Will Eisner?s "Comics & Sequential Art"

[KarstenTS]

Hi Folks!
I?ve got a question about Will Eisner?s "Comics & Sequential Art". Is it good?!
I read a lot about it, and after reading the Scott McCloud Books (guess what - I loved them!) I thought of buying that Eisner Book as well. It's pretty expensive to me, so I want to make sure it's worth it.
Is there something new? Is there something spectacular? Is there anything in it I don't get to know anywhere else? Or is the way he writes just reason enough to get that book?
Please let me know wheather you like it or not.

Thanks in advance,
Karsten

[losttoy]

When this very same question came to me months ago, I went to the library. They had a copy of the book which I took out to read. I never got the time to read the whole thing, but did enjoy it. My sugestion is go to the library first to see if it is what you are looking for before purcasing it.

The way I see it is that it's a question of why you want to buy it. "Comics and Sequential Arts" is a good book. (Hell, all of Will Eisner's work is amazing (check out his graphic novels like "Contract With God")). It is really good at showing how and why comic books are made. Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" is more indepth in the history and mechanics of comics. Think of it this way, "Comics and Sequential Arts" is like an instructional booklet on how to make a car and "Understanding Comics" is a non-fiction book about cars. Do you want to make a car or appresiate it? Although, this is just my opinion.

[Guest]

I had the same question David, but no ohne to ask it of, so thanks for filling me in. I keep seeing the book, and hesitating to pick it up, but maybe I will just pick one of his graphic-novels instead, and learn by example.

[Jason Alderman]

Both Comics and Sequential Art and its follow on, Graphic Storytelling, are pretty good, but know in advance that they're mostly reprints of Will Eisner's other works--not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Eisner introduces a concept or two, usually illustrates it with some figures and examples, and then reprints copies of some of his past work, with notes in the margin to explain all the narrative and visual tricks he is using to tell the story. The print is rather large, which makes you feel at first like you might not be getting what you paid for, but the books are both so dense with Eisner's stories and interesting tips and tricks, that I think they're worthwhile purchases (in my humble opinion...others may disagree). It's probably a good idea to look for them in your library first.

Good luck,

jason

[KarstenTS]

I guess that's a good point. I'll go and check it in a library.
Thanks for your clues.