€ Correction Regarding Eisner Documentary

€ Eisner Remembered in Denmark

€ Roy Thomas¹ ³Alter Ego² Salutes Will Eisner

€ The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco Remembers Will Eisner

€ ³I Have to Live With This Guy²‹Ann Eisner¹s View

€ Even More Links for Remembering Will

€ Will Eisner Links

Here¹s a tease to the story: http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazines/wizard/WZ20050104-spirit.cfm

CORRECTION REGARDING EISNER DOCUMENTARY

³In future mentions of Will Eisner: The Spirit of An Artistic Pioneer, the forthcoming documentary, please note that it is most predominately the work of my brother and could best be paraphrased as director Andrew D. Cooke's film, one produced by Montilla Pictures. I am, ever humbily, the co-writer, co-producer and interviewer (my primary job trying to keep the subjects awake between takes with my patented mindless chatter), but Andy has his name before mine when it comes to the cinema. I've got enough worries with fanzine publishing. ­ Jon B. Cooke²

View the documentary tease now at: http://www.montillapictures.com/

Speaking of Cooke, above is the cover art for his upcoming Eisner tribute issue of Comic Book Artist magazine, which will be published in May.

EISNER REMEMBERED IN DENMARK

Danish journalist Peter Hartung brought his obit for Will to my attention.

³Let me point your attention to my personal homepage, where I have written a long Eisner obituary - which has been published in the world's oldest existing newspaper, Berlingske Tidende, Copenhagen. Unfortunately, it is written in Danish - but I just thought it would be great for you to have a link from Denmark! ­ Peter Hartung²

Read Hartung¹s story (if you can, Anglophiles): http://hartungpress.dk/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=62

ROY THOMAS¹ ³ALTER EGO SALUTES WILL EISNER

³You may be interested in knowing, if you didn't already, that ALTER EGO had already scheduled a completed interview with Will for its May issue (#48) when the sad news came of his passing. I had been privileged to break bread with Will last summer in Toronto, for the first time since he and I had lunch when I was Marvel's editor-in-chief circa 1974, and I looked forward to more meetings.

³The ALTER EGO interview by Jim Amash deals primarily with Will and his life and work with Quality (incl. Eisner & Iger) in the 1940s. It will be augmented by interviews with his Quality compeers Vern Henkel and Chuck Mazoujian. Because of Will's passing, we will also feature a section on tributes by the likes of Stan Lee, Gene Colan, Allen Bellman, Michael T. Gilbert, Will Murray, and others--and MTG will be discussing Will's 1939 "Wonder Man" character.

³I attach a semi-finished version of the cover, using an image approved by Will (just as he personally vetted the interview itself, some weeks back). For more information, people can e-mail twomorrow@aol.com (note, no "s") or visit the website at www.twomorrows.com <http://www.twomorrows.com> (note the "s") ­ Roy Thomas²

THE CARTOON ART MUSEUM REMEMBERS WILL EISNER, 1917-2005

Will Eisner, one of the most influential and respected cartoonists of all time, passed away on Monday, January 3, following complications from open-heart surgery.

Eisner is renowned worldwide as one of the most important creators in the history of comics, with a career spanning nearly 70 years as a pioneering artist, storyteller, publisher and teacher. In 1940, Eisner created his most famous and enduring character, The Spirit, who appeared in a 16-page full-color comic book that was inserted into Sunday newspapers, reaching approximately five million readers per week at its peak circulation. The Spirit comics that Eisner created upon his return from active service, published from1945 through 1952, are ranked highly by most historians as true classics of the comic form.

In 1978, Eisner coined the term "graphic novel" with his seminal work A Contract with God, a self-contained series of vignettes presented as a long form comic book, complete in one paperback volume. The graphic novel format has steadily increased in popularity since Eisner's innovation, gaining widespread acceptance among comic creators, book reviewers, publishers and the general public. Eisner's impact on the comics medium as a teacher is evident not only through the continued study of his comic book creations, but also through two highly-regarded instructional books, Comics and Sequential Art and Graphic Storytelling, which have both remained consistently in print since their initial publication.

Eisner has received many awards and accolades over the past three decades, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Federation for Jewish Culture (Eisner being the second person ever to receive this honor) and multiple Harvey Awards, named for Eisner's longtime friend Harvey Kurtzman. The Harvey Award is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards in the comic book industry, along with The Eisner Award, which is presented annually at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.

