Denis Kitchen, a cartoonist, publisher and author, will present an illustrated lecture on the life of Will Eisner at 3 p.m. March 9 in Love Library’s Peterson Room.

The talk, “Will Eisner: The Father of Graphic Novels,” is free and open to the public.

Image from Will Eisner's 1986 publication "New York: The Big City." The drawing summarizes what it is like living in a loud, bustling, political and congested building in New York City. Click to enlarge.

Eisner (1917-2005) was a pioneer in the development of the American comic book industry. He created extraordinary graphic novels for three decades and contributed to the formal study of comics by authoring textbooks. He also taught at New York’s School of Visual Arts for 20 years.

Kitchen served as Eisner’s publisher, agent and now representative of his estate. From this unique viewpoint, Kitchen will provide an overview of Eisner’s career and firsthand anecdotes that appeal to novices of comic art and hardcore fans alike.

Kitchen will be available for questions afterward and lead a walking tour of the traveling exhibit, “Will Eisner: A Retrospective,” which is on display in Love Library.

The exhibit, available througg April 30, includes 43 large Eisner giclées (fine art digital prints made on a high-quality inkjet printer) selected from landmark parallel exhibitions held at Le Musée de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême (the national comics museum of France) and the Society of Illustrators in New York in 2017.