A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

I had never heard of Will Eisner before this class. I have read graphic novels before, but never one like "The Contract with God Trilogy." Even the words were illustrations. It was almost as if the reader does not have to "read" the text. The entire story is told through its pictures.

Just take the first couple of pages of the first story, “The Contract with God.” The words actually seem to be raining. Eisner really gets his point across about how this poor man, walking through the rainy New York streets is depressed, in just a couple of illustrations.

Take the picture on page five alone. This man, Frimme Hersch, is walking through a monsoon of a rain with his shoulders hung low in a very depressed stance. This exact moment seems to give the reader the message that poor Hersch is having one of the worst days in the world. Everything in his life seems to be going wrong. This rain is just one more thing to add to his misery. The words of the story eventually come to reiterate this message that is initially put forth by the illustration.

As the story progresses it is interesting to see how Eisner manipulates the use of weather to create an interaction between Hersch and God. His illustrations, such as the harsh winds and lightening, as well as the calm that came after the storm when Hersch finally had “enough,” all show the reader God’s response to Hersch’s anger.