Sunday, August 22, 2010
Arts & Extras: A history lesson for comic book fans
Arts & Extras column
Mike Allen, arts columnist
Recent columns
- 'Ophelia' marks Black History Month
- Art Council's updated website reflects mission to be 'inclusive'
- Metal sculptor who died too young gets retrospective
Arts&Extras blog
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When former Fincastle Herald publisher Paul Fitzgerald met Will Eisner in 1953, the two bonded almost immediately over their in-depth knowledge of printer's lingo.
At the time, Fitzgerald was the new managing editor of PS Magazine, a U.S. Army publication dedicated to delivering instructions to mechanics in a new and entertaining way, using the language and visuals of comic books.
And Eisner was already on his way to becoming a comic book legend because of "The Spirit," a film noir-style, multi-page comic he created in the 1940s. The strip, about a young detective killed and then returned from the dead to fight crime, was included as an insert in major newspapers in the manner of today's Parade magazine.
Eisner would go on to become a pioneer of graphic novels, starting in 1978 with "A Contract with God," a series of stories about ordinary people living in a Bronx tenement that's now under development as a motion picture.
In between those periods, during what are sometimes called his "lost years," Eisner was a contractor drawing for PS Magazine, the first 10 years of which he worked with Fitzgerald. During that time, Eisner's technique as an artist expanded and matured, developments chronicled in "Will Eisner and PS Magazine," a trade paperback with full-color pages that Fitzgerald wrote, compiled and self-published. Despite its limited print run, the book was a finalist for the comic book industry's prestigious 2010 Eisner Awards.
Fitzgerald, 84, will lead a panel at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Roanoke Main Library on Jefferson Street, titled "Will Eisner's Painful Journey." He'll be joined on the panel by Terry Baucom, owner of B&D Comic Shop in Roanoke, and Roanoke Times staff writer Mason Adams, a comic book enthusiast and reviewer.
The panel will feature poster-size reproductions of Eisner's art, and copies of his $59.95 book will be available for sale. Fitzgerald said he's broken even on the book, which was his goal.
As for the content of the panel, "a lot of what happens Tuesday evening is going to depend on the audience," he said. "I'm not going in with any kind of preconceptions."
One challenge he faced in putting his book together: The original artwork no longer exists. According to Fitzgerald, the Army had it incinerated as part of a "document reduction." He had to gather examples of art for the volume by tracking down and physically scanning in pages from hard-to-find copies of those decades-old issues.
In addition to the development of Eisner's art, the book also discusses the founding of the magazine -- which is still publishing today -- and tells the story of Eisner and Fitzgerald's friendship.
As he worked with Eisner on assignments, Fitzgerald recognized that the printing methods available to the magazine allowed for double-page spreads in which artwork could be printed to the edges of the pages. He encouraged Eisner to push the limits of his visual techniques. "We just sort of cut the shackles off him, in terms of physical parameters."
Fitzgerald became friends with Eisner, as well, describing him as hard-nosed and a competitive businessman, but also, as he wrote in his book, "He was gregarious, lively, quick, and quite willing to laugh at himself."
After he left PS Magazine, Fitzgerald became owner of the Herald Publishing Group, which published The Fincastle Herald, The Vinton Messenger and The New Castle Record until the company was sold in 1984.
Eisner continued to draw and write until his death in 2005 at age 87. His final graphic novels were "Fagin the Jew" and "The Plot," which challenged the slanderous stereotypes perpetuated against Jews.
Fitzgerald remained in touch with Eisner, writing an extensive profile for The Washington Post in 2004, then a tribute for the same paper in 2005, which bore the headline, "Will Eisner Made Fighting Bigotry an Art Form."
Fitzgerald wrote about his friend, "He was a fighter all the way, and he went down swinging."
For information about "Will Eisner and PS Magazine," visit www.willeisnerandpsmagazine.com. For more information about the library presentation, call 853-1057.
Met opera live
Opera Roanoke and Virginia Western Community College have teamed up to finally bring the Metropolitan Opera's "Live in HD" broadcasts to Roanoke.
The broadcasts not only present live performances of the New York opera company's lavish productions, but also include backstage interviews.
Opera Roanoke director Scott Williamson wrote in a news release that "these live broadcasts will be shown in vivid HD quality and brilliant surround sound with VWCC's new state-of-the-art technology in Whitman Theatre."
Part of the proceeds will benefit Opera Roanoke.
Tickets will be on sale starting Sept. 7 for $20. Met Opera members and senior citizens pay $18; students pay $10. Subscriptions for all 12 broadcasts also will be available.
The first broadcast, of Richard Wagner's "Das Rheingold," will take place at 1 p.m. Oct. 10.
For more information, call 982-2742 or visit www.virginiawestern.edu/events/opera.html.
On the Arts blog
For full coverge of the recent Studio Roanoke burglary and other arts news, visit blogs.roanoke.com/arts.
