The one-off comic was produced for the Festival, to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Will Eisner, The Spirit's creator. With a wonderful cover by Becky Cloonan, each interior page features a tribute strip of The Spirit by the following creators:
Brendan McCarthy, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, Graham Dury and Simon Thorp, Chris Samee, John M Burns, Sergio Aragones, Peter Milligan and Duncan Fregredo, Seth, Jason Latour, Johnathan Ross and Bryan Hitch, and a back cover illustration by Michael Cho.
There's also a tribute written by Neil Gaiman, and an article by Chris Murray and John McShane on how Will Eisner influenced a change in direction of British comics.
The comic was edited by Sean Phillips and is truly a classy production. This deserves a place in everyone's collection, and if you'd like a copy you can buy one directly from the comic shop Page 45 in Nottingham or from their website:
http://www.page45.com/store/Spirit-Centenary-Newspaper-Lakes-International-Comic-Art-Festival-2017-.html#SID=272
Just curious how much exposure one would have to Eisner's works in the U.K.? Though his genius well known in dedicated comic circles in the USA I can't imagine more than 10% of all comic readers in the USA have read his works notably The Spirit.
ReplyDeleteIs this Spirit comic available through other channels at all, please? I'd just as soon have nothing to do with Page 45 after a deeply disturbing incident in their shop last year.
ReplyDelete@Charlie Horse 47: That's probably fair comment. I don't recall newstand reprints of The Spirit in the UK. But monthly comic buying through Previews shrinks the world. I've got some Spirit Archives from DC, reprints from Kitchen Sink and Eisner novels from DC. The man could convey a wealth of emotion in a single panel, eg an old man walking hunched over in the rain. I'm also a big fan of the fifties' EC comics - American comics' creative high point.
Charlie, The Spirit mag that Warren did in the 1970s was available in newsagents I think, along with Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella. It was definitely well distributed in comic shops in the 1970s, as was the Denis Kitchen run later. These days, not so many comic fans will have heard of him, but I think this comic will sell on the strength of its contributors to their respective fanbases.
ReplyDeleteMike, I'm not sure, sorry. Searching on eBay might help, but it might be exclusive to Page 45.
Thanks for posting about this Spirit coming. I'll search for it in the USA.
ReplyDelete