Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, Scott McCloud and…Hellboy? In his new collection, Will the Real Will Eisner Please Stand Up? Award-winning author Stephen Weiner (The Will Eisner Companion, Hellboy: the Companion) writes about Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, Scott McCloud, and the NECON conference of 1998. Other pieces include a history of Weiner’s avocation as a comics’ librarian/historian, comics and an exceptional child, and an outtake from Hellboy: the Companion.
Will Eisner—best known for his influential comic book series The Spirit and his groundbreaking graphic novel A Contract with God—believed in the teaching power of comics, and from 1951 to 1971 he produced PS magazine for the U.S. Army. This Preventive Maintenance Monthly (called PS because it was a postscript to the standard technical manuals) was aimed at teaching American soldiers everything about weapons safety for vehicles, aircraft, firearms, and electronics. Eisner illustrated these vital lessons in drawings, pinups, step-by-step guides, and comic strips. This collection contains the best of Eisner’s 227 issues of PS, reproduced in a portable digest format. This relatively unknown work by Eisner is finally explored—the missing link between his comic books and his later, more mature graphic novel style. Praise for PS Magazine: "For the first time, Will Eisner’s superlative work for the U.S. Army has been assembled into a single collection. The result shows the artist’s keen understanding of the educative power of graphic storytelling. From 1951 to 1971, between The Spirit and A Contract with God, Eisner produced PS Magazine for the army in order to teach the common soldier how best to use, maintain, repair, and requisition their equipment. From explaining how to load a truck correctly to why it won’t start, Eisner used a combination of humor, sound technical writing, and graphic storytelling to educate the soldiers. His magazines could be found at the front lines, in the officer’s mess, and in the quarters of senior military officials. It featured a cast of recurring characters like the loveable Joe Dope and the voluptuous Connie Rodd, who headlined featured segments like “Joe’s Dope Sheet” and the provocatively named “Connie Rodd’s Briefs.” With Eisner’s wonderful artwork and clarity of style making sometimes difficult concepts easy to understand, it’s no wonder PS Magazine was so popular with military personnel. A fascinating document for both fans of Eisner and military history buffs." - Publishers Weekly starred review “These amusing yet pragmatic sketches provide a ‘missing-link’ comics document for fans and demonstrate the same mastery of his craft that marked Eisner’s better-known works.” —Booklist “An instructional model for today’s producers of nonfiction comics, which too often lack such visual traction, this also has appeal for military buffs, vehicle junkies, and Eisner fans.” —Library Journal “The enthusiast who’s been nurturing a curiosity about Eisner’s lost years will find all he needs to know from this beautifully produced little volume.” —The Comics Journal "Eisner understood comics' potential for education decades before his peers, and PS magazine was his first laboratory. This thoughtful new collection is an essential addition to the Eisner library." -Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics
A celebration of the life of the acclaimed comic book storyteller through his work as well as interviews with fellow creators. Will Eisner (1917–2005) is universally considered the master of comics storytelling, best known for The Spirit, his iconic newspaper comic strip, and A Contract With God, the first significant graphic novel. This seminal work from 1978 ushered in a new era of personal stories in comics form that touched every adult topic from mortality to religion and sexuality, forever changing the way writers and artists approached comics storytelling. Noted historian Paul Levitz celebrates Eisner by showcasing his most famous work alongside unpublished and rare materials from the family archives. Also included are original interviews with creators such as Jules Feiffer, Art Spiegelman, Scott McCloud, Jeff Smith, Denis Kitchen, and Neil Gaiman—all of whom knew Eisner and were inspired by his work to create their own graphic novels for a new generation of readers. NOTE: The cover is a high-quality photographic reproduction of Eisner's original art. The design intentionally reveals tape and other stray markings that are part of the artist's process and reflect the age of the artifact that was photographed. “Eisner was not only ahead of his times; the present times are still catching up to him,” —John Updike “What Will did was and is timeless,” —Neil Gaiman “Will Eisner is, and remains, one of my precious idols,” —Frank Miller "He was the greatest,” —Harvey Kurtzman “Will Eisner is a national treasure,” —Jules Feiffer “Will Eisner is the heart and mind of American comics,” —Scott McCloud “Eisner is the single person most responsible for giving comics its brains,” —Alan Moore “Eisner was unique in feeling from the start that comic books were not necessarily this despised, bastard, crappy, lowbrow kind of art form, and that there was a potential for real art,” —Michael Chabon
In a world where aliens have taken over Earth, abducted every human they deemed useful, and abandoned the rest, twins Sam and Wyatt struggle to start a revolution of the unwanteds.
