To the Heart of the Storm by Will Eisner Review

To the Heart of the Storm is Will Eisner’s memoir of growing up in Depression-era New York as well as a truncated bio of his maw and paw. It’s framed by a 25 year old Eisner looking out of a train window as he heads to war in 1942 looking back on his past. 

I thought this one was fairly interesting. His parents’ stories were compelling. His ma’s parents died when she was very young and she had to grow up fast, trying (and failing) to keep her younger brother and sister on the straight and narrow. Her older sister Rose was a complex lady, hard out of necessity but also oddly fragile at times - Eisner seems to hint that she was bipolar. 

His father was apprenticed to an artist in Vienna and, before making the trip to New York, him getting his own back on his nasty old master for treating him like garbage was amusing. You get a clear sense of the love Eisner had for his parents and they seemed like a pair of good people.

I’m always blown away by the skill in Eisner’s art. There’s a very good reason why the most prestigious comics award is named after him - he really was the best! His understanding of comics storytelling is incomparable from the imaginative layouts to the evocative expressions of the characters. He’s still the only artist I’ve seen who’s ever drawn rain that looks genuinely wet! 

As you’d expect, you do get a strong sense of the time with fascism on the rise and Jews being treated as second class citizens. Anti-semitism is a recurring theme in Eisner’s work, and I understand that it’s important to note as Eisner was Jewish and this is autobiography, so this was his real experience. Still, having read several of his books now, I’m getting a bit bored of seeing the same scenarios and comments, and seeing it brought up again and again here gets repetitive real quick. 

Ironically, a lot of Eisner’s autobiographical stuff is really boring. He gets into fights with the neighbourhood kids because he’s Jewish, he builds a small boat with a wealthy German kid - ehhh. It’s nothing special. 

To the Heart of the Storm isn’t among my favourites of Will Eisner’s books, and I wouldn’t say it’d appeal to anyone but fans, but it’s not a bad read, particularly if you’re in the mood for a Dickensian comic!