The Copacetic Comics Company Will Eisner

Will Eisner

Title	Creator	Publisher	Price
Government Issue Comics	Richard L Graham, Will Eisner, Milton Caniff, Al Capp and more ...	Abrams ComicArts	$17.77 ($29.99 list)
Read more and comment...	edited, compiled and annotated by Richard L Graham Government Issue Comics provides readers with a 300 page overview of over sixty years of government sponsored comics. The numerous and various branches of the US government managed, unsurprisingly, to recruit some of the top comics talent of its time, and in these pages you will find work by Will Eisner, Milton Caniff, Al Capp, Joe Kubert and Kurt Schaffenberger – and Charles Schulz, Walt Kelly, Chic Young and George McManus (and Al Wiseman!), along with a host of anonymous unknowns, all working on behalf of educating their fellow citizens on a (very) wide array of issues. Richard Graham, an associate professor and media services librarian at the University of Nebraska has put together a broad survey of this massive but under-appreciated aspect of comics history. It is organized into four categories: military; economics and employment; civil defense, safety and health; and landscapes and lifestyles. Each of these sections begins with an introductory essay by Graham that puts the comics in context. Readers with Q-Code readers will, in theory, be able to access a large online archive of these comics by scanning the digital access code at the end of the book (or, go here and download PDF files of some of the complete comics and start reading now; just scroll down...). Yes, history can be fun! And now for less, as it is now on sale!
Someday Funnies	Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, C.C. Beck, Wallace Wood and more ...	Abrams ComicArts	$45.00 ($55.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Michel Choquette Well, here's something you don't see everyday: a comics anthology that has been completed but unable to find a publisher for nearly forty years, finally being published! As readers of The Comics Journal #299 – the cover feature of which was an in-depth article on the history of this volume – already know, this volume had reached a legendary/mythical status. Robert Greenfield's introduction squarely situates the work contained in this volume as a document of "The Sixties," While comics critic/historian Jeet Heer's foreword provides ample context and background for the comics work the book contains as well as a chronology of its epic 40-year journey from inception to publication. We've barely dipped out toes in this majorly oversize – 11" x 17" – 216 page, full color hardcover volume containing 120 comic strips by 169 creators, so we're not going to say much about the contents at this time, but we will provide you with some of the contributors, and let you do the math: Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, C.C. Beck, Wallace Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Arnold Roth, Don Martin, Gahan Wilson, Bobby London, Trina Robbins, Vaughn Bodé, Steve Englehart, Archie Goodwin, Denny O'Neil, Ralph Reese, Alan Weiss, Herb Trimpe, Frank Zappa, Harlan Ellison, William S. Burroughs, Roy Thomas, Barry Smith (before he added Windsor) Guido Crepax, Ralph Steadman, Leo & Diane Dillon, Walter & Louise Simonson, Justin Green, Bill Griffith, Red Grooms, Russ Heath, Jay Kinney, Denis Kitchen, (a very young) Art Spiegelman, (also very young) Stan Mack, Ever Meulen, Joost Swarte, Tom Wolfe, Federico Fellini, and many, many more! Also included is a "92-drawing take on Choquette's travels by Michael Fog" that parallels and brackets the comics the volumes contains. Surprisingly (at least to us), the intent to create an interweaving bracketing tale was a component of the original volume's conception, and blank spaces were deliberately left in many of the pages at Choquette's instruction.
P*S Magazine: The Best of The Preventive Maintenance Monthly	Will Eisner	Abrams ComicArts	$19.75 ($21.95 list)
Read more and comment...	It is rare indeed when our opinion completely agrees with that of publisher provided cover hype, but in this case it does. The material that Will Eisner produced over a period of 20 years (!!!) for PS Magazine is indeed, "the missing link between The Spirit* and A Contract with God" as the cover states. The work contained in this 272 page hardcover volume has the highest critical-importance:critical-awareness ratio of any work we can think of. It represents the single largest unified body of work of one of the most admired creators in the history of comics, yet very few have read much – if any – of it. Now, thanks to Denis Kitchen, Ann Eisner, Eddie Campbell and Abrams ComicArts, we all have the opportunity to rectify this out-of-kilter relationship between material and critical appreciation. Eisner spent twenty years focusing on creating clear concise communicative comics for the United States military. Surely this is a factor that contributed to his development as an artist and the evolution of his mature style. Both forcing him to hone his cartooning skills to meet the demands of the assignment and in holding back his own personal artistic goals for so long that they burst forth so spectacularly in his later years.
The Will Eisner Shop	Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Greg Theakston	Pure Imagination	$18.88 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	<<•>> edited by Greg Theakston <<•>> 160 pages, roughly 2/3 of which is filled with rare early art from the Will Eisner shop, with the remaining 1/3 devoted to a transcript of a 1939 trial that editor Theakston has managed to track down. This is the infamous trial in which DC sued Fox over the infringement of their copyright and trademark on Superman, and offers some rare insights into the nascent era of the comic book publishing world.
