting but nonetheless much worth it! It worked for me as a very good summary about the art of creating comics with many visual examples in addition. Revealing his skilfulness with an economic text Eisner shares a lot about the ways of writing comics. Really recommend both as an introductory reading in the theme and as an Eisner masterclass in a book format.
• 
  H.d.

  Um estudo sobre narrativas com suporte gráfico realizado através do próprio conceito de narrativas gráficas :) O livro tem um valor enorme sobre dois aspectos: num momento em que o Storyteling volta a ser considerado como é um dos meios mais efetivos para comunicação em áreas tão destintas quanto Gestão Empresarial e UX, é um manual prático e ilustrado de representar, refletir e comunicar ideias. Ao mesmo tempo funciona como uma introdução riquíssima à arte sequencial, com exemplos retirados da obra de artistas como Frans Masereel, Otto Nückel, Art Spiegelman, Al Capp, Hal Foster, Crumb e o próprio Will Eisner. Livro altamente indicado, pelo conteúdo e deliciosa leitura.
• 
  Nelson Zagalo

  If you want an introduction about storytelling, or if you're looking for inspiration for visual storytelling, this is the book to pick. Brilliantly written and artistically inspiring for anyone trying to model, design or create new stories.
• 
  Hesper

  Kinda phoned in and full of dated stereotypes. Pass.
• 
  Fábio Henckel

  Passear pelos Insights de um Mestre
• 
  Daniel Watkins

  The book is thin on explanations, and set in large type perhaps to make up for the word count. The author seems to detest film, and encourages the use of stereotypical characters for storytelling.
• 
  Delphine

  Very slow and repetitive, but there are some useful informations along the way and, more importantly, it’s fun to read and nicely illustrated. I wish it would be more theoretical, at some point I had the feeling it was intended for someone who had never read comic books before. I thought it would be more on how to write for comic books, but it’s more a book on how text is used in comics. I think the biggest flaw is the fact that generalities take the same space as technical advices, so it feels like it could go a lot further if only he took the time to develop all his ideas. It probably felt clear to him, but I would have liked to read more on the difficulties on translating text in images, for example, and less on how hard it is to do it. I think the exemples of comics in the book are meant to be the explanations, but it would have been great to have a complete text accompanying the images.
  Still, as I said, it was fun to read and it made me want to read the two other books in the serie.
• 
  G (galen)

  Will Eisner, a master of comic art, on what makes for successful visual storytelling.
  
  Eisner discusses the history of using visual narrative as a art/literature form and his concerned with changing the perception that comics are for 'people of low literacy and limited intellectual accomplishment.'
  
  Most of the techniques and tips Eisner provides lend themselves more for the adventure and joke genre but I was really fascinated by the examples he provided of early woodblock print novels being published early in the 20th century; really stunning artwork illustrating stories dealing with the complexities of the human condition (works by Frans Masereel, Otto Nuckel, and Lynd Ward).
  
  A bit of a gripe; as a product of his time, Eisner's assumptions of the comics creators/audience is heavily male biased. It is refreshing and encouraging to see the contemporary infusion of female writers, artists, and readers to the realm of visual storytelling.
• 
  Carol Coelho

  Mais um ótimo livro de Eisner, que apesar de não ser tão profundo, estabeleceu as bases para os estudos de comics atualmente. Confesso que, para quem já tem algum conhecimento das artes sequenciais, o livro acaba por se tornar raso e básico, mas a sua importância para o campo de estudo permanece.
  
  Eisner explica sobre a narração gráfica e sequencial com poucas palavras e muitos exemplos visuais, dá uma boa base para qualquer um que queira aprender mais sobre comics e estabelece conceitos importantes que viriam a ser melhor aprofundados futuramente. Embora eu ainda prefira o trabalho de McCloud, tenho certeza que sem esse livro, boa parte dos estudos de comics teriam sido atrasados.
  
