Alex Rivera, Tze Chun, Barry Jenkins and Sean Baker are to direct the late Will Eisner’s graphic novel A Contract With God.

The news emerged from the third day [24] of Comic-Con in San Diego during the annual Eisner Awards. Darren Dean will produce the collection of stories about Eisner’s childhood in a New York City tenement that meditates on the immigrant struggle.

Rivera will direct the segment A Contract With God, Chun will direct The Street Singer, Jenkins tackles The Super, and Baker will direct Cookalien. Dean is out to casting and principle photography is set to begin in 2011.

The film will be produced under the auspices of the Eisner estate. Bob Schreck, a 30-year veteran of the comic book industry and Michael Ruggiero, former head of original programming at Starz, will serve as executive producers.

“I look forward to finding the fine balance of offering Eisner fans a very faithful interpretation of his work and allowing the voices of these strong and competent film-makers to be heard,” Dean said.

Dean’s first feature Prince Of Broadway, about an illegal immigrant in modern-day New York, is being released this autumn. His second film, the Rwanda-set Kinyarwanda, is in post-production and scheduled to launch at a festival in 2011.