Life, In Pictures	Will Eisner	Norton	$27.50 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Somehow, we neglected to bring this book to your attention when it was originally released late last year. Like its two fine precursors in W.W. Norton's fine series reissuing Eisner's classic mature work – The Contract with God Trilogy and Will Eisner's New York – Life, in Pictures is a large, well bound, hardcover edition which contains three complete works accompanied by critical introductions and annotations, all printed in the signature sepia tones of Eisner's late work. This time around we get: The Dreamer, a roman á clef about Eisner's early years in comics; and two full length graphic novels that provide a history of Jewish life in America – To the Heart of the Storm and The Name of the Game. Also, be sure to keep in mind the fact that these hardcover Eisner omnibuses are a terrific value as they contain three complete works each of which retails for $16.95 (except for The Dreamer, which is less) in softcover. You really can't go wrong.
Supermen	Greg Sandowski, Jonathan Lethem, Jack Kirby, Will Eisner and more ...	Fantagraphics	$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	>> edited and designed by Greg Sadowski >> introduction by Jonathan Lethem >> Ladies and gentlemen! Step right up and see the wonders of the ages! This is where it all began: the protoplasmic early days of the superhero comic book -- wild & heady, zany & crazy, fantastic & non-sensical, rough around the edges; all this and more. Reading these stories is like witnessing history in the making, it is being present at the birth. Sure, we've all read those original Superman and Batman stories along with other DC classics, as well as a those old Captain America, Submariner, Human Torch tales, and maybe a few other Golden Age Marvels (well, Timelys, actually), but these are usually presented in a self-promoting fashion by their corporate owners which mitigates and obscures the historical context in which these works need to be read to fully appreciate their novelty. The work here spans the years 1936 to 1941, with the bulk of it originating in 1939 and 1940. It is divided by publisher and includes the Comics Magazine Company, Chesler, Centaur, Fox, MLJ, Fiction House, Columbia, Your Guide/Rhoda and Novelty Press, Some of the earliest work by the brightest stars of the Golden Age are collected here: Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Lou Fine, Jack Cole, Basil Wolverton, Bill Everett, Ogden Whitney, Dick Briefer, Fred Guardineer, and, yes, Fletcher Hanks. It appears that this volume has been put together employing high quality scans of the original comic books which were then digitally restored and and enhanced and then crisply printed on flat (non-glossy) bright paper stock, and the results are excellent, A minor quibble is that, for our money, we would have preferred an off-white paper that more closely matches the newsprint upon which these comics were originally printed, but this is negligible when stacked next to all that is right with the production. While it should go without saying that no self-respecting comics scholar can pass this up, we hasten to add that anyone who misses the plain old fun that we associate with the term comic book, who wants a jolt of that good ol' four-color energy from back in the day, need look no further than this fine volume.
Comic Book Artist v.2 #6	Will Eisner	Top Shelf	$10.00 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This one's a double-size (252-pages!) "special tribute" issue honoring Will Eisner, that "celebrates the life, legacy and Spirit" of one of comics' greatest masters. It's packed with interviews, essays, illustrations and comics all honoring the life, memory and impact that Eisner had on fans, creators, the industry and American culture. From Jules Feiffer, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee to Scott McCloud, Dave Sim and Art Spiegelman and dozens more in between, a who's who of comics pays tribute to one of the few comics creators whose influence can truly be said to permeate the entire field.
The Contract with God Trilogy	Will Eisner	Norton	$25.47 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Here they are, three of Will Eisner's greatest works -- A Contract with God, Life Force and Dropsie Avenue -- all together in one handsome hardcover volume, rounded out with a dozen new illustrations executed by Eisner specifically for this volume shortly before his death earlier this year. Originally published in 1978, A Contract with God is considered the first American graphic novel, making this work a must read on historical grounds alone. This work -- not technically a novel, but rather a collection of related short pieces taking place in "the neighborhood" of Eisner's youth that is the setting for all the pieces in this volume -- is, however, much more than just a first, it is also one of the most emotionally moving works comics has yet produced, one that went a long way toward demonstrating the latent capacities of the medium, capacities that Life Force and Dropsie Avenue further extended. This new edition from the veritable literary publisher W.W. Norton -- which prints all three works in the sepia tone that was the trademark of Eisner's mature work -- presents these unique cultural creations in a manner befitting their stature. It is a volume that will be treasured by every lover of the form.
Eisner/Miller	Will Eisner, Frank Miller	Dark Horse	$17.95 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Anyone familiar with the history of film criticism knows of its most famous interview: Hitchcock/Truffaut, in which the younger acolyte turned successful auteur in his own right -- Francois Truffaut -- interviewed the grand master of cinema -- Alfred Hitchcock. The interview was released in a large illustrated volume which has been continuously in print for over thirty years. Well, now the world of comics has an almost, but not quite identical -- as it is closer to a dual interview of the pair by Charles Brownstein -- equivalent in this volume. Eisner/Miller presents the younger acolyte turned successful auteur in his own right -- Frank Miller (although, in relative terms, Miller has been far more succcessful and influential than Truffaut) -- interviewing the grand master of Comics -- Will Eisner. And this interview has now been released by Dark Horse in a thick illustrated volume. Only time will tell how long it remains in print, but we do know one thing for certain: it's an instant classic!