  Essa leitura também se torna muito interessante para escritores, roteiristas e qualquer um que trabalhe com storytelling, visto que aborda bem as técnicas de narrativa.
• 
  Angela

  I’m adding this book to my shelf of non-fiction teaching books because that is why I read it. I want to teach incorporating more visual literacy. I want to use more graphic novels and show the validity of the medium. This book doesn’t exactly fit my purpose for reading it but it’s close. Eisner has many connections to writing narratives. He discusses comics as important visual media, especially given the visual nature of the internet. I enjoyed this book and found it far less dry than I thought it’d be. I also came out of reading it with some teaching ideas and narrative prompts.
• 
  Carlos Bartol

  Libro muy interesante para adentrarse en el mundo de la narración gráfica. Al principio trata el tema de narrar con imágenes, cosa que me ha parecido muy importante como fotógrafo. Más adelante se me ha hecho algo más cuesta arriba. También queda algo desactualizado al ser del 2008.
  Aún así lo recomiendo, lo que tiene lo tiene muy bien explicado y los ejemplos son obras a tener en cuenta para todo fan.
• 
  PandoramicView

  If you can only read one, you probably ought to stick with Scott McCloud's Making Comics, but assuming that's not the case, this was a nice supplement to the Will Eisner series and for rounding out my approach to comics. It tends to be a bit heavier on the examples and lighter on the take-aways, but the space of his thinking continues to be worthwhile to exist in.
• 
  Aden Wilke

  I love Will Eisner’s books but I think this is perhaps a little out of date now. The section on stereotypes stands out to me on this. Even though he points out stereotypes contribute to demeaning groups of people and perpetuating racism, he says comic folks need to rely on them to quickly convey who and what a person is, such as making a ‘wimp’ a short guy who isn’t attractive and wears glasses whereas a ‘hero’ is a muscular white guy with blonde hair. I get that comics are a quick and fast medium in terms of engagement, but so are TV shorts, flash fiction and short stories, but we wouldn’t tell those writers stereotypes are what you need to make a character.
  
  In novel writing, we are told that things like clothes, body language, speech, dialogue, and character priorities are what instantly paints a immediate picture in a person’s mind as to the character. Comic writers can and should do this too as writers themselves. This is reflected in today’s most beloved comics. A young black boy can be a hero in Spiderman, middle school girls of all backgrounds can be adventurers in Lumberjanes and the thin dark-haired man with the villain mustache/goatee combo can be good father figure mentor in Nimona.
• 
  Molly

  I actually have the original '95 edition of this book (then just called "Graphic Storytelling"), so mine's not as shiny and mod as the one pictured here. But the meat in the middle is the same, and that's what I'm gonna talk about.
  
  Will Eisner was a giant in the business and the perfect person to write this book.
  
  He actually attacks the topic in a way that might catch you off-guard, showing you the process behind such blindly-accepted aspects of comic books as pacing (especially when it comes to making your reader turn the page at the right time) and the reader's understanding of the action vs. characters expressing the action explicitly through dialogue.
  
  Mind. Blown.
  
  With a ton of examples (sometimes, to be fair, maybe too long of an example), classic monochrome comic panels, pages, and strips, and insider information like you'll get nowhere else, this book's a must-have.
• 
  Aislinn Evans

  i think my problem with eisner is how he constructs a point. in school, we’re taught point, evidence, explain. eg:
  
  P: Maus’s style suits its story in these ways
  E: some panels from the comic
  E: this is how these elements mean it suits the story
  
  and it’s the explain that’s missing - you’re bombarded with all these examples of what he’s talking about, but not even the analytical footnotes found in the early chapters of the previous book. it’s just a short summary of a point about storytelling and then look at this comic. with the added fact that most of the points are ones i’ve heard before, there’s not much being given in terms of instruction or insight. i want ANALYSIS, dammit. pick it APART, will.
  
  liked the lynd ward bit, but he didn’t say much about it. just read vertigo for yourself
• 
  Giulia Renzi

  A short, yet precious, guide for understanding and making comics and/or graphic novels. With great examples to look at, Will Eisner lessons on how visual narrative works, why, and which are the differences between them is a must read for any aspiring author.
  
  As it often happens with this kind of books and guides, the section on the most recent techniques and distribution methods is short and not that useful. This said, I still have 5 stars to this book because Will Eisner died in 2004, which made for him physically impossible to develop that chapter further. Nonetheless, Mr.Eisner showed to be well aware of what the future of comics would have been with the pioneering of websites and blogs during the earliest years of the 2000s.
  
