I haven’t reviewed much Will Eisner here even though I love his work. The main reason for this is that Eisner’s work is more of an atmosphere than a story. Yes there are characters and they do things, but those are usually secondary to the atmosphere. His stories don’t make you feel like you are reading a story, they make you feel as if you are living them. To the Heart of the Storm is no different. So, let’s see what is in the heart of the storm.

Similar to his books The Building and Dropsie Avenue, To the Heart of the Storm introduces the reader to a few characters and then brings the reader into their lives. In this story, we follow Young Willie (obviously Eisner) as he in on a train heading to the army base after he has been drafted. From there we go back to his childhood and get a semi-autobiographical look at his growing up in New York, with the casual racism and antisemitism. The book starts with his family moving to the Bronx as his father becomes more successful. From there we follow the extended family and other people they come into contact with over the next few years.

One of the best parts was Willie and his high school friend Buck having adventures building a boat. It’s a great story about a pair of young men bonding over common interests and activities. Then we jump forward to just before Willie is drafted when he runs into Buck again, after not seeing him for a few years. When Buck starts up with the casual antisemitism, Willie starts out angry, but realizes that he can’t fight the hate this way, so he just puts on his coat and leaves.

As for the art, Eisner is a master of the craft. His layouts are some of the most original in comics. For example, in this page Eisner uses the layout to take us back in time from the train going to war until back when the war started in Europe.

And Eisner does a great job of using the images to show character’s emotions. In this scene Willie’s father is confronted by an angry father of another boy that had fought Willie. See how the other father grows bigger as he gets angrier.

Eisner has a simply style that he uses to great effectiveness both in his story and his art. He follows the old adage of “Show, don’t tell” when it comes to storytelling.

To the Heart of the Storm is a great graphic novel. The simple story about a man going off to war and looking back at his life has a powerful message. Highly recommended.