Analysis of Will Eisner

After reading A Life Force, I was blown away with his ability to thematically link the short stories woven between the pages into a singular narrative.

One particular detail I noticed was how he refrains from using frames and boundaries, and instead he draws in the open space in a way that leads our eyes organically through the page.

The way characters express emotion is in such a "comic" way. That is, each individual sketch of a character provides a distinct expression. It's unnatural in real life, we spurt out what we're saying without emphasizing emotion on each particular phrase we let out. But graphic novels are storytelling, there has to be intention and emotion expressed. Eisner is able to capture the moment of each particular frame, without taking the reader out of the overarching story itself.

Eisner's narratives surround struggles that he faced due to his Jewish heritage. Much like Shaun Tan's The Arrival, the personal experiences of discrimination fueled the passion into this novel and serves as a key thematic element.