When comic book artist and former SVA faculty member Will Eisner died in 2005 at the age of 87, he left behind far more than a sizable body of cartooning work. Eisner’s lasting impact can be seen far and wide: in his groundbreaking 1940s comics series The Spirit; in 1978’s A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories (often cited as the first graphic novel); in the collections of his SVA lectures that are still widely used by students of the medium; and in the annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, which recognize the top talent in the field. He is, in many ways, the prototypical comics artist, and many of the artists who have put ink to paper over the years have either felt his influence or simply walked the paths he initially trod.