Will Eisner: A Spirited Life spotted at Skirball!

Michael Dooley shot this photo of books for sale at Skirball in late June. It's always a pleasure to see my biography, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life, in such great company as Michael Chabon (who wrote the introduction to A Spirited Life), Arie Kaplan, Jules Feiffer, Stan Lee, Danny Fingeroth and David Hajdu.

Here's what Michael had to say about the shot:

I went to the Skirball to see ZAP! POW! BAM!

It was partly to familiarize myself with the show if the subject comes up at my SDCC "comics/museums" panel discussion –

Sunday, JULY 26
1:00-2:30 pm
Room 30AB

Comics Arts Conference Session #15: "Comics In Museums —
How do comics bridge the worlds of popular art on the stands and fine art on museum walls?"
Kim Munson (Munson Art Consulting) revisits the 1983 "Comic Art Show" at the Whitney. Michael Dooley (Art Center College of Design) covers two shows, the 1990 "High and Low" exhibit and the 2005 "Masters of American Comics," with emphasis on the works of Kurtzman and Spiegelman. Denis Kitchen (Underground Classics) discusses new trends in museum exhibitions and discusses the just-concluded “Underground Classics” show at the Chazen Art Museum and other shows he has worked on.

I'm sure your book and the others will be available in the Skirball Gift Shop (which is right outside the entrance to the comics exhibit) until the show closes on August 9th.

Thanks again, Michael, for sharing this.

Incidentally, I've interviewed many of the other writers represented in the picture above on "Mr. Media Radio." Check 'em out!

David Hajdu

Arie Kaplan

Danny Fingeroth

Jules Feiffer

(Don't forget: You can now order the audiobook edition at Audible.com!)

TODAY! The Spirit of Comics: The Life and Art of Will Eisner--A free presentation by Danny Fingeroth

Image via Wikipedia

@ COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ON MONDAY, MARCH 23, AT 8:00 PM.

New York, MARCH 17, 2009

THE SPIRIT OF COMICS: THE LIFE AND ART OF WILL EISNER

Only one name stretches from the beginning of the history of the comic book through the modern era of the literary graphic novel: WILL EISNER.

On Monday, March 23rd, comics writer and critic DANNY FINGEROTH will give an illustrated presentation about the life, work, and influence of the great writer and artist.

Taking a tour through Eisner's life-in effect, a journey through comics history-the presentation will serve as an introduction to those who'd like to know more about how the graphic novel phenomenon (which has spawned hit comics-based movies like THE DARK KNIGHT and WATCHMEN), and will offer new insights for those who may already know the work of Eisner and his creative descendants.

ABOUT WILL EISNER:
Born in 1917, Eisner was raised in the tenement Bronx of the Great Depression. He was a pioneer in the creation of comics of the “golden age” of the 1930s and '40s, achieving immortality with his noir crime fighting superhero, THE SPIRIT. In 1978, Eisner reinvented himself-and the medium-with his graphic novel A CONTRACT WITH GOD, the first of a series of works focused on early 20th century Jewish life in America. At the time of his 2005 death, Eisner was working on THE PLOT, a comics-form refutation of the resurgent Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

ABOUT DANNY FINGEROTH:
A longtime writer and editor at Marvel Comics, Fingeroth has spoken about comics at the Smithsonian Institution and The Metropolitan Museum. He recently curated and moderated an enlightening series of talks with comics creators (AL JAFFEE, JULES FEIFFER, and HARVEY PEKAR) at the YIVO Institute. He's the author of DISGUISED AS CLARK KENT: JEWS COMICS, AND THE CREATION OF THE SUPERHERO (Continuum) and THE ROUGH GUIDE TO GRAPHIC NOVELS (Penguin).

Monday, March 23, 8:00 pm
Columbia University
Broadway and 116th Street
New York City
Schermerhorn Hall
Room 501
FREE ADMISSION

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
212-854-2581
mg27@columbia.edu

Free in NYC: Celebrating Will Eisner Panel @ Jim Hanley's Universe

Danny Fingeroth image via Wikipedia

**FREE** WILL EISNER WEEK PANEL THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 7, IN NYC, WITH DENNIS O'NEIL, DANNY FINGEROTH, N.C. CHRISTOPHER COUCH, AND KENNETH GINIGER

New York, March 4, 2009

From Danny Fingeroth:

CELEBRATING WILL EISNER: A panel of Eisner experts discusses his life and career, examining just what made (and still makes) him so significant to the comics medium. Featuring DANNY FINGEROTH (Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero), DENNIS O'NEIL (longtime Batman writer and editor), N.C. CHRISTOPHER COUCH (The Will Eisner Companion), and KENNETH GINIGER (legendary publisher and lifelong friend of Will Eisner).

Saturday, March 7, 2:00-4:00 pm
Jim Hanley's Universe
4 W. 33rd Street
New York, NY 10001

For more information, contact: Danfinger@aol.com

"The Poet of Dropsie Avenue": New Will Eisner Biography Announced

Image via Wikipedia

According to the Publishers Lunch web site, Michael Schumacher has signed a deal to write a new biography of Will Eisner, The Poet of Dropsie Avenue:

Michael Schumacher's THE POET OF DROPSIE AVENUE, about the art and life of Will Eisner, creator of "The Spirit" and the father of the American graphic novel, to Margaret Maloney at Bloomsbury, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2010, by David Black at David Black Literary Agency (world).

As the author of the existing biography, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (M Press, 2005), I'm not sure what's left to tell, but I'll be interested to see what he does that's new!

(Thanks to Danny Fingeroth and Evander Lomke for the tip!)

Subscribe to Mr. Media's RSS/XML Feed

Get MR. MEDIA Interviews delivered by email! Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

TV STAR Interview Index to Mr. Media

TV PRODUCER Interview Index to Mr. Media

MOVIE STAR Interview Index to Mr. Media

MOVIE DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER and SCREENWRITER Interview Index to Mr. Media

POLITICAL Interview Index to Mr. Media

STAND-UP COMEDIAN Interview Index to Mr. Media

HEALTH EXPERTS Interview Index to Mr. Media

MAGAZINE EDITOR Interview Index to Mr. Media

RADIO STAR Interview Index to Mr. Media

BLOGGER, PODCASTER and WEB SITE PRODUCER Interview Index to Mr. Media

NOVELIST Interview Index to Mr. Media

MUSICIAN Interview Index to Mr. Media

SEXUALITY EXPERT Interview Index to Mr. Media

CULTURE & SOCIETY EXPERT Interview Index to Mr. Media

FOOD EXPERT Interview Index to Mr. Media

BIOGRAPHER, HISTORIAN and A.J. JACOBS Interview Index to Mr. Media

ATHLETE and SPORTS EXPERT Interview Index to Mr. Media

PHOTOGRAPHER Interview Index to Mr. Media

JOURNALIST Interview Index to Mr. Media

CRIME EXPERT Interview Index to Mr. Media

BUSINESS EXPERT Interview Index to Mr. Media

COMIC BOOK CREATOR Interview Index to Mr. Media

CARTOONIST Interview Index to Mr. Media

WILL EISNER Interview Index to Mr. Media