Piracy in 1974

I may not have mentioned it before, but I have always been fascinated by pirates. Like many boys I read Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island as a child and eagerly watched any pirate movie that happened to be on televison. With regards to pirates, however, one year in my childhood stands out most clearly in mind: 1974. I don't know if there actually was more pirate related merchandise in 1974, but it certainly seemed that way to me.

Indeed, at least two different companies came out with pirate action figures. One was Mego, which brought out a small line they called the World's Greatest Super Pirates. The line included three figures: Blackbeard, Captain Patch, Jean LaFitte, and Long John Silver. Unlike their ever popular World's Greatest Superheroes line, Mego never produced any playsets to go with their pirate action figures.

That same year, Matchbox, better known for miniature cars, came out with a series of pirate action figures as part of their Fighting Furies series. Initially it consisted of two figures, Captain Hook and Captain Peg Leg. Eventually they added other figures: Ghost of Cap'n Kidd and Captain Blood. Two different playsets were sold in connection with the Fighting Furies line, although both were called the Sea Fury. The one sold at every store except Sears was basically just a vinyl ship that also served as a case. The other, sold exclusively through Sears, was a fully equipped toy ship. Matchbox produced a large number of accessory kits to go with the action figures, from the Hooded Falcon Adventure set to Cap'n Kidd's Treasure. Unfortunately, neither Mego nor Matchbox saw much success with their pirate figures. As far as I know, the World's Greatest Super Pirates lasted only one year. The pirates of the Fighting Furies (there was a Western series) managed to last into 1975.

In 1972 MPC released a series of model kits based on Walt Disney's Pirates of the Carribean ride. Seven kits were released in all--five in 1972 and two more in 1974. The models featured such titles as "Hoist High the Jolly Roger" and "Dead Men Tell No Tales." I have to admit that I am surprised that they did not reissue the kits in the wake of the success of Pirates of the Carribean: the Curse of the Black Pearl. Of course, pirates were nothing new to MPC. They had long been making plastic toy pirates, along with their plastic soldiers, knights, and cowboys.

Speaking of the Pirates of the Carribean ride, I have to wonder that, if there were more pirate related toys in the mid-Seventies, it wasn't due to the popularity of that ride. It opened on March 18, 1967 and soon became one of Disneyland's most popular attractions. Indeed, the apparent popularity of pirates in the mid-Seventies may have started in the late Sixties. While people were buying tickets in Disneyland for Pirates of the Carribean, 1969 a pirate themed fast food restaurant opened--Long John Silver's Fish 'n' Chips. I first became aware of Long John Silvers in the mid-Seventies when they would advertise on the St. Louis and Kansas City TV channels. I remember that they used pirate characters in their commercials. I have no idea why they ceased using pirates in their commercials, as those commercials held my interest much better than the generic ones they use today!

As I said, I don't know if there were more pirate related items available in 1974 or if I just took more notice of them. Regardless, it helped fuel a fascination with pirates that has stuck with me for the rest of my life. To this day I must confess to fantasies of unfurling the sails on fast ship and hoisting the Jolly Roger...

Two Great Actresses

This week two great actreses passed on. One was Virginia Mayo, the gorgeous blonde who was equally adept at both comedy and drama. She died on January 15 at age 84 from pneumonia and heart failure after an extended illness.

Virginia Mayo was born on November 30, 1920 to an well established St. Louis family. Her father was a newspaper reporter. She took dance lessons at her aunt's dance studio starting when she was six years old. Following high school, Mayo joined the St. Louis Municipal Opera. Mayo toured with the musical comedy act "Pansy and the Horse," then joined Billy Rose's revue at the Diamond Horseshoe. It was there that Samuel Goldwyn spotted her and signed her to a contract.

She received her first big break in film starring opposite Bob Hope in The Princess and the Pirate in 1944. She would go onto star opposite Danny Kaye in a number of films, among them Wonder Man, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Kid from Brooklyn, and A Song is Born. It was during this period that she took a dramatic turn in The Best Years of Our Lives.

Following her years at Goldwyn Studios, Mayo signed with Warner Brothers. It was there that she made one of her best films, White Heat, with James Cagney. She also starred in a number of costume movies, among them Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N, The Iron Mistress, and King Richard and the Crusaders. Of course, she continued making comedies, one of her famous coming from this period--She's Working Her Way Through College.

