The Plot

June 27, 2005 | Comics

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The Plot
Will Eisner
W.W. Norton & Company
$28 (Hardcover)
**** (out of five)

Will Eisner was the godfather of comic books and a master storyteller.
With both his traditional hero work like The Spirit and his more modern work such as the pioneering graphic novel A Contract With God, Eisner showed an ability to engross his audience with his skills as both a writer and illustrator.
For several years prior to his death on Jan. 3, 2005, Eisner had been working on a very personal story, one that broke the mold, even for this pioneer.
The result is his first — and sadly last — work of historic non-fiction: The Plot: The Secret Story Of The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion.
Eisner traces the history of this text, from its original creation as an anti-imperialist story written by Maurice Joly in 1864 to its adaptation by the Russian secret service into an anti-Semitic one around the turn of the last century and its use by the Nazis and many others as a propaganda tool.
Eisner’s exhaustive research, compiling numerous newspaper reports, historical papers and even a point-by-point comparison between Joly’s story and the Protocols revealing the fabrication — all done in illustrated form — make an irrefutable argument against this hateful tome.
The Plot delivers its message powerfully and convincingly, making the final work of Eisner’s career as important a read all the fiction work he did before it.

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