Kevin Melrose's pick of the week: First Wave #1 (of 6)

I have little to no interest in Doc Savage, or a Spirit by anyone other than Will Eisner (or Darwyn Cooke). Yet I'm still intrigued by DC's "shocking new pulp universe" in which there's no supermen -- or, more specifically, Superman -- largely, if not entirely, because it's written by Brian Azzarello. In addition to being a fan of 100 Bullets, I hold an unwavering belief that Batman: Broken City, by Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, is superior in every way to the "Hush" storyline that preceded (and overshadowed) it. I'll fight anyone who says different. So I'm thrilled to read Azzarello again write Batman -- excuse me, "The Bat-Man" -- especially as a "brash, cocky, inexperienced and daring" vigilante. Also: the under-used, and under-appreciated, Blackhawks! (DC Comics)

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DC Comics’ pulp ‘Wave’ takes the super out of heroes

Image via Wikipedia

By Bill Radford 
The Colorado Springs Gazette
March 5, 2010

It’s a world with heroes — but no superheroes.

The first issue of "First Wave," a six-issue miniseries from DC Comics, arrives in comic book shops this week, ushering in a whole new universe.

The "First Wave" universe has its roots in the pulp adventures of yesteryear. There is a Batman, but there’s no Superman, no Wonder Woman — the "First Wave" heroes are merely mortal.

Standing above the rest of those heroes is Doc Savage — sort of "Superman with a lowercase ’s,’" said Brian Azzarello, who crafted the "First Wave" universe and is writer of the miniseries. Doc Savage may not have powers like Superman, but "physically he’s the best, mentally he’s the best," Azzarello said.

Batman, meanwhile, is the new hero on the scene.

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Will Eisner Week Educational Materials: Notes on Will Eisner's The Contract With God Trilogy

By Tom Kaczynski 

March 3, 2010 11:42 PM

"Architecture is the simplest means of articulating time and space, of modulating reality, of engendering dreams" - Ivan Chtcheglov, 1953.

With A Contract With God (1978), the earliest book of the trilogy, Will Eisner was inventing a new format: the graphic novel*. The 'graphic novel' coinage was a kind of sleight of hand that turned ordinary comics into works with ambitions of becoming literature. As such it's describing the content, rather than a medium. It was the literary ambition of A Contract With God that set it apart from the cheap children's comic-books that dominated the market at the time. Eisner of course cut his teeth on comic-books having previously drawn the iconic and long running series The Spirit. In creating a graphic novel, Eisner was distancing himself not only from other comic-books, but also from his own formative work. But, new terminology was insufficient to distinguish the work from its cousins and Eisner relied on a number of formal and visual inventions to underscore the difference.

The Spirit (1940-1952) superficially resembled most of the comic-books on the stands at the time. It mostly consisted of colorful 8 page pulp romps full of crime and violence. But, unlike the vast majority of 4-color funnies The Spirit stories were intense nuggets of clever writing, brilliant layouts, and inventive typography. They were packed with innumerable characters and locations. The sheer density of the stories was matched by the density of the art. Pages were filled with 9 to 14 (or more!) panels filled with frenetic action, detailed sets and wrinkled suits.


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Will Eisner's John Law: Detective #1 (Eclipse Comics 1983)

DCWhoCares

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Being an Eisner fan, especially of the Spirit, I searched for this particular one-shot published by Eclipse for years, finally running across a copy of it a few weeks back at a local flea market for 50 cents. Basically rehashed Spirit stories....and that, my friends, in the hands of Eisner is not a bad thing at all.

