Eisner trained some of the world's greatest comic art talent: Bob Kane (Batman); Jack Kirby (Fantastic Four); Jules Feiffer; Dave Berg (Mad); and Joe Kubert (Tarzan). Eisner also inspired generations of modern artists and writers, including Frank Miller (Sin City) Harlan Ellison, Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and Art Spiegelman (Maus).

Michael Chabon, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was influenced by Eisner's career, wrote the stirring introduction for Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Neal Adams also contributed an appreciation of his friend Eisner.

Author Bob Andelman conducted almost weekly interviews with Will Eisner. The book includes interviews with dozens of other familiar names in popular literature and graphic arts. Among those who spoke about either their personal experience with Eisner or the way in which he touched their careers were Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman, Denis Kitchen, Joe Kubert, Jim Warren, Stan Lee, Dave Sim, and Patrick McDonnell.