Eisner & Iger facts for kids

Eisner and Iger Studio

Trade name	Syndicated Features Corporation
Former type	Comics studio
Successor	S. M. Iger Studio
Founded	late 1936/early 1937
Founders	Will Eisner Jerry Iger
Defunct	late 1939/early 1940
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Key people	Ruth Roche
Products	Comics for Editors Press Service, Jumbo Comics #1 (Fiction House), Fox Comics, Quality Comics
Services	Comics packaging
Members	Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, Lou Fine, Bernard Baily, Dick Briefer, Bob Powell, Toni Blum

Eisner & Iger was a special kind of company that made comic books for publishers. They created comics on demand for new companies starting in the late 1930s and 1940s. This time is known as the Golden Age of Comic Books.

The company was started by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger. Many famous comic book creators, like Jack Kirby, began their careers there. Eisner & Iger operated from 1936 to 1939.

The company was officially called the Eisner and Iger Studio. It was also known as Syndicated Features Corporation. Will Eisner sometimes called it the "Art Syndication Company". Besides comic books, they also sold color comic strips to newspapers. Some of these strips were Adventures of the Red Mask and Pop's Night Out.

After Eisner left in late 1939 or early 1940, Jerry Iger continued making comics. His new company was called the S. M. Iger Studio. He later partnered with Ruth Roche. The S. M. Iger Studio worked until 1961.

How Eisner & Iger Started

Eisner & Iger was created to serve the growing market for American comic books. These comics first appeared in the early 1930s. They were like large magazines that reprinted newspaper comic strips. Sometimes they added color to daily black-and-white comics. By 1935, new stories were starting to be made just for these comic books.

One important comic book was Wow, What a Magazine!. It was published by John Henle and edited by Samuel Maxwell "Jerry" Iger. Jerry Iger was a cartoonist before this. Wow stopped after its fourth issue in November 1936. But it brought Iger together with a 19-year-old Will Eisner. Eisner later created The Spirit and some of the first graphic novels. For Wow, Eisner wrote and drew adventure stories like "Scott Dalton" and "The Flame."

Will Eisner and Jerry Iger told different stories about how their studio began.

Will Eisner's Story

Eisner said that after Wow closed, he suggested he and Iger start a company. He thought that soon there wouldn't be enough old newspaper comic strips to reprint. So, there would be a need for new, original comics. He said they formed Eisner & Iger in late 1936. It was one of the first companies to "package" comics. Iger was 32, and Eisner pretended to be 25 so Iger wouldn't think he was too young.

Eisner remembered:

We met on 43rd Street... I suddenly realized that comic books would soon run out of old newspaper strips. Then there would be a chance to sell new material drawn just for these comic books. So, I told Jerry Iger my idea. I said I wanted to form a company with him to make original art for these comic books. He was 13 years older, so I thought he could handle the sales... Iger said, 'It will cost money, and I don't have any.' I had $15 from a job. I knew about a small building on 41st Street that rented offices for about $5 or $10 a month. So I told Jerry, 'I'll put up the money. I'll do all the art, and you just go sell it.' We shook hands. We agreed to form a company – Eisner and Iger, with my name first because I was the big money man. (laughs)

They rented a small office in Manhattan for $5 a month. Eisner paid the first three months' rent. Eisner & Iger started with Eisner doing all the writing and art. Iger handled sales and also did the lettering for the comics. Eisner used fake names like "Willis Rensie" (Eisner spelled backward) and "Erwin" (his middle name). This made the company seem bigger than it was.

A fictional story about Eisner's time with the company is in his graphic novel, The Dreamer.

Jerry Iger's Story

In 1985, Iger said:

In 1937, I was making a lot of material under my own company, 'Universal Phoenix Features'. I had great artists, many of whom worked when needed. These included Mort Meskin and Will Eisner... Will was working for me on 'Hawk of the Seas' and 'ZX-5'. He also did sports drawings that I sold to newspapers across the U.S. ... Universal Phoenix Features paused because I briefly partnered with Will Eisner in mid-1938. I bought him out in 1940 when Will was drafted into the Army to make military posters. (Will became so good – and so expensive! – as a freelance artist, that I could only afford him by making him a partner.) After 'Eisner & Iger, Ltd.' ended, I went back to publishing as 'Phoenix Features'.

