Will Eisner: A Spirited Life

Labels: Andrew D. Cooke, Jeffrey Lyons, Reel Talk, Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist, WNBC

This year, almost 2,000 comic book stores across the continent and around the planet plan to give away 2 MILLION comic books absolutely free! With up to 44 titles to choose from, the selection of books on May 5 will include comic books for all ages and tastes.

Free Comic Book Day is the perfect way to start off a summer of high adventure, especially since it will be held the day after SPIDER-MAN 3 hits theaters. There's never been a better time to be a comic book fan, and you can keep up with the latest developments with official Free Comic Book Day updates like this one!

If you're not sure which stores in your area are participating, check the Free Comic Book Day website in April and use the FCBD Locator on the home page, www.freecomicbookday.com. The website also has tons of information about the event, including special events, what special edition comics are available and how you can help spread the word!

If you're in the U.S. or Canada, enter your ZIP or postal code to find a store near you. If you're outside the U.S. or Canada, click on the link below the text box for a menu-based locator that will help you find participating comic book stores in other countries.

MySpace.com, the socially networked online community and leading lifestyle portal that has revolutionized how more than 71 million members interact online, is another place where you can learn about Free Comic Book Day.

Just go to http://www.myspace.com/freecomicbookday to find a wealth of information on the event! Everyone with a MySpace account is encouraged to add the Free Comic Book Day MySpace page to their MySpace friends list -- and to place it among their Top 8‰ friends! Doing this will ensure that all visitors to your MySpace page will see the Free Comic Book Day link, giving countless new readers the chance to learn about the big event on May 5!

As always, be sure to tell your friends about Free Comic Book Day! There are going to be more than 2 million comics handed out for free on May 5, so get your friends to visit your local participating comic book store for a free comic, and watch as a new comic fan is born!

Labels: Free Comic Book Day

(Note from Bob Andelman: Brian Postman was a student of Will Eisner's in the 1970s and a frequent correspondent of mine since publication of my biography, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. When he told me he had been to the world premiered of Andrew D. Cooke's documentary, Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist, I invited him to submit this review to the site. Your comments are also welcome; click on the "Comments" button at the end of Brian's post.)

I was looking forward to seeing WILL EISNER:PORTRAIT OF A SEQUENTIAL ARTIST, because I had seen the trailer,and it brought back many memories of studying with him at the School of Visual Arts from September 1977 to June 1980.

I saw the movie at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday night,and it was spectacular. one of the most interesting documentaries I've seen in a long time.

There was a lot of footage and photos of the young "twenty-something" Will Eisner,as well as the more "mature" Eisner who returned from World WarII. He talked of his beginnings with "Eisner and Iger" a comic book art studio he started with Jerry Iger in the '30s ,as well as his ground breaking work on The Spirit,and his life and work after The Spirit,including his close-knit family life and starting American Visuals. This continues right up to him working on A Contract With God, which is considered among the first graphic novels.

Watching this movie really open up the floodgates of my memories of the late 1970s and working with him as a teacher. He was definitely tough,but he tried to instill in us to try and go beyond comic books, and tell stories that were more than just superheroes punching each other!

The only thing in the movie that seemed inaccurate was a part toward the end talking about his teaching at SVA. They showed footage of Peter Bagge, who I'm pretty sure wasn't one of Will's students -- I knew him at SVA -- but then again, it's been 30 years! It's possible he took Will's class briefly.

I really miss Will Eisner; he was a great guy. Go see this movie! -- Brian Postman

Labels: Andrew D. Cooke, Tribeca Film Festival, Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist