The pages above by the master of comics Will Eisner appeared in the pornographic magazine National Screw, an attempt by publisher Al Goldstein to broaden the marketplace appeal of his long-running hardcore opinion paper Screw Magazine. One of the things that the work of Will Eisner in the 70's and 80's did for me was to inform how comics could function if aimed at an adult audience. Now folks might consider a prurient magazine like National Screw only "adult" in the limited way the term is used for pornographic materials, but what adult really means when visited by a man of Eisner's perspective and talent is the use of the medium to say something important. The pages of "Will Eisner's The Gleeful Guide to The Qualities of Life" above will no doubt offend many, but that's what proper satire ought to do and it seems clear to me that it's the attitudes that Eisner is seemingly supporting or expressing in this work which the piece is actually pointing to with derision and mocking.
Will Eisner produced a number of "Gleeful Guides" to life in the modern era, or at least those parts of it on the fringes of what was once dubbed the counter-culture and beyond. All were published by Poorhouse Press.
Given how reckless my federal government has been the past few months, paying my taxes stings a lot more. I might legally be required to pay for this nonsense, but I sure don't approve of it.
Great stuff most of this is new to me. Some wonderful cartooning in these pages. The National Screw work is certainly of its time.
ReplyDelete"Of its time" is a great way to describe it.
DeleteSome nice surprises here, especially his stuff from National Screw. Not very PC, but I think they're a riot.
ReplyDeletePC can go jump -- good is good.
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