On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 11:30am, Joseph Gallivan interviews Mike Rosen about The Spirit of Will Eisner, a retrospective on now at the Northwest Museum of Cartoon Arts in the Pearl District.
Rosen, who is the chair of the museum which opened in December 2025, talks about how Eisner emerged as a young man in the 1920s, drawing the character, Flash, a maverick detective, but gradually broke out of the confines of the comic strip to conceive of the graphic novel as we know it today. Eisner, for whom the comic awards are named, also drew educational cartoons for the military, but his first masterpiece was A Contract with God, inspired by the death of his daughter from leukemia. Rosen explains Eisner’s career arc, and introduces KBOO readers to the museum itself, which now provides a place for Cartoonists to gather, hear talks, use the library and even sit down and draw.
The show is on through June 23, 2026.
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Art Focus on K-B-O-O Portland is the show where artists talk about their work.
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Joseph Gallivan has been a reporter since 1990. He has covered music for the London Independent, Technology for the New York Post, and arts and culture for the Portland Tribune and for Axios Portland. He is the author of two novels, "Oi, Ref!" and "England All Over" which are available lightly used.
He is a TriMet bus operator. Smile and say hello on the 17, but please stay behind the yellow line.