Will Eisner Tribute Panel: Return of the 1 1. Texto originalmente Artist apresentado na Conferênia Anual da Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), Randy Duncan2 realizada em Atlanta, GE, Estados Unidos, em 2006. In the Steranko History of Comics, century the barriers between classes were 2. Professor do Department of Communication and Theatre Eisner is quoted as saying about his decision more easily breached. It helped that the Arts da Henderson State to discontinue The Spirit, “I decided I Weingartens took a liking to Will. Will University, Arkadelphia, AR, would rather be an entrepreneur than an and Ann were married on June 15, 1950. Estados Unidos. artist.” (STERANKO, 1972, p. 116)1 Melville David Weingarten was very Eisner never totally abandoned the drawing fond of his son-in-law, but he felt Will board, but over a couple of decades his should get a “grown-up job.” Weingarten, emphasis shifted from doing art to doing a prominent stock broker, wanted Will business. He approached business with to join him on Wall Street. “Why don’t the same energy and inventiveness he had you come into a gentleman’s business?” he 3 3. Entrevista pessoal com Ann poured into his early comics work. Eisner asked . Eisner, 18 jun. 2005 never regretted the decision. He discovered Eisner did not leave comics for Wall that he enjoyed the art of the deal and Street, but he found a way to take comics he had a knack for making money. His into the corporate world. During his stint wife, Ann, has said she thinks “you could in the Army he had contributed to the war have split Will in half, and say one side is effort by using comics to train soldiers in business and one side is art. Will loved the the proper maintenance of their equipment. business end. He loved the excitement of That experience was the impetus for a new negotiating.” Ann saw the two sides of Will direction in Eisner’s career. The work had as reflections of his parents. “His mother gotten Eisner excited about the educational was more of a businessperson. His father capability of the comics medium, and was more of a dreamer, so he got something apparently some of the soldiers who were from both.” (EISNER, A., 2002) Ann his audience also realized the effectiveness loved both aspects of the man. of the instructional comics they had seen Theirs was a marriage that would in Army Motors magazine. After the war, have been highly improbable just a few Eisner went back to work on The Spirit, and decades earlier. Although Eisner was a did some of the most memorable stories, successful cartoonist, he came from a but there were distractions. “I occasionally markedly different social class than did Ann. received calls from former military types Ann Weingarten’s family had immigrated who were now involved in the publication to America in 1850 and had been wealthy departments of major corporations like for generations. Whereas Eisner had General Motors and U.S. Steel,” Eisner grown up in a Jewish ghetto, Ann’s family once recalled. “They would ask if I could do lived on Park Avenue. However, by mid- any of their training material in comic form. 9ª Arte São Paulo, vol. 5, n. 2, 2º semestre/2016 7 Of course, being a New York City boy, I reduced the Spirit stories to four pages. said ‘Sure!’” (apud WAITER, BISSETTE, Wood was still chronically late. Wally 1993, p. 277). Eisner discovered that Wood's heavy drinking and devotion to corporations were willing to pay much luscious, detailed artwork prevented him more for a comic book than any comic from producing pages with the regularity book publisher was willing to pay. Always demanded by a weekly feature. Eisner and quick to capitalize on an opportunity Wood "decided to shake hands and call it that came his way, Eisner formed the quits." (apud HEINSTEIN, 1992, p. 10). American Visuals Corporation to produce Wood's finalSpirit artwork appeared in the instructional comics for corporate clients. September 28, 1952 story "Return from Being able to tout the fledgling company the moon." A week later, on October 5, in as doing work for clients such as U.S. a bland story with mediocre artwork, the Steel and General Motors helped Eisner Spirit made his final appearance. get a variety of work, from the cover of a Eisner was loath to give up a source Baltimore Colts 1950 souvenir booklet to of income, but it was a dwindling source. a comic the United Nations intended to Fewer papers were carrying the Spirit send to Pakistan to teach anti-soil erosion Section, and Eisner felt the Section’s unique techniques. distribution system was going to collapse Excited by these new