Starting today, the lauded Philippe Labaune Gallery in New York City will play host to an exhibit paying tribute to the legendary Will Eisner. Organized by Denis Kitchen and the Eisner estate, the exhibit honors the man known as the father of the graphic novel, looking through everything from Eisner’s war-time drawings, to pages from The Spirit and nearly the entire run of A Contract With God: The Super.
“Will Eisner’s legacy is still deeply felt today,” Labaune told Comic Book Club over email. “The American artist is considered to be ‘the father of the graphic novel,’ and for good reason – he fundamentally changed the way comics are viewed, illustrating that they could be a serious art form capable of telling important literary stories. His contributions laid the groundwork for generations of creators, not just in comics but in cinema, literature, and graphic storytelling as a whole.”
The Will Eisner Exhibit will be open to the public today, February 13, through Saturday, March 8 at The Philippe Labaune Gallery (534 West 24th Street in New York). It is open Thursday through Saturday, from 10am to 6pm, with an opening reception tonight from 6pm to 9pm.
For more with Labaune on putting together the exhibit, read on.
Comic Book Club: What do you think is the enduring legacy of Will Eisner? And how do you think his work stays relevant today?
Philippe Labaune: Will Eisner’s legacy is still deeply felt today. The American artist is considered to be “the father of the graphic novel,” and for good reason – he fundamentally changed the way comics are viewed, illustrating that they could be a serious art form capable of telling important literary stories. His contributions laid the groundwork for generations of creators, not just in comics but in cinema, literature, and graphic storytelling as a whole.
Eisner believed that the power of comics is in their ability to communicate complex ideas through both words and images. He used the page itself as a way to convey emotion, atmosphere, and pacing, enhancing the overall narrative experience. That influence can be seen everywhere today, from modern graphic novels to the way filmmakers frame shots and build visual narratives, and the impact on genre storytelling. The Spirit set the tone for countless detective stories, films, and comics. Beyond his artistic skill, what makes Eisner’s work endure is the depth of his themes. He tackled issues like poverty, grief, and the moral complexities of life – subjects that remain as relevant today as when he first explored them. His stories resonate because they are deeply human, filled with flawed characters navigating situations that are not black or white.
Eisner’s showed that comics could be more than escapism – they could be deeply emotional and thought provoking. He opened doors for graphic storytellers to push the medium even further.
General question, but when you’re putting together a gallery show like this, what is the first step?
The first step in putting together a show like this is thinking about the curation – figuring out how we want to tell Eisner’s story and honor his legacy in a manner that resonates with the audience. We asked ourselves, what story are we telling? And how do we make people feel the weight of Eisner’s impact? With those questions in mind, we worked to shape an experience that helps people understand why Eisner was so important to the comic book genre. Once we have that vision in place, everything else falls into place.
How about the second through last step? By which I mean, what do you want people to take away from this show?
What I hope people take away from this exhibition is just how much Will Eisner changed the way we think about comics—not just as entertainment, but as a serious artistic and literary form. Eisner was a pioneer in demonstrating that comics could tell deeply personal, emotionally complex stories, that they could wrestle with serious themes and resonate on a level far beyond traditional genre expectations.
This show is about honoring that legacy. It’s about giving people a chance to see firsthand why Eisner was so important—not just to comics, but to storytelling as a whole. His influence is everywhere, from the way graphic novels are respected today to the way visual narratives are constructed across different media.
By putting these works in a gallery setting, we’re emphasizing that Eisner wasn’t just a great comic artist—he was a master of his craft, someone who pushed the boundaries of what the medium could achieve. Whether someone walks in already familiar with his work or is encountering it for the first time, my hope is that they leave with a deeper appreciation for what he accomplished and how profoundly he shaped the art form.
This is sort of your whole thing anyway, but how does it change the relationship with the comic page when it’s taken out of context of the story and put in a gallery?
When a comic page is taken out of the context of its story and placed in a gallery setting, it shifts the way the audience engages with it. It puts a spotlight on the craftsmanship of the art itself—allowing viewers to fully appreciate the detail, the composition, and the mastery of the medium in a way that might be overlooked when reading the page in sequence. Every line and nuance of storytelling becomes more pronounced when isolated and given space to breathe.
Of course, sequential storytelling is at the heart of Will Eisner’s work, which is why, for this exhibition, we’re dedicating the smaller room in the gallery to presenting The Super from A Contract With God in its intended sequence. This approach allows us to honor the way Eisner built narrative through pacing and panel composition. But one of the exciting things about a gallery setting is that it gives us the freedom to do both—highlight the sequential nature of the work while also isolating individual pages so they can be appreciated as singular works of art.
A framed page on a white wall, under proper lighting, is an act of respect. It acknowledges that this is more than just a piece of a story—it’s a meticulously crafted work of visual storytelling. It reinforces Eisner’s status not just as a master storyteller, but as an artist whose work stands alongside other forms of fine art. When you remove a comic page from the traditional reading experience and place it in a gallery, you’re inviting the audience to engage with it differently, to slow down, to study the textures and choices that might otherwise be taken for granted in the flow of a book. It’s about giving these works the space and attention they deserve.
Were there any challenges in tracking down specific pieces?
From the start, I knew I wanted something from A Contract With God. All of Eisner’s work is significant, but that book, in particular, holds a special place for me – it’s a landmark in the medium, a book that changed the conversation around what comics could be. So when I started discussing the exhibition with Denis Kitchen, I made it clear: A Contract With God had to be part of it.
I knew the first story, A Contract With God, had been sold over 15 years ago, so my focus shifted to the three other stories in the book, The Super, The Street Singer, and Cookalein. Out of those, the last two are “light” in the sense that the subject matters and even the drawings are closer to Eisner’s regular sequential art. It feels like he wanted to breathe after the first story which is so close to his own experience of losing a child at a young age (Eisner lost his daughter to leukemia at the age of 16). The Super stood as the strongest and closest to the vein of the first story in both the atmosphere and drawing style. It is a powerful piece of storytelling that showcases Eisner’s mastery of blending text and imagery. I was thrilled when Denis told me the family of the late artist was willing to give us The Super. It is a story filled with the deep emotional weight that made A Contract With God so groundbreaking. The fact that we get to present it in sequence for this is something really special that we have never done before.It is a first for our gallery.
What in your mind is the most underrated piece in the show, that fans should keep an eye out for?
One of the most underrated pieces in the show—something I think fans should really take the time to appreciate—is a sketch from The Super that never made it into the original version of A Contract With God. It’s an alternate take on page 13 which was never published, and what makes it so fascinating is that it dives into the backstory of The Super himself, adding a whole new layer to the character, making him even more complex and unsettling. From an artistic standpoint, the composition is incredible. It’s a glimpse into his creative process, showing how he was always pushing deeper into his characters and their stories.
The other pieces that shouldn’t be missed are the U.S. Army illustrations. These are the oldest works in the show and have major cultural significance. They showcase a different side of Eisner—his ability to blend art with education, using comics as a tool to communicate with soldiers in a clear, engaging way. They’re a testament to how versatile and forward-thinking Eisner was as an artist, and whether you’re a longtime Eisner fan or new to his work, these pieces offer something unique.
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