Eisner

by Daniel Clowes, Peter Pontiac, Typex

Toen de lancering van EISNER aangekondigd werd, klonk onder tekenaars, schrijvers, collega-uitgevers en liefhebbers gejuich op. De beeldroman – ook wel graphic novel genoemd – is in Groot-Britannië, België, Frankrijk en de Verenigde Staten hevig in opmars, maar is in de Nederlandse boekhandel nog maar mondjesmaat zichtbaar. EISNER wil de weg voor beeldverhalen in Nederland verbreden, en het genre een vast en hoogwaardig podium bieden. Het onweerstaanbaar vormgegeven tijdschrift, vernoemd naar geestelijk vader van de graphic novel Will Eisner (1917-2005), verschijnt vanaf Najaar 2008 driemaal per jaar.
Onder beeldverhalen verstaat EISNER alle strips die voor een volwassen publiek zijn bedoeld, van autobiografische strips (Craig Thompson, Barbara Stok, Manu Larcenet, Peter Pontiac, Mariane Satrapi), tot fictie (Chris Ware, Guido van Driel), non-fictie (Joe Sacco) en horror (Charles Burns).

About the author

Daniel Clowes is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work helped define the landscape of alternative comics and bring the medium into mainstream literary conversation. Rising to prominence through his long-running anthology Eightball, he used its pages to blend acidic humor, social observation, surrealism, and character-driven storytelling, producing serials that later became acclaimed graphic novels including Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, Ghost World, David Boring, Ice Haven, and Patience. His illustrations have appeared in major publications such as The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Village Voice, while his collaborations with filmmaker Terry Zwigoff resulted in the films Ghost World and Art School Confidential, the former earning widespread praise and an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay. Clowes began honing his voice in the 1980s with contributions to Cracked and with his Lloyd Llewellyn stories for Fantagraphics, but it was Eightball, launched in 1989, that showcased the full range of his interests, from deadpan satire to psychological drama. Known for blending kitsch, grotesquerie, and a deep love of mid-century American pop culture, he helped shape the sensibilities of a generation of cartoonists and became a central figure in the shift toward graphic novels being treated as serious literature. His post-Eightball books continued this evolution, with works like Wilson, Mister Wonderful, The Death-Ray, and the recent Monica exploring aging, identity, longing, and the complexities of relationships, often through inventive visual structures that echo the history of newspaper comics. Clowes has also been active in music and design, creating artwork for Sub Pop bands, the Ramones, and other artists, and contributing to film posters, New Yorker covers, and Criterion Collection releases. His work has earned dozens of honors, including multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards, a Pen Award for Outstanding Body of Work in Graphic Literature, an Inkpot Award, and the prestigious Fauve d’Or at Angoulême. Exhibitions of his original art have appeared across the United States and internationally, with a major retrospective, Modern Cartoonist: The Art of Daniel Clowes, touring museums beginning in 2012. His screenplay work extended beyond Ghost World to projects like Art School Confidential and Wilson, and he has long been a touchstone for discussions about Generation X culture, alternative comics, and the shifting boundaries between the literary and graphic arts.