challenges, soon. The final nail in The Spirit's coffin Eisner had little enthusiasm or time left over was driven once Eisner secured a contract for The Spirit. By 1950, "The Spirit began to produce comics content for an Army to become very burdensome.” (EISNER, magazine. Originally, it had been on a W., 1979, p. 19) He had essentially turned twice a year publication, but once the Army the strip over to his assistants, but he was decided they wanted a monthly publication seldom pleased with the result. Eisner felt the contract became lucrative enough that that Jules Feiffer's approach to storytelling Eisner could afford to discontinue The was quite similar to his own and that Spirit. Feiffer's scripts usually captured the Eisner Because the Army had been style and tone, but he found the work of impressed with Eisner's use of the comics the artists who illustrated those scripts to format to deliver preventive maintenance be serviceable at best. information in the Army Motors magazine In 1952, he brought in Wally Wood during World War II, they turned to him to do the artwork on the Spirit stories. to do the art when they began P*S, The Feiffer and Wood produced outer space Preventive Maintenance Monthly. Only adventures that, while they had a very this time he was being paid as a civilian different sensibility than what readers had contractor. (EISNER, W., 1979, p. 19) been used to in the Spirit's earthbound Eisner put together a complete prototype adventures, were nonetheless intriguing issue of P*S, and the Army spent about and beautiful. The first work Eisner saw six months testing it against traditional from Wood was stunning, and Eisner training literature. Eisner was awarded the dared to hope that "Wally Wood was the contract and the first issue appeared in June artist who could handle The Spirit on a of 1951. long-term basis," (apud HEINSTEIN, The main office for P*S magazine 1991, inside front cover) but then Wood, was in Lexington, Kentucky, where an who was also contributing to EC's monthly editor and staff of writers devised the Weird Science comic book, could not make theme and wrote the articles for each issue. his deadline for the fourth outer space Eisner was responsible for creating the story. It was soon clear that Wood could cover, spot illustrations, and the eight-page not produce seven pages a week so Eisner color comic that appeared in the center of 8 9ª Arte São Paulo, vol. 5, n. 2, 2º semestre/2016 each magazine. Deadly Ideas, a 1952 job safety booklet for Eisner and his staff employed broad General Motors employees, was one of the humor and sexy women to grab the G.I.s’ first of these ventures. Eisner often saved attention, and dry, technical information time and effort in the production of these was communicated by means of talking pamphlets by “recycling” characters from equipment and other visual gags. The his P*S Magazine work. For example, mainstays were mechanics Connie Rodd Connie Rodd and Joe Dope, appear, with and MSG Half-Mast McCannick and the minimal changes, as Connie Convertible equipment destroying Joe Dope, characters and Argyle McSludge in one of Eisner’s Eisner had created for posters and Army 1953 commercial ventures, Hoods Up, A Motors magazine during his time in the Magazine for Profit-Minded Fram Dealers, Army. When Connie is in uniform her done for Fram Oil Filter. shirt is so tight the buttons are strained American Visuals was producing to hold it closed, and, in fact, occasionally enough pamphlets for the reading rack pop off. It was not unusual for her to be market that they got the attention of out of uniform and scantily clad. In one their major competitor. In the late 1950s two-page spread detailing submachine American Visuals merged with Koster- gun maintenance, Connie’s shapely and Dana Publishing, which was the parent apparently nude body is covered by a few company of the Good Reading Rack strategically placed captions4. Service, the largest publisher of reading 4. Vinheta da P*S Magazine n. Soon his work for the military rack materials. As Eisner explains the 224, reimpressa em The Comics Journal, n. 46, p. 46, May 1979. expanded beyond P*S. In September of reasons for the merger, “We had been 1951, a Joe Dope strip by Eisner began coming up fast behind them, and most of running in newspapers at various Army the other companies had fallen away. So we posts. Once the Korean War began Eisner decided that the two of us should merge. found himself involved in the creation They had no creative force, they just had of instructional materials for the South sales organization. We were all creative.” Korean army.