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Gallery Opening The schedule of events celebrating the "Comics, Heroes, and American Visual Culture" exhibition at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Gallery began on November 9th, 2001 with an Opening Reception held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The event drew a substantial audience that included the arts community, college students, comics fans and the general public.
Sheldon Curator Daniel Siedell then moderated a question-and-answer session in which the audience was able to interact with Mr. Carrier and Prof. Howard. Viewing of the exhibits followed, allowing the attendees to mingle, and refreshments were served in the Great Hall.
Cartoon Workshop
Hall studied with the late John Buscema, one of Marvel Comics most respected artists, while drawing comics for Charlton. Buscema's recommendation opened doors at Marvel, and soon Hall was drawing Spider-man, Thor and The Avengers. He produced several movie adaptations, including A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Captain America movie, and served for a brief period as an editor at Marvel. His Marvel stint was followed by a long run at Valiant/Acclaim on Shadowman and Armed & Dangerous. In recent years he has produced Batman graphic novels and mini-series for DC Comics. He currently directs theatre in Lincoln, and has previously presented classes for young people through the Bright Lights Summer Enrichment Program and the public libraries.
The Symposium The worse news: Comics legend Will Eisner reluctantly had to forego his appearance due to an illness contracted on his way back from the prestigious international comic convention in Angouleme, France. And the good news: All the other guests arrived safely, the crowd was large and congenial, and a good time was had by all.
Chris Ware, artist and author of the multi-award-winning Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth and the upcoming Quimby the Mouse. Ware, a native Nebraskan currently residing in the Chicago area, has received international accolades for his innovative and multi-layered visual storytelling. R.C. Harvey, cartoonist, columnist and comics historian. Harvey is the author of Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip, The Art of the Funnies and The Art of the Comic Book, among other books. Well acquainted with Will Eisner and his work, he has authored the introductions to volumes of DC's hardbound Spirit Archives collections. He's also a superb artist in his own right, with a sinuous and supple inking style, and is a keen observer of the comic art field. Maggie Thompson, editor of The Comics Buyers' Guide from Krause Publications. Thompson is one of comic book fandom's foremost figures. Her early fanzine, Comic Art (produced along with her late husband Don) was one of the first publications devoted primarily to comics. Throughout the history of comic book fandom, Thompson's voice has remained one of the most informed and influential in the field. Alisa Kwitney, former editor for DC Comics. As an editor for the Vertigo imprint, specializing in cutting-edge graphic storytelling, Kwitney helped nurture Neil Gaiman's incredible Sandman series and other titles. She authored stories for the line as well. She's left DC to pursue her own writing career, but remains well-connected and interested in the medium of comic art. And Bob Hall, who graciously agreed to step in as a substitute for the ailing Will Eisner. Some of Hall's many credits as a long-time comic book professional are enumerated above. Maggie Thompson moderated the panel discussion. The panelists introduced themselves, and generally modestly minimized their own substantial accomplishments, then participated in a wide-ranging and free-form presentation that touched on topics like the state of the industry, creators' rights, the threat of censorship, and the plight of under-appreciated older professionals.
Surprisingly, he seemed to say that the cinema-influenced storytelling approach epitomized by Will Eisner's work was not his approach at all. Ware is more in tune with the style used by early cartoonists, who often used very static artistic means to tell a story. This seemed to provide a unique and valuable key to Ware's vision, and opens a whole new vista of artistic possibilities. It would have been fascinating to hear a dialogue between Eisner (whose book Comics and Sequential Art has long been the bible of comics storytelling) and Chris Ware. But I'm probably totally wrong, so don't listen to me... The symposium reconvened at 10:30 on Saturday morning for a talk by R.C. Harvey entitled "How Not To Read Comics Like a Book." Harvey ended up pulling double duty -- the early-afternoon session, originally billed as "A Conversation Between Will Eisner and Robert C. Harvey," became a conversation about Will Eisner presented by Bob Harvey.
Harvey has known Eisner well for many years, and was able to sprinkle his talk with numerous insights and anecdotes about the artist and his associates. Many of the assembled audience were also clearly Eisner devotees, and a lively question-and-answer session followed the formal discussion. The final session of the afternoon was a presentation entitled, "Comic Art/Avante Garde?" that took the form of a free-form conversation between Alisa Kwitney and influential artist Bill Sienkiewicz.
