tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post1850524883795891275..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Guest Review: Getting In the SpiritDoughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-69934966733347115292015-07-27T22:49:33.639-05:002015-07-27T22:49:33.639-05:00I think this was my first introduction to The Spir...I think this was my first introduction to The Spirit as well, Redartz. I loved it, and as I got older and read more comics, I saw what a huge influence he was on other artists, like Frank Miller with Daredevil. I've been able to go back and read a lot of Spirit stories over the years. Just amazing.<br /><br />Those Warren issues were so cool. I liked the ads for books, movies, etc... as I did the stories.Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10547751537787941998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-86550730955119683502015-07-27T22:23:33.243-05:002015-07-27T22:23:33.243-05:00B Smith- I have heard that too , particularly in r...B Smith- I have heard that too , particularly in regards to the addition of gray tones; but I don't really know the accuracy of this. Anyone else? Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-21890234860200047822015-07-27T21:32:46.294-05:002015-07-27T21:32:46.294-05:00After the one story reprinted at the end of Volume...After the one story reprinted at the end of Volume Two of Steranko's "History Of Comics" this was my first exposure to Eisner's work, and mighty impressive it was too (in fact, it was the first Warren magazine i'd ever purchased too - how I hungered for all the goodies advertised in the back pages!)<br /><br />I seem to recall reading somewhere years later that Eisner had actually gone over and reworked the artwork fairly heavily for the Warren reprints- can anyone confirm or refute that?B Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16618583443442543086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-90350114615952955342015-07-27T20:12:34.646-05:002015-07-27T20:12:34.646-05:00Yeah like HB I was not initially a fan of Eisner a...Yeah like HB I was not initially a fan of Eisner as a kid, thinking his style was a little too cartoony for my taste. However, he's one of those artists whose impact becomes more apparent as you get older and your tastes mature. Boy was I missing out all these years!<br /><br /><br />- Mike 'now we need a review of the Shadow next!' from Trinidad & Tobago. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-83993416061876378162015-07-27T13:25:35.117-05:002015-07-27T13:25:35.117-05:00Cool review, Redartz. I've always been curious...Cool review, Redartz. I've always been curious about the Spirit comics, but never got around to reading any. Also, A Contract With God has been on my reading list for a long time...I guess I should actually get to it one of these days!<br /><br />Mike WilsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-8169355844711765052015-07-27T11:45:45.255-05:002015-07-27T11:45:45.255-05:00Thanks for the great comments; everyone! A few mid...Thanks for the great comments; everyone! A few mid-day (here in southern Indiana, anyway) notes:<br />HB- Eisner did some work with Jack Cole, but I don't know if he and Davis ever did. <br />Edo and Martinex1- good points about the phone! I personally don't find such elements in a comic story (or film, or tv show) to be dated, but some younger readers might notice them a bit more (said the man who had to explain to his son how a rotary phone worked)...<br />William- the chance to study with Eisner must have been an incredible experience! I'd have loved to meet him. That original drawing would make a centerpiece in any display of comics art; great story!Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-44470349705330236742015-07-27T09:38:38.046-05:002015-07-27T09:38:38.046-05:00Nice review, Retardz. I absolutely love Will Eisne...Nice review, Retardz. I absolutely love Will Eisner's work. In contrast to Humanbelly, I have always been a big fan of the more "cartoony" styles (after all, they are called 'cartoonists'). So, I was immediately drawn (no pun intended) to Mr. Eisner's art from a very early age. However, when I was a young-un, I found his writing style a bit to grown-up for my childhood tastes. The Spirit wasn't exactly as flashy as Batman or Spider-Man. But now that I'm… 'ahem'… a bit older I can more fully appreciate the entire scope of Eisner's genius.<br /><br />No doubt he was the master. I mean he literally wrote the book on comic storytelling.<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Comics-Sequential-Art-Eisner-Will/dp/B001L55S4Q/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1438005327&sr=8-8&keywords=Will+Eisner+comics+and+sequential+art<br /><br />And heck, they even named the Comic Book Academy Awards after the man. So, it's pretty hard to argue his importance to, and impact on, the medium.<br /><br />On a more personal note (that I've mentioned on here before), I took Will's class, "The Comics And Sequential Art Workshop" several years ago, and I can honestly say that he was a great guy. A kind and generous man of the sort they don't really seem to make anymore.