Eisner was a great friend to the Cartoon Art Museum dating back to the earliest days of the organization. He served on the museum's initial advisory board and continued to serve on its professional advisory board in recent years. Eisner was a generous contributor to the Cartoon Art Museum over the past two decades, donating original artwork for its permanent collection; creating an original print as a fundraiser for the museum; painting the cover for Spark Generators, an original Cartoon Art Museum fundraising publication; contributing artwork for auctions; donating money; making personal appearances on behalf of the museum at numerous comic book conventions and freely giving his time, experience and insight toward helping the museum to best serve the public. (The Spirit print above is one that Eisner created for the Cartoon Art Museum back in 1985.)

A legend in every sense of the word, Will Eisner will be greatly missed by all that knew him, both personally and professionally.

The Cartoon Art Museum will be spotlighting Eisner's artwork in an exhibit scheduled to open Saturday, February 5, 2005. A complete seven-page Spirit story created by Eisner in 1947 and donated to the Cartoon Art Museum by Eisner in 1987 will be displayed, as well as the original creator's print artwork that Eisner created for the museum in 1985.

Cartoon Art Museum

655 Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94105

 415-CAR-TOON

http://www.cartoonart.org

Hours: Tues. Sun. 11:00 - 5:00

Closed Mondays

General Admission: $6.00

Student/Senior: $4.00

Children 6-12: $2.00

Members & Children under 6: Free

The Cartoon Art Museum is a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, study and exhibition of original cartoon art in all forms.

³I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY²: ANN EISNER¹S VIEW

If you missed Blake Bell¹s book I Have to Live With This Guy, which profiles the women behind some of comics¹ most legendary creators, you can now read Bell¹s chapter on Ann Eisner, Will¹s wife of 54 years. It¹s now online at: http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/newWILan.html

 

EVEN MORE LINKS FOR REMEMBERING WILL
Today¹s group of links includes one to a story I wrote for the St. Petersburg Times, at their invitation.

St. Petersburg Times: http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/24/Floridian/An_immeasurable_spirit.shtml

Tampa Tribune: http://tampatrib.com/baylifenews/MGBTU11PN3E.html

The Daily Vanguard, Portland State University: http://www.dailyvanguard.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/01/21/41f0c4744bb9d

 

WILL EISNER LINKS
Will Eisner Official Site; Who is Will Eisner?
http://www.willeisner.com

Will Eisner: A Spirit Life Official Web Site
http://www.aspiritedlife.com

Will Eisner & The Spirit: Biography and History of a Comics Legend
http://deniskitchen.com/docs/bios/bio_will_eisner.html

The Comics Reporter¹s Eisner Page
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/674/

Will Eisner¹s John Law, New Adventures Online
http://www.johnlaw.us.com

Wildwood Cemetery: The Spirit Database
http://www.angelfire.com/art/wildwood/

Will Eisner Original Art For Sale
http://deniskitchen.com/

DC Comics¹ Will Eisner Library
http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/dc_category.html?cat=eisner

Dark Horse Comics
http://darkhorse.com

NBM Publishing
http://www.nbmpub.com/fairytales/eisner/eisnerhome.html

IMPACT Books (a division of F+W Publications)
http://www.artistsnetwork.com/impact_books/titles.asp

PODGallery
http://www.podgallery.com/eisner
 
The Spirit Checklist
http://www.luckymojo.com/spiritchecklist.html

Rare Eisner: Making of a Genius
http://www.comicartville.com/rareeisner.htm

Fagin the Jew, Doubleday Books
http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/catalog/display.pperl?0385510098

Kitchen & Hansen Literary Agency
http://www.kitchenandhansen.com

Who is Bob Andelman, Anyway?
http://www.andelman.com

Please share the ³Will Eisner: A Spirited Life eNewsletter² with your friends. NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS

If you¹d like to subscribe, send an e-mail to Subscribe@ASpiritedLife.com with the words ³Eisner Newsletter² in the subject line.

If you¹d like to unsubscribe, send an e-mail to Unsubscribe@ASpiritedLife.com with the word ³Unsubscribe² in the subject line.