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Judging a book by it’s cover….. another Spirit series (Forbidden Planet International)

By Richard
February 10, 2010

Sometimes there’s some stunningly good cover artwork coming out from the big boys and girls, and the new Spirit series issues 1 & 2 by artist Ladronn are truly great:

The last time DC tried to do something with Will Eisner’s Spirit character they hired Darwyn Cooke & J. Bone to create a staggeringly good dozen issues. Sadly J. Bone couldn’t continue so Cooke walked away from the series, which limped on for a while with a host of very good artists who often just failed to properly “get” the character in the way Cooke & Bone so obviously did. Because there’s something so magnificently unique about Eisner’s mysterious champion, it’s always a double edged sword to hear about yet another revamp or return. The good news with the new Spirit series due from DC, aside from these gorgeous Ladronn covers, is that it’s main feature has Mark Schultz doing the writing. Schultz is one of those modern writers who seems to be a good fit for Eisner’s Spirit. The bad news – three issues is all we get of Schultz. (see this story from CBR). But at least Schultz, with these three issues seems to have the right idea for Denny Colt...

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Hogarth and Montana named to Eisner Hall of Fame (Comic Book Resources)

Image via Wikipedia

The Eisner Awards judges have selected legendary artists Burne Hogarth and Bob Montana for automatic induction this summer into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame.

Hogarth, who passed away in 1996, was an illustrator best known for his work on the Tarzan newspaper strip, an art educator and the author of influential anatomy and drawing books. Montana, who died in 1975, was the co-creator of Archie who drew the Riverdale gang for three decades.

The judges also chose 13 nominees from which voters may select four to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2010:

• Carl Burgos -- the late Golden Age-era artist and co-creator of the original Human Torch

• Steve Gerber -- the late writer and co-creator of Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown

• Dick Giordano -- the artist and longtime DC Comics editor

• Michael Kaluta -- the artist best known for his work on Starstruck and The Shadow • Jack Kamen -- the late illustrator and prolific EC Comics artist

• Frans Masereel -- the late painter, woodcut artist and creator of Mon Livre d'Heures

• George McManus -- the late cartoonist and creator of Bringing Up Father

• Sheldon Moldoff -- one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists," and co-creator of Hawkgirl and Poison Ivy

• Marty Nodell -- the late artist and co-creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern • Bob Oksner -- the late artist known for his work on humor, adventure and superhero comics

• Bob Powell -- the late artist known for his work on Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and Blackhawk

• Yoshihiro Tatsumi -- the creator of Abandon the Old in Tokyo, A Drifting Life and The Push Man and other stories

• Mort Weisinger -- the late and longtime DC Comics editor and co-creator of Aquaman, Green Arrow and Johnny Quick Online voting is open now through March 31.

The inductees will be announced during the Eisner Awards ceremony held July 23 during Comic-Con.
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Misunderstood Masterpieces 1.26.10: Sheena (411Mania.com)

Cover of Sheena

Hot zebra-riding action is just the beginning!

Posted by Will Helm on 01.26.2010

…or, A Very Pointed Commentary on the Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa. With Nudity.

Since the early days of cinema, one of the easiest methods of "skirting" the taboo subject of nudity on film was accomplished by finding excuses to have characters in loincloths. First beginning popularly with the Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan series – though there are, of course, earlier examples, the "noble savage" of literature became a heroic archetype, often set against the backdrop of evil imperialism and modern civilization. Unsurprisingly, not long after publication of Tarzan of the Apes in 1914, films debuted featuring this character, complete with the stereotypical loincloth, heralding a genre that would continue to this day, for the most part.

While Tarzan was the original savage Caucasian, there were rival characters, most interestingly the female Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Introduced by Will Eisner – creator of The Spirit – and Jerry Iger (collectively as "W. Morgan Thomas"). Sheena debuted in the pages of the British magazine Wags in 1937. Eventually, the character would prove popular enough to garner her own book, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, in 1942. In the mid-50s, Sheena was adapted into a syndicated television series starring Irish McCalla, who became an early sex symbol of the medium.



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Toy-A-Day Day 153: The Spirit (Will Eisner)

The Spirit (Denny Colt) is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared in Spirit Section #1 (June 2 1940), a seven-page insert into American Sunday-newspaper comics sections. He currently appears in comic books published by DC Comics.

The Spirit chronicles the adventures of a masked vigilante who fights crime with the blessing of the city's police commissioner Dolan, an old friend. The stories range through a wide variety of styles, from straightforward crime drama and noir to lighthearted adventure, from mystery and horror to comedy and love stories, often with hybrid elements that twisted genre and expectations.

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