Editing Will Eisner (section)

==1917–1936: Early life==

===Family background===

Eisner's father, Shmuel "Samuel" Eisner, was born to [[Galician Jewish]] parents on March 6, 1886, in [[Kolomyia]], [[Austria-Hungary]] (present-day [[Ukraine]]), and was one of eleven children. He aspired to be an artist, and as a teenager painted murals for rich patrons and Catholic churches in [[Vienna]]. To avoid conscription in the army, he moved to New York before the outbreak of [[World War I]].{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=2}} There he found getting work difficult, as his English skills were poor.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|pp=2–3}} He made what living he could painting backdrops for [[vaudeville]] and the [[Jewish theater]].{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=3}}

Eisner's mother, Fannie Ingber, was born to [[Romanian Jewish]] parents on April 25, 1891, on a ship bound for the US. Her mother died on her tenth birthday and was quickly followed by her father. An older stepsister thereafter raised her and kept her so busy with chores that she had little time for socializing or schooling; she did what she could later in life to keep knowledge of her illiteracy from her children.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=3}}

Shmuel and Fannie, who were distant relatives, met through family members.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|pp=3–4}} They had three children: son Will Erwin, born on his father's birthday in 1917; son Julian, born February 3, 1921; and daughter Rhoda, born November 2, 1929.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=4}}

===Early life===

[[File:Wow, What a Magazine! No. 3.jpg|thumb|left|''Wow, What a Magazine!'' No. 3 (Sept. 1936): Cover art by a teenage Eisner.]]

Eisner was born in [[Brooklyn]]. He grew up poor, and the family moved frequently.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=4}} Young Eisner often got into physical confrontations when subjected to [[antisemitism]] from his schoolmates.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=6}} {{sfn|Schumacher|2010|pp=7–8}}

Young Eisner was tall and of sturdy build, but lacked athletic skills.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=10}} He was a voracious consumer of [[pulp magazines]] and film, including avant-garde films such as those by [[Man Ray]].{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|pp=8–9}} To his mother's disappointment, Eisner had his father's interest in art, and his father encouraged him by buying him art supplies.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=10}}

Eisner's mother frequently berated his father for not providing the family a better income, as he went from one job to another. Without success he also tried his hand at such ventures as a furniture retailer and a coat factory.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=5}} The family situation was especially dire following the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] that marked the beginning of the [[Great Depression]].{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=11}} In 1930, the situation was so desperate that Eisner's mother demanded that he, at thirteen, find some way to contribute to the family's income. He entered working life selling newspapers on street corners, a competitive job where the toughest boys fought for the best locations.{{sfn|Schumacher|2010|p=12}}

Eisner attended [[DeWitt Clinton High School]]. With influences that included the early 20th-century commercial artist [[J. C. Leyendecker]],<ref>{{cite news | title=Cons: New York 1974! | work=The Journal Summer Special | year=1974 | editor-first = Paul Kowtiuk | editor-last = Maple Leaf Publications | location = Essex, ON | author=Lovece, Frank | author-link= Frank Lovece}}</ref> he drew for the [[school newspaper]] (''The Clinton News''), the literary magazine (''The Magpie'') and the yearbook ''(The Clintonian)'' and did [[stage design]], leading him to consider doing that kind of work for theater. Upon graduation, he studied under Canadian artist [[George Brandt Bridgman]] for a year at the [[Art Students League of New York]]. Contacts made there led to a position as an advertising writer-[[cartoonist]] for the ''[[New York American]]'' newspaper. Eisner also drew $10-a-page illustrations for [[pulp magazines]], including ''Western Sheriffs and Outlaws''.

In 1936, high-school friend and fellow cartoonist [[Bob Kane]], of future [[Batman]] fame, suggested that the 19-year-old Eisner try selling cartoons to the new comic book ''Wow, What A Magazine!'' "Comic books" at the time were tabloid-sized collections of [[comic strip]] reprints in color. By 1935, they had begun to include occasional new comic strip-like material. ''Wow'' editor [[Jerry Iger]] bought an Eisner adventure strip called ''Captain Scott Dalton'', an [[H. Rider Haggard]]-styled hero who traveled the world after rare artifacts. Eisner subsequently wrote and drew the [[pirate]] strip "The Flame" and the [[secret agent]] strip "Harry Karry" for ''Wow'' as well.

Eisner said that on one occasion a man whom Eisner described as "a [[Mafia|mob]] type straight out of [[Damon Runyon]], complete with pinkie ring, broken nose, black shirt, and white tie, who claimed to have "exclusive distribution rights for all Brooklyn" asked Eisner to draw [[Tijuana bible]]s for $3 a page. Eisner said that he declined the offer; he described the decision as "one of the most difficult moral decisions of my life".<ref name="Spiegelman2">[[Art Spiegelman|Spiegelman, Art]]. [http://www.salon.com/books/feature/1997/08/19/spieg "Tijuana Bibles"], ''[[Salon.com]]'', August 19, 1997. [http://www.salon.com/aug97/spieg2970819.html p. 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629113419/http://www.salon.com/aug97/spieg2970819.html |date=June 29, 2011 }}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629113547/http://www.salon.com/books/feature/1997/08/19/spieg WebCitation archive, main page] and
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110629113419/http://www.salon.com/aug97/spieg2970819.html p. 2]. Retrieved on February 24, 2009.</ref>