Note: Eisner was not drafted in 1940. He was drafted in 1942. However, Eisner did leave the company in 1940 to create The Spirit.

Company Success and Impact

No matter how it started, Eisner & Iger became one of the most successful and important comics packagers. Other similar companies included Funnies, Inc. (which made the first Marvel Mystery Comics, including the Human Torch) and Harry "A" Chesler's studio.

Their first customer was Editors Press Service. This company provided Latin American newspapers with comic strips and other features. Eisner and Iger created the character Sheena for a British magazine called Wags. Sheena was a "female Tarzan" who wore leopard skin. She became very famous in the U.S. in 1938. Writer "William Thomas" and artist Mort Meskin took over her stories in Jumbo Comics No. 1, published by Eisner & Iger's client Fiction House.

Eisner & Iger also created material for Fox Comics, Quality Comics, and other publishers. By 1939, the company had 15 writers, artists, and letterers working full-time. Eisner said he tried to avoid paying freelancers per page. However, future comic legend Jack Kirby said his early work there was freelance. Other famous artists who worked there included Bob Kane, Lou Fine, Bernard Baily, Dick Briefer, Bob Powell, and Toni Blum. During this time, Eisner helped create characters like Doll Man and Blackhawk.

Eisner claimed they made a profit of $1.50 per page. He said, "I got very rich before I was 22." He later explained that in 1939, during the Great Depression, he and Iger "had split $25,000 between us." This was a lot of money back then.

S. M. Iger Studio

S. M. Iger Studio
a.k.a. Roche-Iger Studio

Trade name	Phoenix Features Corporation
Former type	Comics studio
Predecessor	Eisner and Iger Studio
Founded	1940
Founders	Jerry Iger
Defunct	1961
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Key people	Ruch Roche
Products	Comics for "Pre-Trend" EC Comics, Superior Comics, Ajax-Farrell
Services	Comics packaging
Members	Nina Albright, Ruth Atkinson, Matt Baker, Alex Blum, Toni Blum, Ann Brewster, Nick Cardy, Louis Cazeneuve, Al Feldstein, Dick Giordano, Fletcher Hanks, Jack Kamen, Joe Kubert, Charles Nicholas, Al Plastino, Bob Powell, Don Rico, Jerry Siegel, George Tuska

Eisner sold his part of the company to Iger in late 1939 or early 1940. He left to start his own comic, The Spirit.

With Eisner gone, Iger continued making comics as the S. M. Iger Studio. He hired Ruth Roche as an editor in 1940. Ruth became a partner in 1945. Some sources say the studio was then called the Roche-Iger Studio.

Many famous creators stayed with the company after Eisner left. These included Alex Blum, Toni Blum, Nick Cardy, Louis Cazeneuve, Fletcher Hanks, Charles Nicholas, Bob Powell, and George Tuska. Other creators who worked for the Iger Studio were Matt Baker, Al Feldstein, Dick Giordano, Jack Kamen, Joe Kubert, Al Plastino, Don Rico, and Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel. Female artists like Toni Blum, Nina Albright, Ruth Atkinson, Ann Brewster, Fran Hopper, Lily Renée, and Marcia Snyder also worked there. This was likely thanks to Ruth Roche.

From 1946 to 1950, the studio made comics for "Pre-Trend" EC Comics. From 1947 to 1954, the Iger Studio made comics for the Canadian publisher Superior. From 1954 to 1958, they made material for Ajax-Farrell titles. Iger was also a co-owner of Superior and Ajax-Farrell for some time.

The S. M. Iger Studio operated until 1961.

Creators Who Worked There

Many notable creators were part of Eisner & Iger and the S. M. Iger Studio. Here are some of them:

Eisner & Iger (1937–1939)

S. M. Iger Studio (1940–1961)

See also

• Everett M. "Busy" Arnold
• Harry "A" Chesler
• Funnies Inc.