A Contract with God

Historical Context and Significance

Will Eisner's «A Contract with God» is considered one of the first graphic novels, helping to define and popularize the genre. Published in 1978, the book is a collection of four interconnected stories exploring the life of the Jewish community in New York during the Great Depression. Eisner uses a unique storytelling style and illustrations to convey deep emotional and social themes such as loss, faith, struggle, and hope. This work significantly influenced the development of comics and graphic novels, elevating them to a new level of literary and artistic expression. «A Contract with God» also played a crucial role in recognizing graphic novels as a serious form of art and literature capable of conveying complex and mature themes.