Details
Synopsis
This posthumously published work is the final graphic narrative by a giant in the genre, Will Eisner. It concerns a topic very important to him personally: the genesis of the fraudulent anti-Semitic document known as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." The text and the subtly-toned black-and-white inkwash illustrations carefully lay out how a skilled Russian propagandist was hired by government officials in 1898 to craft a document that claimed that modernization was a Jewish plot. The writer plagiarized a discredited French novel condemning the tyranny of Emperor Napoleon III, and transposed the text so that it seemed to be the manifesto of a secret Jewish society planning world domination. Over the years, "The Protocols" became one of the most potent weapons in the anti-Semitic arsenal, a powerful justification of any number of anti-Semitic acts--including the Nazi persecution of the Jews. By inserting himself as a character in the book, Eisner eloquently expresses his despair that publication of "The Protocols" and widespread belief concerning its validity have persisted into the 21st century, despite a wealth of research, documentation, and court cases demonstrating its faulty provenance. Eisner hoped that by transmitting the evidence against "The Protocols" through the popular comic-book medium, he could reach a broader audience than the scholarly audience, but the book's tone and its recounting of more recent anti-Semitic incidents suggests that general rejection of the document will be an arduous, perhaps nearly impossible process.
| Size | | Length: | 148 pages | | Height: | 10.3 in | | Width: | 7.8 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 22.4 oz |
Industry Reviews
"The ink-wash drawings here are among...[Eisner's] most exquisite work, and his characters have the kind of grandly expressive, minutely observed body language that was his specialty."
Publishers Weekly (04/18/2005)
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