Fagin the Jew

Will Eisner’s Fagin the Jew (2003, Random House) reexamines Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist antagonist through a revisionist lens, offering a sympathetic backstory for the iconic character. Written and illustrated entirely by Eisner as one of his final graphic novels, the work confronts anti-Semitic stereotypes head-on by grounding Fagin’s actions in a harsh, historically informed context. A provocative blend of literary critique and personal memoir, it stands as a late-career statement from the medium’s pioneering master.