Affectionately dedicated to
“For the Celebration of Comics” SERVING READERS SINCE 1998
Jon B. Cooke EDITOR/CREATOR/DESIGNER
Chris Staros & Brett Warnock Top Shelf Productions PUBLISHERS Gene Kannenberg, Jr. SPECIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Susan Cooke Anastasi ASSOCIATE PROOF READER George Khoury SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Christopher Irving ASSOCIATE EDITOR/CHIEF CORRESPONDENT Chris Knowles ASSOCIATE EDITOR Steven Tice TRANSCRIBER Greg Preston CBA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER
MASTHEAD AND COVER DESIGN Bissel & Titus www.bisseltitus.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS David A. Roach Fred Hembeck Aaron Kashtan Joe McCabe TITLE ORIGINATOR/CBA CLASSIC LOGO Arlen Schumer CBA MASCOT Woody J.D. King ISSUE THEME SONG “The One I Love” David Gray COVER COLORIST Angus McKie COVER ARTIST
Dave Gibbons
www.topshelfcomix.com Editor: JonBCooke@aol.com Publisher: staros@bellsouth.net Comic Book Artist ™&© 2004 Jon B. Cooke
Will’s best friend & loving wife
Mrs. Ann Eisner whose kindness & support will always be appreciated
The Eisner Legacy Yes, it was a shock. For us to lose someone that young, even if contained in an earthly vessel as old as his, the tragic news flash sent tremors through the comics world. “Will Eisner is dead.” Hardly four days into the new year and the most important innovator in the sequential art’s short history has been taken from us, abruptly wrenched from his afficionados the world over, his artist brethren, his friends, son John, and beloved wife Ann. With even a passing knowledge of the industrious Eisner, you’d also be convinced, like those well-versed, that however irrational the notion, Will was just too busy, possessing a schedule too full to find time to up and die. Yeah, Will was 87. So what? He still left far too young, on the cusp of a brand new era in a career overflowing with amazing firsts. A forthcoming book, The Plot, was a risky, brave move for such a seasoned veteran to be making, especially for one so established at the apex of his medium. This master of the form, this universally celebrated and expert storyteller, was descending from a comfortable perch, up there on that mountain peak, as one of the top graphic novelists and, in his way, betting the house and going for broke. If you had had the chance to speak with him about the book, however eager and excitable as the man was when discussing this latest passion, Will was worried — worried! — over how his new direction would be judged. The octogenarian was vividly aware he was embarking on a new advocation in sequential art, one that doesn’t yet even have a proper name. This new foray veered close to Jack “Jaxon” Jackson’s historical studies in comix. as well as to the words-&pictures journalism of Joe Sacco, but here was a rarely-seen academic view, with Will stretching himself. Not only was his intention to fervently expose a vicious, century-old anti-semitic tract (The Protocols of the Elders of Zion), in defense of his people as well as in service to the truth, but also perhaps a temptation taken to venture into The World Outside Comics, to perhaps gain attention of Manhattan literati, and take the Eisner influence one step further to venture into uncharted realms. When you come right down to it, Will was a competitive guy, if one with a certain noblesse oblige… y’know, with an old school quality. But ask anyone who debated him or opposed Mr. Eisner on a tennis court. The dude had chops. And on seeing that a peer, of whatever age or status, accomplish Something New, he took notice, got out those brushes, and proved to us all that there still was some moxy left in this wily old dog, one always ready to learn new tricks. So Will is gone. But studies of his achievements, searches for the meaning of his robust, well-lived life, and minute examinations of the amazing Eisner impact are only just getting started. And maybe what will ultimately endure about this delightfully gracious, kind, sparkling man with an exemplary body of work is his gift to us of a boundless curiosity to generations to come. Y’see, the man’s finest virtue might well have been a sincere enthusiasm when encountering fresh, new work (art that is often, I reckon, the result of being inspired by the comics of ol’ Will himself). Thus it’s nice to imagine future students of Eisner struck with epiphanies about their own life and their world when uncovering the perpetually fresh newness of his own artistry… and, their muses refueled, they trot off determined to do comics on their own terms and their own way. Maybe the ultimate lesson to learn from Will Eisner’s life is the same one shared by his two artist brethren, Harvey Kurtzman and Jack Kirby, might be: “First see through my eyes, then open yours.”