Art and design magazine Imprint has posted a great feature on Will Eisner's three-dimensional title pages from The Spirit, featuring not only a gallery of Eisner's original work but many samples of comic covers that were influenced by it.
Check out "The Spirit of Stone Type" over at Imprint Magazine.
Genre art must follow very specific rules. With noir, the art needs to reflect the dark, ominous tone of the story. Moritat, ongoing artist of THE SPIRIT, has done a superb job of capturing writer David Hine’s mysterious characters and storylines. We caught up with him and touched base on everything from Facebook chat to how he got involved with the series to how he turns scripts into the stunning art in the pages of THE SPIRIT:
On the tools he uses:
Chris Conroy told me that a Japanese brush maker by the name Kimitake Hiraoka makes a pretty good inking brush. He had also told me that several creators were using these brushes and that they were getting really good fan responses. I flew to Japan and sought out Hiraoka sensei. It turned out to be one of those 'wait in front of the temple until you were ready' or were 'pure in mind' scenarios. I'm not into all of that Eastern philosophy stuff. But, there were these cute Japansese girls who were working on their manga waiting and praying out front. So, I hung out with them and creeped in with them … when they were ready.
On how he got involved in the series:
A few years ago, I was catching the train at Broadway Junction to come into the city. Will Eisner walks up and we started talking. He said, “you should come work for me.” I said, “I would love to.” We talked a few times, but then I got drafted and I went off to Vietnam. So, it's a pleasure to finally work with Mr. Eisner.
On how he turns script pages into art:
I print out the script. I place each page around me and meditate on the meaning. I boil down certain words that come to me in my subconscious. When I feel ready, I ride my motorcycle very fast at night until it finally clicks in a cohesive artistic pattern that I am comfortable with. Sometimes I can't find the meaning. I confer with Joey Cavalieri and Dave Hine until I get maybe 90%. It's not a perfect process but I'm getting it to where it works.
On how panels are arranged:
Ladronn arranges most everything. I then convince Rob Leigh to draw for me … while I chat on Facebook.
On the noir genre:
I love the noir genre. It is the field I fancy. The characters are flawed. They carry around some kind of hidden shame. There is something wrong with these people. The environment is barely hanging on. A few steps away from post-apocalyptic hell. The color has been washed away or moved to the suburbs. Gabe Bautista, the colorist on THE SPIRIT, would call me some nights and complain that working on noir was too depressing for him and that he had to quit (he lives in the suburbs). I would spend hours lying to him that it was going to get better.
THE SPIRIT #13 hits stores this Wednesday.
Started 60 years ago with Will Eisner as its first illustrator, PS Magazine (the preventive maintenance monthly magazine of the US Army) is now publishing its 700th issue. In celebration of this momentous occasion, DC Comics' Sgt Rock and Easy Co. are making a guest appearance with Sergeant Half-Mast McCanick.
Legendary comic creator Joe Kubert illustrates the cover and an 8 page comic titled "PM For Easy Company" written by PS Magazine's Production Manager, Stuart Henderson. In this unique comic Joe makes firearm maintenance a blast.
I asked Joe about what it means to him as a U.S. military veteran and as a comic creator to work on this anniversary issue and here's what he had to say, "To act as a follow-up to a publication started by Will Eisner over sixty years ago is the thrill of a lifetime."
Now, for a look at the cover and a couple of pages that will appear in the March issue of PS MAGAZINE. You can read the comic in its entirety here on February 23.
I eagerly anticipate the next issues of Green Lantern, Action, Detective and Brightest Day each month as much as the next guy, but I'll take a few paragraphs here to talk about a book that's quietly snuck its way to the top of my read pile each week it's been released.
For the past nine issues of the series, David Hine and Moritat not only created a comic that captures the spirit (no pun intended) of what makes the The Spirit fun, but also a series that's very accessible to comic fans who haven't been lucky enough to read all of Will Eisner's original Spirit (I'm about 1/3rd of my way into that epic undertaking myself, courtesy of a pile of The Spirit Archives volumes tracked down around the office.)
And if that weren't enough, I'd be remiss not to talk about the great black & white co-features by guest creators that make up the back of each issue.
I mean, we had a Harlan Ellison and Kyle Baker co-feature story a few issues back. HARLAN ELLISON. Really, the talent they round up to do those second stories is pretty sick. Walt Simonson and Jordi Bernet. Joe Strnad and Richard Corben. Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso. David Lapham and Michael WM. Kaluta. Marv Wolfman and Phil Winslade. Denny O'Neil and Bill Sienkiewicz. Michael Uslan, FJ DeSanto and Justiniano. This issue's co-feature is by Paul Dini and Mike Ploog. That's a group of creators that you'd be really hard-pressed to beat in just one year's worth of a single monthly comic title.
Et tu? Are you reading The Spirit? Which co-feature's been your favorite?
THE SPIRIT #9 is in stores today.