<br /><br />He was also a great teacher, and his class was awesome and super fun. Our textbook was the book that I posted a link to above, and I got him to sign the inside for me. I still have, and cherish, that book. He also gave me a piece of original artwork that he drew and inked as a classroom demonstration. After he finished, I half jokingly said that I wanted it, and he happily signed it and gave it to me. (Much to the envy of the rest of the class). I showed it buddy, who owned a comic book store at the time, and he almost fell off his chair.<br /><br />I have several reprints of some of the old Spirit stories, as well as the trade paperback, "The Spirit Casebook" which reprints 18 classic comic noir stories from the 1940's. Including the one reviewed here today. Think I'll pull it out and read it.Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988016825582035390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-28062324495482246502015-07-27T09:13:22.567-05:002015-07-27T09:13:22.567-05:00Thanks Redartz, like HB I dismissed this back in t...Thanks Redartz, like HB I dismissed this back in the day, but it intrigues me now. Very cool. I spent a few minutes just gazing at the splash page. That is just awesome and fun; the use of the script as setting is just an added level of creativity that was not necessary but adds a dimension (so to speak) to the art. <br /><br />Also, in just looking at the pages you shared, the use of shadows and grey tone is very well done. It is really striking and I think color may diminish it a bit; unless the color was a monochromatic wash. I find more and more that I like looking at uncolored art.<br /> <br />I cannot add much more than what HB and Edo already commented on… other than my parents just replaced their rotary phone about two years ago, so I place this adventure circa 2010! I miss the days when all the hoods and thugs wore fedoras and suit coats. <br />Martinex1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-66348234419322826032015-07-27T08:20:30.977-05:002015-07-27T08:20:30.977-05:00Yeah, great job, Redartz, and fantastic topic. I&#...Yeah, great job, Redartz, and fantastic topic. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a big fan of both Eisner and the Spirit. And I recall reading this story, as I had the good fortune of reading most of the Warren Spirit magazines, borrowed from an older fan back in the early 1980s.<br />You pretty much hit the nail on the head across the board: these are wonderfully crafted stories, and Eisner was a master of the craft. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that even while comics were basically in their infancy back in the 1940s, he had already demonstrated the full potential of the medium as an art- and storytelling form.<br />By the way, I have to say that the Warren magazines are arguably the best reprints of the Spirit stories. I currently have one of those "Best of the Spirit" tpbs (which is fine), and I've had the opportunity to flip through some of the other soft- and hardcover reprint editions, but somehow none of them beat this magazine format. And I also like all of the little extras contained in the magazines, like the text pieces by Eisner.<br />(One minor quibble about some of your observations concerning certain things that date the story: I recall that rotary dial phones could still be seen in people's homes, and sometimes even in phone booths, well into the 1980s.)Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-3968876283681806102015-07-27T07:00:44.015-05:002015-07-27T07:00:44.015-05:00This is delightfully good stuff-!
I know for a fac...This is delightfully good stuff-!<br />I know for a fact that I always eschewed (Issued? Achoo-ed?) Eisner and THE SPIRIT during the height of my heated collecting years based solely on the fact that his style was so "cartoony" to my eye (at the time)-- and, in the way that so many fanboy snobs both then and now are apt to do, didn't hesitate for a nano-instant to make a sweeping pronouncement on an entire body of work based simply on my knee-jerk impression of a few cover images on the shelves of the LCS back then. Oh, how embarrassing to have been THAT boob. . . <br /><br />Honestly, this looks like something I would utterly love now. I have a particular fondness for noir radio detectives, and (minus the requisite gal Friday) the story you've reviewed here could just about be transferreded directly to that format as an adventure with the Green Hornet or Boston Blackie or Richard Diamond. The only tweak would be that the radio guys were almost universally at odds w/ their respective police representatives. And art-wise---- would this kind of story even work if done in a "realistic" style? I don't think so. I think we're able suspend a heck of a lot more disbelief about the implausibilities in the narrative when the visuals have that "once removed from the real world" feel to them-- even though they don't sacrifice any dramatic impact in doing so. You're right-- this is really, REALLY good comics work--!<br /><br />Hunh-- and you know who I also see in Eisner's work here? Or possibly, I see Eisner in them? Jack Cole (original Plastic Man creator), and Jack Davis (MAD Magazine, and a zillion other things-- particularly in the interview thumbnails.) I wonder how the three of them in particular crossed paths?<br /><br />Thanks much, Redartz-- great review!<br /><br />HBHumanbellynoreply@blogger.com