Dig Boston and League Podcast Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. July 8, 2015

COMICS You put your ring in my bridge! You got your nacelles in my lantern! It’s too good to be true as the Federation meets the Corps in the anticipated Star Trek Green Lantern #1 - The Spectrum War! Set your Phasers to Construct! … Without Will Eisner we wouldn’t have graphic novels, hence we’d have no fun at all. Here’s to many years of Denny Colt in Will Eisner’s The Spirit A Celebration Of 75 Years. …”Lando’s not a system, he’s a comic” might be the most predictable comics pitch yet, but hey, its true. Lando #1 expands the Marvel/Disney/Star Wars Universe. Punch it! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com!

MATT WAGNER TALKS About WILL EISNER'S THE SPIRIT! - COSMIC TREADMILL AT FORCES OF GEEK

FOG! Chats With MATT WAGNER About WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT!

Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is this week and Dynamite Entertainment gave us an inside scoop about some upcoming announcements.

At the top of the stack is today’s solicitation for the complete creative team for the July’s new ongoing Will Eisner’s The Spirit written by Matt Wagner and drawn by Dan Schkade (San Hannibal). Also, notably, keep on the lookout for some amazing covers by Alex Ross, The Goon’s Eric Powell and so many more.

Of course Matt is most well known for such classics as Grendel, Mage, Sandman Mystery Theatre and a number of memorable Batman stories — my favorite being Batman: Faces (Legends of the Dark Knight). 

Recently at Dynamite he has taken on Green Hornet, Zorro and The Shadow—so no one was surprised at Matt being assigned to scribe Eisner’s The Spirit.

Well, maybe Matt was, and he is here to join us and tell us about it!

FOG!: Matt, thanks for joining us today! The Spirit ongoing is exciting news, and we’re excited you are the one to take it on, though you’ve mentioned that even for you this is intimidating! What made you relent to the requests to take on Denny Colt?

Matt Wagner: Well, I’ve been a big fan of both Eisner and The Spirit for many, many years. As a result of my reverence for both the creator and the property, I at first said, “No” when Dynamite offered me the chance to write an all-new relaunch in honor of the character’s 75th anniversary. 

But both Dynamite publisher Nick Barrucci and their Editor-in-Chief Joe Rybandt were both persistent in getting me on board; “We think you’re perfect for this gig!” Eventually, they broke through my resistance and now I’m happy they did.

When did you first get inspired by Eisner or The Spirit?

I first discovered The Spirit via the over-sized, B&W reprints from Warren Publications in the mid 70s. 

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK ]

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EARTH PRIME TIME: WILL EISNER WEEK 2013

Today we get to celebrate comics by remembering the birthday of the father of the graphic novel, Will Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005). Known for creating The Spirit and longer stories such as A Contract With God, Eisner continues to be a reigning influence on comics and graphic storytelling. The high school friend of Bob Kane started his comics career at an early age and continued working until his death. Tufts University screens the 2007 film Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist on Thursday as we celebrate Will Eisner Week at Earth Prime Time.

Sure, we’ve gushed about Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but a man important to comic books has escaped the public’s consciousness over the years. Will Eisner’s cinematic visions of the comic book page alongside a kinetic lettering style continues to define the look of the comic book page as professional artists continue to learn from his masterful storytelling techniques.

The Spirit is perhaps Eisner’s most notable work. The presumed dead police detective Denny Colt establishes a hideout in Central City’s Wildwood Cemetery.

The Spirit was a dashing vigilante, hunting down his arch enemy, The Octopus, and solving crimes with sidekick Ebony White. The stories ran the gamut of crime and detective noir to romance and horror.

Many great comic artists have had their hands on the domino-masked hero, from launching the career of Wally Wood in 1952 to modern day vintage illustrators Darwyn Cooke (New Frontier) and J. Bone (Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror). Sin City’s Frank Miller made the jump to full time director and filmmaker, only to release a vacant and vapid adaptation of the character on screen in 2008′s The Spirit.

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]