Eisner Novel: A Contract with God (3 Points)

 This graphic novel was a tough read for me since it brought up some pretty touchy subjects. I think that Eisner dives into some sensitive subject because it was unique from the comparably 'safe' comics that others were producing. In the first part, it deals with a man who has been told all his life that God will favor him, but God betrays his trust when he takes away the life of his adopted daughter. Initially, I thought this story might have been a criticism of God and how people use him, but it seemed to make it more about making a victim of childhood lies into a bad guy and killing him off. I felt that this story was more about the unfairness surrounding the 'truths' he was told in his childhood. He was told all of his childhood life that because he did good things and helped people, God would help him and be there for him. Yet, when he needs God, his daughter dies, and understandably, he gets upset. It is upsetting that the comic makes such a bad thing out of going through grief after being dragged through lies that adults gave him as a child for doing good things. And then killing him at the end after he decides to go back to God (albeit with some selfish intent) enforces that he is not a victim of lies that he was given as a child, but rather that he was an antagonist that somehow deserved it. 

The second story especially got to me. In the story, a man who sings in alleyways for money was 'scouted' by a woman who used to have a singing career. She gives him money to go freshen up his look, but he wastes most of the money on alcohol, and he gives a measly portion to his pregnant wife. After cheating on his wife with the singer, he goes back home to her drunk and abuses her. Having some similar experiences to this story, it was tough to read through this section. From the drunken slurring, to the wife accepting his half-hearted apology, it felt too close to home. In a way, I applaud this comic because of how well this story is told as to get such a reaction out of me. 

While especially depressing, I do think that his comics are really well-created. The characters have such specific emotions, styles, and character. The comics themselves seem like they had a lot of thought and care put into them.