A work more disturbing than fiction from "the father of graphic novels" (New York Times).

Will Eisner, the great American master of comics, has undertaken what he regards as his most powerful work yet. The Plot examines the outrageous fabrication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which purports to be the actual blueprint by Jewish leaders to take over the world. Hatched as an anti-Semitic plot by the tsar's secret police to deflect widespread criticism of the government, the Protocols, first published in 1905, succeeded beyond the propagandistic ambitions of its originators; the lie became an internationally accepted truth. Presenting a pageant of historical figures including Tsar Nicholas II, Henry Ford, and Adolf Hitler, Eisner exposes the twisted history of the Protocols from nineteenth-century Russia to modern-day Klan members to Islamic fundamentalists. The Plot unravels one of the most devastating hoaxes of the twentieth century.

"Famed innovator Eisner showed the creators of modern comics what a potentially rich medium they were working with. In particular, he used the term 'graphic novel' to sell A Contract with God (1978), a collection of interrelated comics stories about residents in a Jewish tenement section of New York. He returned to that territory in A Life Force (1988), showing one man's uncertain progress, and in Dropsie Avenue (1995), an historical panorama of the whole neighborhood. Printed together for the first time in this volume, the works reinforce each other beautifully. Eisner's virtuoso art always has been admired, but his writing sometimes has been disparaged as thin and sentimental. Over the span of these three books, though, emotions jostle and balance each other; sometimes the stories seem upbeat, sometimes fatalistic. The characters frequently are defeated in the short term but always yearning for more than their surroundings offer. In any case, Eisner's illustrations are superb: water drenches a man walking alone at night in a thunderstorm; a fat housewife athletically performs a 'heart attack' right after her husband has collapsed with a real one; aerial cityscapes expand; and every possible expression flickers over the characters' faces. This is an important, wonderful book." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"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

"[A] vivid confirmation of Eisner's belief in the comics medium's potency for simply, effectively conveying ideas." Booklist

"[Will Eisner is] an inspiration to several generations of cartoonists." Art Spiegelman

"[N]oble, purposeful and well researched. It's also an ambitious blend of graphic, Eisner's primary strength, and history. If at times it is too much novel and not enough graphic, in the end its esthetic balance matters less than its effect." Chicago Sun-Times

"Eisner's extensive reprinting of text from the Protocols side by side with excerpts from the French book [from which it was plagiarized] doesn't make for riveting comics, but it does demonstrate the plagiarism explicitly. Recommended." Library Journal

"Although sequential art was Eisner's chosen, beloved form of expression, he'd have been better-served writing a nonfiction book with a photo section on the subject rather than using his still-powerful drawings to substantiate his points." San Diego Union-Tribune

"The Plot carries through Eisner's ambitious legacy to the end....Eisner's final work attempts the ultimate challenge of an artwork: something that will change the world. As such, it makes a perfect capstone to the oeuvre of one of comix' greatest forward-thinkers." Andrew Arnold, Time

Eisner, the great American master of comics, has undertaken what he regards as his most powerful work yet. The Plot examines the outrageous fabrication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which purports to be the actual blueprint by Jewish leaders to take over the world.

Will Eisner (1917–2005) was the author of the legendary comic strip The Spirit. The comic industry's top annual awards, "The Eisners," are named in his honor.