Dark Horse Comics began a working relationship with comics legend Will Eisner in late 1999 after pursuing and acquiring the rights to publish Eisner's journal of wartime memories, Last Day In Vietnam.

Now 83 years old and still producing new work, Eisner is a living testament to the art of graphic storytelling, and thanks to publishers like Dark Horse and DC (DC is reprinting Eisner's entire library of previously-published graphic novels, such as The Building and A Contract With God, as well as reprints of The Spirit archives), everyone from seasoned fans to new readers can now enjoy the work of this master storyteller without searching through out-of-print and rare book collections.

In April, Dark Horse is going to press with another highly-anticipated collection of Eisner's work called ShopTalk. Shop Talk may well be Eisner's most unique contribution to the medium of comics, as it's neither a graphic novel, nor a text book about the technical aspects of the comic-book industry. Rather, Shop Talk is a 250-page book collecting eleven interviews Eisner conducted with other leading comics creators which originally ran as serials in his late'70s/early-'80s periodical, The Spirit Magazine.

At the time, The Spirit Magazine was Eisner's outlet for publishing serialized portions of his current graphic novels, as well as reprints of favorite Spirit strips from decades past. With the addition of the conversational interviews that are being collected into Shop Talk this spring, The Spirit Magazine also became a source of incredible insights into the working philosophies and techniques of the comics industry's greatest contributors, captured in the most appropriate environment for such observations -- the artist's studio. Before his run of interviews was over, Eisner documented intimate and informative conversations with Milton Caniff, Gill Fox (discussing comics great Lou Fine), Gil Kane, Harvey Kurtzman, Joe Kubert, Jack Davis, C.C. Beck, Neal Adams, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, and the only non-artist of the group, Phil Seuling.

Seuling, who died in the mid 1980s, was a notable contributor to the comics medium because he was incredibly influential in the formation of the so-called "direct market" system of comics distribution, and he was one of the first people to organize a convention where comics creators and fans could get together to discuss the medium. Aside from Seuling, the subjects of Eisner's Shop Talk interviews are all artistic giants in the field, known individually for their innovations and distinct contributions in a time when comics was still a fledgling art form.

"Originally the idea (for these interviews) came to me as a result of a conversation I had with Milton Caniff," Eisner explained. "We were talking about the fact that many of the interviews he did with journalists were usually stupid. They didn't ask good questions and didn't know much about the industry. When he said that, I said, `Look, I'd like to produce a series of interviews -- or conversations, rather -- very much like the ones we had back in the shop.' He said, `I'll be glad to do the first one with you,' and that's how this really got started."

Over the next few years, Eisner shared studio conversations with Kurtzman, Davis, Kubert, and the others and recounted the best moments of these talks for his Spirit Magazine readers. The most thrilling aspects of these interviews for comics fans are not only Eisner's chosen subjects -- though any fan would be hard-pressed to find a similar collection of ideas from such a remarkable group of creators -- but the in-depth approach Eisner takes with each creator in attempting to mine each individual's personal take on the comics industry. In doing so, Eisner also opened up to readers with his own intensely personal views about the medium, which is something no comics fan should miss reading.

Aside from proving informative to himself and other fans of comic art, Eisner claims these interviews served another, altogether more important function for him:

"(These interviews) reinforced the feeling I always had about the fact that this is a valid literary form and also a valid field to be in," said Eisner. "And when you talk to guys like Joe Kubert and Jack Kirby -- as simple a guy as he was -- you got the feeling that you were part of a group of giants. That's exactly what they were."

Don't miss Will Eisner's Shop Talk -- a 250-page book featuring eleven interviews by Will Eisner with some of comics greatest creators (and Phil Seuling!), on sale starting April 25.