Will Eisner Dies

Comics legend Will Eisner died on Monday, January 3 2005, following quadruple bypass surgery, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he lived. He was 87.

William Erwin Eisner was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 6 1917, the son of Jewish immigrants. His first comics work appeared in Wow, What a Magazine! in 1936, but it was The Spirit, who first appeared in June 1940, that was to be his biggest and most influential creation. Part of the initial appeal of The Spirit was that the main character had no super powers, which were very popular at the time, following the appearance of Superman and Batman a few years earlier.