Google Doodle Celebrates the Birthday of Influential Comic Book Artist Will Eisner

Google frequently lends its homepage to celebrate or mark special occasions. Yesterday, Google paid a tribute to Will Eisner, a comic book pioneer, who has been a great influence for younger comic book artists and the medium as a whole. The artist died in 2005, he would have been 94 years old today.

"Eisner influenced comics in dozens of ways. In the ‘40s, Eisner’s The Spirit—a seven-page newspaper feature—introduced an arsenal of visual storytelling techniques still used generations later, and provided an early testing ground for future comics stars including Jack Kirby and Jules Feiffer," Scott McCloud wrote on the Official Google Blog.

Scott McCloud is well known in the comic book industry himself and helped with the Will Eisner doodle. He also drew the Chrome comic book when the browser was first launched.

"For most of his career, Eisner was years, even decades, ahead of the curve. I saw him debating artists and editors half his age, and there was rarely any question who the youngest man in the room was," McCloud described the artist.

"It helped that he never stood on ceremony. Everyone was his peer, regardless of age or status. None of us called him 'Mr. Eisner.' He was just 'Will'," he added.

The doodle recreates the Google logo, as is usually the case, in comic book style, with most of the letters made up by old city buildings. The doodle prominently features The Spirit the hero of the eponymous influential comic book series.

Eisner was respected not only for his creations but also for his work in establishing comics and particularly graphic novels as a legitimate literary and artistic form. His contributions led to the creation of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, a yearly event that rewards creative works and artists in the comic book world.