• 
  Henrique Vogado

  Um bom livro de introdução às novelas gráficas do ponto de vista dos criadores.
  Uma obra do Mestre Will Eisner que nos mostra as técnicas de contar uma história gráfica, a importância do narrador, das personagens e do estilo que o autor usa para dar o ambiente certo a uma história, seja de romance ou terror.
  A mais-valia do livro está nos exemplos desenhados pelo próprio Eisner, incluíndo tiras de grandes autores que foram pioneiros em diversas formas de BD, começando nas tiras diárias dos jornais de há 100 anos.
  Um livro para voltar sempre e um guia para quem quiser experimentar os caminhos da BD.
  Comecem numa fanzine, desenhem as próprias histórias.
• 
  Nihal Vrana

  Maybe it is not as impactful as the Comics and the sequential art but nevertheless, it is a must-read for anybody dabbling in comics. the level of influence of Eisner on comics is stupendous; in fact I think that it is quite rare that one individual has such a strong effect on an art form (they are hand in hand with alan Moore on this for the case of comics). I love how he explains the concepts and his style is always so fresh, with that touch of genius in expressing human feeling with gestures, facial details, and posture. He is a great teacher.
• 
  Jordan

  This book is filled with a lot of helpful information, especially if you know very little about storytelling (like myself). However, the book is not long, and it's very easy to blow through the whole book without remembering much of what you just read. I recommend taking your time, reading deliberately, and really analyzing the example literature provided. If you plan on making comics, perhaps try to apply the lessons from each chapter in a strip of your own after reading each one.
• 
  Esteban Ruquet

  Una expansión sobre el libro anterior. Agrega una mayor reflexión e inteligencia práctica acerca de la creación de historietas. Está más destinada a creadores y dibujantes de cómic que al público general, pero tiene algunas herramientas pragmáticas que permiten un criterio sólido (aunque discutible) para la crítica del medio.
• 
  Ramón S.

  Un clásico sobre el arte secuencial;
  Will Eisner es un verdadero maestro del cómic y aunque siempre uno quiere más y la obra se hace corta y es que podría ser más exhaustiva en algunos puntos no importa mucho si eres fan de Will Eisner
• 
  Mark

  Wish I could have spent a bit more time with this but forgot I had it and then it was due. Tore through it. I did enjoy it.
• 
  Sakeri López

  Though I liked reading it, I found it not as helpful as I wished. It has a lot of examples, but it lacks of actual information. Still I would say it is still a must read of the field.
• 
  Giorgia Braglia

  Saggio super interessante
  È triste arrivare alla fine e accorgersi che la maggior parte dei consigli per approfondire non sono disponibili in italiano, ma sicuramente leggerò quelli disponibili
• 
  Virginia

  A good introduction but lacks the nuance one would expect from Eisner.
• 
  Quiver

  This is graphic storytelling through graphic storytelling and a smattering of text.
  
  Easy to read, fun, illuminating for anyone interested in comics, writing, or just storytelling in general, albeit distinctly non-technical. If you're looking for specific advice and details I would recommend Scott McCloud's series on
  Understanding Comics.
  
  Two things stand out: one is the rather general advice mentioned above, dispensed in short textual form at the beginning of each chapter together with a few fun comics that illustrate the point; the other is the cornucopia of full-blown, multiple-page examples where you can experience Eisner's graphic storytelling genius at work—they're worth studying and learning from.
  
  If you're willing to pause and think, then Eisner does offer insights in comparative studies and comics creation that others may not have emphasised enough. For example:
  
  

  A film watcher is imprisoned until the film ends while the comics reader is free to roam, to peek at at the ending, or dwell on an image and fantasize.
  

  
  
  

  In comics, no one really knows for certain whether the words are reader before or after viewing the picture.

  
  
  

  There are some objects which have instant significance in graphic storytelling. When they are employed as modifying adjectives or adverbs, they provide the storyteller with an economical narrative device.

  
  
  If you're only used to reading about storytelling from the perspective of the written word, this may be a refreshing take that'll inspire you with new ideas.