New York, the Big City

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	Will Eisner

New York City and all kinds of its inhabitants are thoroughly captured by Eisner in this book. Scenes of apartments and public housing, busy streets and their elements - mail boxes, sewers, garbage bins and all - become the back- and foregrounds of the stories. My first impression is that it's actually a compilation of real-life fragments: sketches of daily struggle. I was far from considering it as most comic books that are full of fantasies. Although most of the stories are ironic, there are plenty of affectionate tales as well.

All visuals are done without vulgarity, yet honest. What really amazed me is that an arrangement of comical figures, random sceneries and a few words (or none at all) could actually bring up the sensitivity in me. A couple of stories could make my eyes warm or my heart skip a beat.

Like Eisner said earlier, making comic/strips is about "having something to say" - and that's what he really did. He intrigued us into pondering about humanity in a unique, not unpleasant, form. He clearly showed us how everybody is trying to get to a higher part of the pyramid built by society.

One of the most touching stories is about two hispanic women, one has a small baby, who are working as seamstress in a high-rise apartment building. The hardship of their (most probably illegal) jobs can be felt from their conversation. Their work environment clearly doesn't accommodate the safety regulation, and the story ends up tragically. So goes with the story about a rape that is witnessed by an old couple, who prefer not to testify for fear of their own future safety.
A more pleasant happening is about how a couple who are used to live in social apartment buildings really prefer that crowded place to an 'upgraded' neighborhood.

I especially like the 'splash page' or one-page drawings that starts each chapter. These drawings have architectural quality, the lines are 'alive' and the shadings are perfect. For me, who have never been in New York, it's like reading a 'guide' to the city life, various domestic environment and its surroundings - but at the same time I could find similar stories in big cities anywhere in the world.

New York, the Big City
Will Eisner
(C)DC Comics, 1981
ISBN# 1-56389-682-6