Just came back from the memorial service sponsored by DC today for Will Eisner. It was held in a deconsecrated synagogue that, honestly, looked like something out of the Spirit or “Contract with God,” which was perfect for the occasion. Paul Levitz oversaw the proceedings (a responsibility that, as Bob Greenberger observed, Paul has unfortunately had fall upon him all too often of late) and various speakers talked both of what they felt Eisner had contributed to the industry and artform, and what Eisner meant to them personally. Among the speakers and attendees (simpler for me to group them together) were Denis Kitchen, Harlan and Susan Ellison, Ellison, Jerry Robinson, Karen Berger, Michael Uslan (the movie producer who has optioned the “Spirit” film)Frank Miller, John Byrne, Maggie Thompson, Ron Goulart, Cliff Meth, Nick Barrucci, Scott McCleod (bet I spelled his name wrong; sorry, Scott), Jackie Estrada, Heidi McDonald, and many others, as well as members of Eisner’s family, including his widow.
He meant a lot to a good number of people, and he will be missed.
PAD
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I remember my Dad bringing home a reprint of the Spirit to me for the first time. He was really into the Spirit as a kid and wanted to see what I thought(his kid eing into comics an all). It was such a cool comic. I was about 11 or so. At first I thought; “There’s no costumes, the Spirit doesnt have any powers…God this is gunna be boring!” Was I ever wrong! I loved the kids in the comic (the Spirits sidekicks….I cant remember thier names) and I felt that even tho the Spirit was a relatively normal guy, the stories were just great! Spirit really let the bad guys have it!!
Looking back on that book now, I’m so amazed at the level of skill Eisner had back then. He was easily far and away one of the best talents in his time. Hëll, he was ahead of his time. Still is!
Eisner was and always will be one of the true pioneers of sequential art and storytelling. He’l truely be missed.
Thanks for tellin us about his memorial, PAD.
Ðámņ, I wish we’d known about this…
Not sure if you guys know….but Jeph Loeb is going to be writing the script of “The Spirit”….
It’s been pretty well-reported; Jeph sounds like a good fit, and I’m hard-pressed to think of any comics pro who wouldn’t do his absolute best to be faithful to Will’s work.
Speaking of which, with a movie deal comes a novelization…
According to Bob G., PAD suggested that all the pros there sign a Spirit Print that was there and for it to be auctioned off for the CBLF.
I had heard of the Spirit before Harvey published the two giant-sized reprint issues in ’66/’67, but i was an ardent fan since then. (And i got a little peeved at the rewrite of the “Awful Book” story when it was reprinted in the Kitchen Sink reprint series…)
I think i’d like to see the Spirit done in animation, rather than live action; not sure whether i’d prefer old-fashioned 2D animation (which could capture Esiner’s look perfectly) or in Pixar-style 3D (after seeing “The Incredibles”, i can easily visualise such…)
I’m glad that there is going to a “Spirit” movie, but I wonder why it had to take so long that the author won’t be around to enjoy it. I feel a bit upset about that. I feel similarly about the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Movie, Peter Jackson’s High quality version’s of Tolkien’s work, and a little bit the same way about the Fantastic Four movie. (It’s not exactly the same, because Stan Lee is around to see it and like it or dislike it, but Jack Kirby isn’t.) Maybe I’m just in a foul mood tonight. It’ll pass.
(It’s not the same thing, but it would be great if Dr. Kinsey was around to comment and possibly love the movie based on his work.)
(I’d almost be superstitious about some Hollywood rule that a writer has to die before a good film of their work is made if it weren’t for such successful, happy author translations such as “Frank Miller’s Sin City”)
Maybe we’ll get to see/hear some cool adaptations of Sir Apropos one day (in various media: tv, movie, radio, video game, web-something, etc…) and/or the rest of his story.
For those who care, the current (Sunday, 4/17/05) “Luann” strip, featuring Luann and Bernice talking in Luann’s messy bedroom, shows a number of posters on the wall — one of which says “Will Eisner” — a nice little tribute.