March 31, 2025

Event date: April 17, 2025 –

For immediate release
April 2, 2025

This year’s annual WILL EISNER SPRING LECTURE features award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Eleanor Davis, whose work explores personal and political themes with striking visual storytelling. The talk is co-sponsored by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) and The Leslie Center for the Humanities at Dartmouth College with the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation.

When: Thursday, April 17, 4:30 pm 
Where: Moore B03 at Dartmouth College

Free and open to the public. No registration is required.

Eleanor Davis is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator. In 2009, Davis won the Eisner’s Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award and was named one of Print magazine’s New Visual Artists. Her books include How To Be Happy (2014), You and a Bike and a Road (2017), Why Art? (2018), and The Hard Tomorrow (2019), which won the LA Times Book Prize for Graphic Novels and Comics and the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Story. The New York Review of Books calls Eleanor Davis “one of the very best cartoonists working today.” 

Her illustrations have also appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. Previous Eisner Spring Lecturers include Alison Bechdel, Jules Feiffer, Lewis Hyde, Jonathan Lethem, Nora Krug, and Mo Willems.

About The Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation 
The Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation has sponsored the Eisner Spring Lecture for the past 15+ years. Will Eisner is widely regarded as one of the medium’s most influential creators. In recognition of his impact, the prestigious Eisner Award—often referred to as the “Oscars of comics”—bears his name. Throughout his career, Eisner pushed the boundaries of visual storytelling and is best known for works like The Spirit and A Contract with God, which helped define the modern graphic novel.

About The Leslie Center for Humanities at Dartmouth College
The Leslie Center for the Humanities at Dartmouth College advances the study of meaning, purpose, and creativity in the human experience. They support humanities research and projects that engage students, faculty, staff, and visitors at Dartmouth College and beyond.

About The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS)
The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) offers a two-year course of study that centers on the creation and dissemination of comics, graphic novels, and other manifestations of the visual narrative. Experienced and internationally recognized cartoonists, writers, and designers teach classes. CCS programs include a two-year Master of Fine Arts Degree, One- and Two-Year Certificates in Cartooning, and annual summer workshops. The school is located in the historic downtown village of White River Junction, Vermont.