The conversation touched on the challenges of creating cutting-edge comics, the future of comic art, politics, and the business side of the comics industry. Kwitney brought along a slide show featuring the work of many of the artists she'd worked with at Vertigo (Dave McKean, Peter Kuper, Chris Bachalo, and James Romberger, among others), and the artist and editor made appreciative comments about the inroads that non-traditional styles have made in advancing the comics field. The session ended with many of the audience members up on stage to meet the panelists -- a good chance to get an autograph and a one-on-one conversation with Sienkiewicz and Kwitney.
While the absence of Will Eisner was certainly felt throughout the symposium,
no one who attended left feeling disappointed. The entire event was a fun
and friendly experience, a chance to meet with top professionals and like-minded
fans in a low-key atmosphere -- a fitting celebration for a gift of comic
art that will enrich comic lovers and scholars for decades to come!
Guests included Will Eisner, Jules Feiffer, Joe Simon, C.C. Beck and Jerry Robinson. Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were originally slated to appear as well. They were embroiled at the time in a legal entanglement with DC Comics over the paltry settlement they had received for the rights to Superman, however, and were advised to withdraw.
Sadly, the videotape of the panel event at the conference no longer exists. The only documentation known is this pair of photos from Joe Simon's book, The Comic Book Makers, written with his son Jim Simon. The book features an account of the struggles of Siegel and Shuster, and is also a fascinating look at Joe Simon's life and career. It's highly recommended to anyone interested in the history of comic art. |
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At
5:30 p.m. philosopher and art critic David Carrier presented a gallery talk
on the role of comics in American art and life. Carrier is the author of
The Aesthetics of Comics. Prof. Dan J. Howard, who donated the collection
of comic art to the Gallery, was also in attendance, and spoke of his
appreciation of comic art and the acquisition of the collection. He had several
observations to make on the cartoonists and the works, and comments about
the evolution of the comic book and comic strip art fields.
After
what he describes as "an ill-spent youth reading comics and watching cheap
horror movies," Hall earned a Masters Degree in theatre from the University
of Nebraska. Combining dual careers in comics and theatre, he has directed
several professional companies including a Shakespearean troupe in New York
City. His stage play, The Passion of Dracula, ran for two years in
New York, played London's West End, and was filmed for Showtime.
The
Symposium began on Friday evening with a panel discussion entitled "Past,
Present, Future Comic Art." The participants included:
The
highlight of the evening (at least for me) had to be the comments of Chris
Ware. Shy to the point of appearing withdrawn, the brilliant artist would
occasionally venture forth with an opinion, apologizing all the while. Then
he would rouse himself to make some illuminating and totally unexpected
observation on comic art, generally ending by saying something like, "But
I'm probably totally wrong, so don't listen to me..."
The
presenter was more than equal to the task, however, and had come prepared
with materials and displays that allowed him to give an authoritative overview
of Eisner's life and work. He discussed Eisner's early career, packaging
comics for publication in a "shop" (a sort of production line for comics)
with partner Jerry Iger, and later alone. He traced the development of The
Spirit newspaper feature and Eisner's time in the Army during World War
II, which led him to a successful career packaging instructional comics for
the military. The 1970s brought a resurgence of interest in Eisner's work,
and he authored the graphic novel A Contract With God, first in a
series of books using the comics medium to tell very personal and human stories
-- a fertile creative period that continues today, with the artist producing
top-quality work in his eighth decade.
Travel
arrangements had prevented Sienkiewicz from attending the Friday sessions,
but he arrived in time to carry on an interesting and wide-ranging discussion
with former editor Kwitney. Sienkiewicz received accolades early in his career
for his Neal Adams-influenced work on Marvel's Moon Knight, but it
was during his later tenure on The New Mutants that he began to achieve
a more personal, more painterly style. His work began to more closely reflect
his interests in politics and art, and he moved on to high-profile projects
like Big Numbers (with Alan Moore), Stray Toasters, and a graphic
novel-format biography of musician Jimi Hendrix. He remains a much-in-demand
fan favorite.
Fortunately
the story had a happy ending, as an effort spearheaded by artist Neal Adams
successfully secured a settlement for the two men who created a
major American myth. This ground-breaking effort was a cornerstone in
the fight for creators' rights in American comics.