NEW YORK, 1937. Determined to make it among the hustlers, hucksters, and heroes of a radical new art form, Billy Eyron, a junior staff artist, begins drawing and creating comics. Based loosely on the early years of Will Eisner's own career, The Dreamer is a remarkable tale of grit and determination, as well a unique look at how comics got their start. In his own shop, Eisner trained several of the finest talents ever to draw and write comics-legends like Bob Kane and Jack Kirby- and a special annotations in this edition reveal the inspiration for the pioneering artists who appear in this book under pseudonyms. The Dreamer perhaps one of Eisner's greatest autobiographical works, also provides a wonderful introduction to the history of his true American art form.

Born in New York in 1917, Will Eisner was the author of the legendary comic strips The Spirit. Over the course of a career that exceeded seventy years, Eisner wrote dozens of books, including the pioneering graphic novel A contract with God. The comic industry's top annual awards "The Eisner's", are named in his honnor.