INTERVIEW: MATT WAGNER ON DYNAMITE’S will EISNER’S THE SPIRIT

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Will Eisner’s The Spirit #1 Matt Wagner Cover

Matt Wagner is the creator of Grendel as well as Mage as well as has worked on such characters as Batman, Zorro, Madame Xanadu, as well as more. Now, he composes the adventures of one more traditional character in will Eisner’s The Spirit from Dynamite. Westfield’s Roger Ash got in touch with Wagner to discover out more about this upcoming series.

Will Eisner’s The Spirit #1 preview page 1

Westfield: exactly how did you ended up being included with will Eisner’s The Spirit?

Matt Wagner: I very first found The Spirit via the over-sized, black & white reprints from Warren publications in the mid 70s. I was bowled over by Eisner’s artistry as well as advanced utilize of sequential narrative however likewise by the enormous emotional punch these stories seemed to pack into a short seven pages. Whether it was humor, romance, pathos or irony, I discovered a depth of character as well as resonance that seemed to be missing from the mainstream comics of the day. I can honestly state The Spirit altered my perceptions of a comics creator as well as made me consciously conscious of the artistry included in rendering these tales. I’m a comics artist as well as writer today since of will Eisner as well as The Spirit. As a result of my reverence for the property, I at very first stated “No” when Dynamite offered me the possibility to compose an all-new relaunch in honor of the character’s 75th anniversary. however both Dynamite publisher Nick Barrucci as well as their Editor-in-Chief Joe Rybandt were both persistent in getting me on board; “We believe you’re perfect for this gig!” Eventually, they broke with my resistance as well as now I’m happy they did.

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Westfield: When many traditional characters get a new series, they are updated to the present day. Why did you choose to have the series set in the 1940s?

Wagner: I’ve done a hold of other period characters for Dynamite over that past a number of years (Zorro, eco-friendly Hornet, The Shadow) as well as in each as well as every case, I’ve selected to set the narrative in the original time period. Not that I don’t comprehend the impulse to try as well as update these traditional storylines. however part of what appeals to me is the historical zeitgeist that led to the development of that specific hero. What aspects integrated to create that kind of depiction? In recent years, DC Comics published a series that ret-conned The Spirit into a contemporary time-frame. I believed that was a valiant effort as well as can see why they attempted it, however I’m quite firm about grounding traditional pop culture characters in the eras in which they were created. So, my story arc takes location in the late 40s, after The Spirit has been operating in central City for some time.

Will Eisner’s The Spirit #1 Eric Powell Cover

Westfield: What can visitors look ahead to in the story as well as who are a few of the characters they’ll meet?

Wagner: This storyline goes against the grain of what had always been the province of Eisner’s work on The Spirit—the short story format. I figured that will quite much covered the entire gambit of narrative possibilities in seven page increments so I decided to go with a year-long, constant storyline to try as well as strike some new ground in the character’s prolonged history. Additionally, the longer story style provides me the chance to both introduce new visitors to the characters in addition to present all the familiar aspects to long time fans. The Spirit always displayed a incredibly wide variety of emotional tone, whatever from humor as well as romance to pathos as well as irony…so I’m trying to strike a balance of something that’s not totally humorous as well as not totally dramatic. Additionally, the longer story arc provides me the possibility to introduce new visitors to The Spirit so of program we’re going to see his supporting cast of characters as well. Commissioner Dolan, Ellen, Ebony as well as Sammy are all on hand…as well as a choice our hero’s rogues gallery as well as his roster of deadly femme fatales.

Sammy character design

Ebony character style by Dan Schkade

Westfield: Is there a character in the series you’ve discovered you’re truly enjoying writing?

Wagner: Well, I’ve taken on the task of trying to redefine the questionable character of Ebony who, of course, was originally depicted in the basic racial themes of the day that are now rightly seen as insulting as well as charicaturish. That’s been a bit of a difficulty to not veer as well far from the original version to ensure that he’s still recognizable to longtime readers. The other characters are all fun as well, though. I just completed a script wherein I got to use one of The Spirit’s traditional villainsas well as that was a blast!

The Spirit character design

Westfield: What about The Spirit makes him still strike a chord with today’s readers?

Wagner: I’d have to state it’s the resonating echo of will Eisner’s outstanding artistry as well as strong innovation. As a strip, The Spirit was ground-breaking in every regard as well as the language of exactly how to tell a comic-book story that Eisner established as well as honed is still being utilized by each of every one of we creators who complied with in his footsteps. But, in addition, The Spirit himself is a character full of such appeal as well as perseverance, integrated with a strong sense of moral clearness (that didn’t always follow what “The Law” demanded)…that’s a combination that speaks to any type of generation!

Commissioner Dolan character design

Ellen character design

Westfield: You’re working with artist Dan Schkade on the book. What can you state about your partnership with him?

Wagner: We went with a great deal of possible artists looking for the right match on this one. Eisner’s unique blend of narrative style proved to be difficult to replicate by contemporary comics’ standards. And, to be frank, we just can’t “do” Eisner in this case. You can’t recreate a master’s touch…but you can seek to honor his tradition with a style as well as tone of which we hope he would approve. We had samples done by many, many artists who were incredibly talented…but just as well grounded in the high-realism, action style that’s so prominent these days. The Spirit demands a lighter touch than that; not all-out cartoony, however with a sense of simplicity as well as style…an almost animated quality. Dan’s a young, up-and-coming artist as well as was given my interest by my son Brennan. Dan’s simple style as well as strong graphics truly integrated to bring the right mix that we’d discovered missing in so many other contributors. Brennan is likewise coloring the series as well as I like the improved richness that his hues give Dan’s stark renderings. They make a perfect team as well as truly compliment each other’s talents in every way. Now, all that said, Dan’s a young skill and, as Art director on the book, I’m frequently offering recommendations on exactly how to much better accomplish a look that complements the material as well as yet stays true to his own unique vision. Dan lives right here in Portland, so we’re able to really get together in person to evaluation as well as discuss the art. We’ve been doing so on a once-a-week basis since our production on the series began. In fact, we had lunch with Brennan just yesterday as well as then rendezvoused at Brennan’s studio to lay-out his art for the very first problem on a big seminar table. It’s all turning out terrific as well as I’m anxious for people to see it!

Will Eisner’s The Spirit #1 Alex Ross membership Cover

Westfield: any type of closing comments?

Wagner: just that this won’t be a simple retread of all the Spirit stories we’ve seen before. My goal was to honor Eisner’s legacy…while still adding a number of considerable as well as original aspects to this iconic character’s outstanding history. Hopefully, new as well as old visitors alike will appreciate our efforts!

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Will Eisner’s The Spirit #1