Sheena: Queen of the Jungle	Matt Baker, Will Eisner		$17.00 ($18.99 list)
Read more and comment...	A dozen never-before-reprinted, classic Sheena tales are herein collected. All the stories were originally published in Jumbo Comics, almost all during the 1940s. As an added bonus, you get to read one of the stories as it was truncated and rescripted -- or "censored" as the editor and/or publisher of this collection have it -- for republication in Sheena #12 in 1951. This collection is assembled with care. The entire volume is reproduced in full color from high quality scans of the stories as they originally appeared (as well as the original covers and many original advertisements from the same issues that the stories appeared in, which together help to provide the proper ambience for that "you are there" feeling), to insure that your reading experience will be the closest possible approximation to that of actually reading the original comics (which would cost a small fortune to purchase). If classic jungle comics are your thing, then this is a no-brainer. And remember, Sheena Is a Punk Rocker.
The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion	Will Eisner		$17.95 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The final work by one of comics' greatest practitioners and an early pioneer of the graphic novel form, The Plot reveals the history of how the infamous anti-semitic Protocols came into being as well as how they were subsequently used. It is in keeping with much of Eisner's later work in its exploration of the dark underside of human character, but this time around it is a documentary work based on facts, and it is quite a bit darker; but the story told is one worth learning about, for some of the 20th century's most misguided leaders looked to this false document's lies for justification, and, sadly, in this the supposed "information age" of the 21st century, some still do. To learn more, read this review by Tony Norman at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative	Will Eisner, Peter Poplaski		$20.00 ($22.99 list)
Read more and comment...	The third and final volume in the "Will Eisner Instructional Series" -- following the essential classic Comics and Seqential Art and its sequel, Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative Expressive Anatomy was nearly complete before Eisner's death and offers plenty of tips and guidance in this crucial area that lies right at the heart of cartooning.
The Spirit: Femme Fatales	Will Eisner	DC	$17.77 ($19.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Before the 1950s, there was -- surprise! -- the 1940s, where the same dilemma of identity choice faced the American male, especially upon returning in droves from fighting the second world war, and discovering a newly empowered female whose taste of (relative) freedom and independence in the males' absence made some of them less enamored of a life of submissive domesticity than before. This "new" woman was often perceived as a threat to male and so that staple of the noir era, the femme fatale was born (intriguing that this period is so closely associated with terms of French origin, non?) Thus the choice, for a man, between what kind of life to lead came to be identified with the choice between what kind of woman to desire: the "good" woman -- here clearly identified as Police Commissioner Dolan's daughter, Ellen -- and the "bad" women, of which there are, invariably, many and whom the Spirit has many a run-in. This is the second affordable, softcover edition collecting the creme de la creme of Will Eisner's classic series. Published by DC, this 192 page full color softcover collects 23 frankly fabulous tales. If you have yet to experience these era-defining comics, this is a good place to start.
The Plot	Will Eisner		$12.70 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Now available in a low priced softcover edition. Here's our listing for the hardcover edition: "The final work by one of comics' greatest practitioners and an early pioneer of the graphic novel form, The Plot reveals the history of how the infamous anti-semitic Protocols came into being as well as how they were subsequently used. It is in keeping with much of Eisner's later work in its exploration of the dark underside of human character, but this time around it is a documentary work based on facts, and it is quite a bit darker; but the story told is one worth learning about, for some of the 20th century's most misguided leaders looked to this false document's lies for justification, and, sadly, in this the supposed "information age" of the 21st century, some still do. To learn more, read this review by Tony Norman at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette."
New York: Life in the Big City	Will Eisner		$26.95 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This is the follow-up to last year's wonderful Contract with God Trilogy. Also published by W.W. Norton, this too is a high quality, heavy duty hardcover omnibus edition, printed in Eisner's trademarked sepia tones on light cream stock. This volume collects New York, The Building, City People Notebook, and Invisible People for a fraction of the total cost that these would set you back in their respective softcover editions. So, in addition to being and amazing collection of some of the finest late work by one of comics' undisputed masters, it's also a bargain!
Will Eisner: Edge of Genius	Will Eisner	Pure Imagination	$19.99 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	A fascinating compendium of Eisner's earliest work beginning with his amateur work of the early '30s and continuing through his first published efforts later that decade. Reading this book you can see his influences and watch his style form. It contains 160 pages of comics (mostly) and illustration in an 8 1/2" x 11" squarebound format; from Pure Imagination.

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