tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post2997951376056442465..comments2024-03-25T11:21:33.915-04:00Comments on Diversions of the Groovy Kind: Black and White Wednesday: "The Winnah!" by Eisner w/FeifferThe Groovy Agenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466541479854942040noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-82870115125335704602017-02-25T18:53:18.433-05:002017-02-25T18:53:18.433-05:00The unusual thing about the Spirit though is that ...The unusual thing about the Spirit though is that you don't actually need any kind of nostalgia to appreciate it.<br />I first read Eisner's work as a teenager at the start of the '80s with the reprint of Bring in Sand Saref in Masters of Comic Book Art, and without any particular interest in or connection to the the 40s - twenty years before I was even born! - it was fresh and appealing straight away. <br /><br />-sean<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-63060040605969923602017-02-23T07:44:36.863-05:002017-02-23T07:44:36.863-05:00I've always been amazed at how Eisner and comp...I've always been amazed at how Eisner and company were able to cram so much storytelling and innovation into 7 pages weekly for 12 years.keythd23https://www.blogger.com/profile/00690368680707726203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-72313025368458426562017-02-23T07:42:10.851-05:002017-02-23T07:42:10.851-05:00I am very nostalgic about a lot of eras. But as a...I am very nostalgic about a lot of eras. But as a 20 something in the 80s I find that I look back on that decade more fondly than any other. From the Reagan presidency to the music to the movies and TV shows it was a great time to be alive. And comics such as the Claremont/Byrne/Austin X-Men, Golden's Micronauts and, later, Byrne's Fantastic Four were in full bloom giving us great memories to look back upon.keythd23https://www.blogger.com/profile/00690368680707726203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-87241887790693185352017-02-23T07:30:33.731-05:002017-02-23T07:30:33.731-05:00Auto correct. The bane of texting and commentary....Auto correct. The bane of texting and commentary.keythd23https://www.blogger.com/profile/00690368680707726203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-89831890253692409842017-02-23T01:56:16.517-05:002017-02-23T01:56:16.517-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Artur Costahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10293415952741515091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-14971341583357083492017-02-22T23:01:47.900-05:002017-02-22T23:01:47.900-05:00I meant Eisner. Auto correct. LolI meant Eisner. Auto correct. LolMarcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09474942838770899970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-16997585946415266392017-02-22T21:46:03.985-05:002017-02-22T21:46:03.985-05:00Groove, I was about the same age when I discovered...Groove, I was about the same age when I discovered The Spirit. I think #2 of the Warren edition was my first, and I managed to track down 3 or 4 more later on. <br /><br />I also discovered those Shadow paperbacks around that same time, I think mine was #8 (Mox). Of course, I had nearly every issue of the DC run, so it was really neat to check the original source out. Never managed to pick up any more of that collection though.Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10547751537787941998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-31428622044255139182017-02-22T19:47:40.146-05:002017-02-22T19:47:40.146-05:00Hi Groove, I remember buying the Spirit at the lo...Hi Groove, I remember buying the Spirit at the local News Agency off the shelf! Loved it, never looked back, bought the rest as they became available. I don't recall "why" I bought it since I would have been spending all my time in front of the spinner rack and a large section of "men's" magazines was between the two. But I suspect it was due to Steranko History Volume 2.<br /><br />Regarding Steranko's History of Comics: it blew my mind when I saw them on display at the bookstore at the local mall. "What was this???!!!"<br /><br />I finally understood what the "golden age" was and could put all those D.C. 100-page Spectacular reprints into context. I learned that Fawcett's Cpt Marvel was the biggest dude on the comic block, not Superman! I learned about the "second bananas" like Quality's Plastic Man, Blackhawks, Ray, Condor, Doll Man, the Spirit and Quality' stable of the best artists in the business and Lev Gleason's Daredevil. As important there are these simply gorgeous, full page (and the pages are BIG!), works of art done for the History's. Notably there is an Everett "Torch vs. Sub Mariner" and a Kirby "Cap and Bucky fighting the Red Skull and Nazis" dedicated to Jim. IMHO this is Kirby's single best piece of art. Well, I sound and feel like a kid again. I can't encourage you enough to get your hands on them. You can "buy them now" on ebay for like $15 - $30. There's way, way more to the History of this passion than Stan and Jack... and it's more / less unknown of forgotten. Heck, if I buy anything off ebay it's a Quality Comic on the cheap, all thanks to Steranko. I wish I could thank him in person! Charlie Horse 47https://www.blogger.com/profile/00906538705798228800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-49070098315061474872017-02-22T15:05:08.090-05:002017-02-22T15:05:08.090-05:00It's hard for people today to understand how i...It's hard for people today to understand how important 'nostalgia' was in the last 60s and early 70s. (Time of remarkable social upheaval and rupture.) The 30s, 40s and 50s were more 'real' to people of the 70s, than, say, the 80s are to us today. <br /><br />I like to say that I'm a displaced person in time. I grew up in the 70s, but listened to old time radio shows, collected 78s, read pulp reprints and constantly watched old movies and serials (on PBS, of all things) on television. 1940 was more a point of reference for me than the actual time, and that's just because so much of this material was out there.Bobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-13031281595024682472017-02-22T07:58:20.470-05:002017-02-22T07:58:20.470-05:00Either is just great! Everything on his pages help...Either is just great! Everything on his pages help tell his story. In addition to the to the shadows and hoe his characters act, his expressive lettering adds so much! By the way, I was in Will's class at The School of Visual Arts for three years in the 80s and he was a great teacher and man.Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09474942838770899970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-72782182154803731542017-02-22T06:14:36.520-05:002017-02-22T06:14:36.520-05:00Right on, Rip!Right on, Rip!The Groovy Agenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466541479854942040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-84061587426346473462017-02-22T06:13:52.540-05:002017-02-22T06:13:52.540-05:00True, but he isn't mentioned and doesn't s...True, but he isn't mentioned and doesn't speak. The point is, the hero of the series doesn't do anything in this story. I always thought that was so unique.<br />The Groovy Agenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466541479854942040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-73117114689989329202017-02-22T06:11:49.609-05:002017-02-22T06:11:49.609-05:00Never got my hands on copies of History of Comics....Never got my hands on copies of History of Comics. I've tried on ebay a few times with no luck.<br />The Groovy Agenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466541479854942040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-55309949779526378702017-02-22T02:47:52.676-05:002017-02-22T02:47:52.676-05:00It's amazing sometimes how similar our reading...It's amazing sometimes how similar our reading histories are. That issue of The Spirit was my first too, and like you I only knew him from Feiffer's book and this mag was a revelation. I now knew what the hubbub was all about and I knew where Mike Ploog got his inspiration. Likewise that Shadow novel was one of two I picked up (the other was "Mox") and was all I knew of the Shadow (save for the great DC comics) for many years. <br /><br />We live in a golden era of comics reprints these days with stuff like this available in all manner of formats. But as you suggest, getting stuff like this back in the day was like panning for gold, it was rare and truly fantastic when you got a bit of it. <br /><br />Rip OffRip Jaggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09936426877024852134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-50225194693020582352017-02-22T02:06:06.749-05:002017-02-22T02:06:06.749-05:00Eeeh! The Spirit is there, watching the fight, on ...Eeeh! The Spirit is there, watching the fight, on page six!Artur Costahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10293415952741515091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897120082101927069.post-36853187968520665362017-02-22T01:03:34.553-05:002017-02-22T01:03:34.553-05:00You didn't see that Spirit reprint at the back...You didn't see that Spirit reprint at the back of Volume 2 of Steranko's History Of Comics...?B Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16618583443442543086noreply@blogger.com