In 1997, almost six decades after the Spirit's first appearance in 1940, legendary artist and writer Will Eisner gave permission for a new series of stories to be commissioned featuring his signature creation, written and drawn by the most famous names in the comics industry. The call went out, and the response was nothing short of remarkable, with contributions from such creators as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (in one of their rare collaborations after Watchmen), Neil Gaiman (The Sandman), Paul Chadwick (Concrete), and Eddie Campbell (From Hell), among others. In these pages you'll find new tales of Central City's protector facing off against familiar villains, such as the Octopus and Sand Saref; witness his undying love for Ellen Dolan, daughter of Commissioner Dolan, the only man who knows his secret identity; and glimpse what might be the Spirit's fate in an uncertain future.
Provides a concise guide to the best graphic novels that are currently in print and available, written by an enthusiast and expert in this popular field.
A series of unexpected disappearances and deaths hit Central City. Initially, these cases seem purely unrelated; no apparent connection between the victims makes it easy for the police to just file them as runaways or natural deaths. But when someone close to Ebony White disappears, The Spirit is on the case! The iconic masked crimefighter created by legendary comic book creator Will Eisner returns in an all-new tale by Francesco Francavilla... Eisner Award winner, master of crime noir, and worthy successor to The Spirit's legacy! Reviews: "Visually stunning and with a genuinely intriguing hook... Another thrilling addition to the storied history of this iconic character." - Big Comic Page "It's everything you love about The Spirit perfectly intact from a fresh, yet loyal perspective." - All-Comic "A delight to read, and the art blows my mind." - Major Spoilers "From an artistic point of view, you aren't going to find a more gorgeous book on the stands and the story excels in its job of enticing readers." - Capeless Crusader
Winner of the Eisner Prize for Best New Graphic Album Winner of the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for Best Graphic Novel Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Vanity Fair, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection When three daunting dolls intersect with one hapless heroine and a hard-boiled private eye, deception, betrayal, and murder stalk every mean street in… Kill My Mother. Adding to a legendary career that includes a Pulitzer Prize, an Academy Award, Obie Awards, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Cartoonist Society and the Writers Guild of America, Jules Feiffer now presents his first noir graphic novel. Kill My Mother is a loving homage to the pulp-inspired films and comic strips of his youth. Channeling Eisner's The Spirit, along with the likes of Hammett, Chandler, Cain, John Huston, and Billy Wilder, and spiced with the deft humor for which Feiffer is renowned, Kill My Mother centers on five formidable women from two unrelated families, linked fatefully and fatally by a has-been, hard-drinking private detective. As our story begins, we meet Annie Hannigan, an out-of-control teenager, jitterbugging in the 1930s. Annie dreams of offing her mother, Elsie, whom she blames for abandoning her for a job soon after her husband, a cop, is shot and killed. Now, employed by her husband’s best friend—an over-the-hill and perpetually soused private eye—Elsie finds herself covering up his missteps as she is drawn into a case of a mysterious client, who leads her into a decade-long drama of deception and dual identities sprawling from the Depression era to World War II Hollywood and the jungles of the South Pacific. Along with three femme fatales, an obsessed daughter, and a loner heroine, Kill My Mother features a fighter turned tap dancer, a small-time thug who dreams of being a hit man, a name-dropping cab driver, a communist liquor store owner, and a hunky movie star with a mind-boggling secret. Culminating in a U.S.O. tour on a war-torn Pacific island, this disparate band of old enemies congregate to settle scores. In a drawing style derived from Steve Canyon and The Spirit, Feiffer combines his long-honed skills as cartoonist, playwright, and screenwriter to draw us into this seductively menacing world where streets are black with soot and rain, and base motives and betrayal are served on the rocks in bars unsafe to enter. Bluesy, fast-moving, and funny, Kill My Mother is a trip to Hammett-Chandler-Cain Land: a noir-graphic novel like the movies they don’t make anymore.
Comics and sequential art are increasingly in use in college classrooms. Multimodal, multimedia and often collaborative, the graphic narrative format has entered all kinds of subject areas and its potential as a teaching tool is still being realized. This collection of new essays presents best practices for using comics in various educational settings, beginning with the basics. Contributors explain the need for teachers to embrace graphic novels. Multimodal composition is demonstrated by the use of comics. Strategies are offered for teachers who have struggled with weak visual literacy skills among students. Student-generated comics are discussed with several examples. The teaching of postmodern theories and practices through comics is covered. An appendix features assignment sheets so teachers can jump right in with proven exercises.