On stage Mayo appeared in everything from Hello Dolly to Butterflies are Free.

Mayo continued to work throughout the Sixties, appearing in such films as Castle of Evil and Fort Utah, as well as guest starring in such TV series as Burkes Law. She made her last film appearance in The Man Next Door in 1997.

Virginia Mayo has always been one of my favourite actress. She was a striking beauty, with natural blonde and big green eyes. While her beauty was her most obvious quality, however, Virginia Mayo was also a very talented actress. She was equally at home in both comedy and drama. Her talent also transcended genres, as she made everything from comedies to medieval epics to Westerns to dramas. It truly saddens me to hear of her passing.

The other great actress who has passed on was Ruth Warrick. Warrick was best known for her long run on All My Children, but to tell the truth, I did not even know she played in a soap opera until I read her obituary. I have always thought of her as Charles Foster Kane's first wife. She also died January 15, from pneumonia at age 88.

Like Mayo, Ruth Warrick was a native Missourian, born in St. Joseph, Missouri. After graduating from the University of Kansas City, she went to New York City where he joined Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Naturally, her film debut was then in Citizen Kane, as Kane's first wife Emily Norton Kane. Warrick would go onto star in several other notable films, among them The Corsican Brothers, Journey into Fear, and Song of the South. On television guest starred on Studio One, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, and Daniel Boone. She was a regular on The Guiding Light, Father of the Bride, Peyton Place, As the World Turns, and All My Children. She continued to make movies, such as The Great Bank Robbery. She also appeared on stage in the musicals Take Me Along and Irene.

While I must admit to being ignorant of much of Warrick's television work, I also admired her performances in such films as Citizen Kane Journey into Fear, and The Corsican Brothers. Sadly, I always thought Warrick was underused in film. With her talent it seems to me that she should have made many more movies than she did. Regardless, she was very skilled, playing the gracious Mrs. Kane in Citizen Kane and alcoholic in One Two Many. I have to say that her death does make me sad.

Advertising Slogans

Advertising has probably been around for as long as there have been merchants with goods to sell. In the ruins of Pompeii, archaeologists found advertisements for various wares engraved into the walls of the city; however, it was with the advent of printing that advertising really took off. By the 17th century advertisements were a regular part of the English newspaper. The demand for advertising grew as the economies of the United States and United Kingdom did. It was for that reason that in 1843 the first advertising agency, Volney Palmer, was opened in Philadelphia. Naturally, among the advertising agencies' tools is the advertising slogan.

An advertising slogan is simply a short slogan which is meant to promote a product. Ideally, an advertising slogan should help the consumer remember the product, not to mention distiguish the product from other similar products (say, Coke from Pepsi for instance). It must be noted that the best advertising slogans usually bring to mind the brand they are promoting any time that they are mentioned. "Fly the friendly skies" immediately brings to mind United Airlines. "The King of Beers" brings to mind Budweiser.

Of course, while advertising slogans are meant to be memorable, some are more memorable than others. I sometimes believe that Coca-Cola has been responsible for more memorable advertising slogans than any other company. One of its most famous slogans was "The pause that refreshes," coined in 1929. The slogan may have taken its inspiration from an earlier 1924 slogan, "Pause and refresh yourself." Coca-Cola's other famous slogan, "The Real Thing," from 1970, also had its roots in an earlier slogan. In that case, it was "It's the real thing" from 1943.

Of course, Coca-Cola is not the only carbonated soft drink to have catchy slogans. Seven-Up has been the Uncola since 1967. A & W Root Beer has been "that frosty mug sensation" for many years now. Curiously, it seems to me that Coke's rival, Pepsi, has always had a problem developing memorable slogans. The only one I can remember is "the Pepsi Generation," a slogan they adopted in 1964, and I think that is only because they insisted on repeating it in one form or another for literally years.

The best advertising slogans do last literally for years. The New York Times has touted that it has "all the news that's fit to print" since 1896. Morton Salt has used the slogan "When it rains, it pours" since 1911. Maxwell House Coffee has been "good to the last drop" since 1915. FTD has been encouraging people to "Say it with flowers" since 1917. And Wheaties has been "the breakfast of champions" since the Thirties.

Even when a company stops using a particular slogan, it may well persist in the public's minds. Kentucky Fried Chicken touted itself as "Finger lickin' good" beginning in 1952, yet, while they long ago abandoned that slogan, it is the one that people tend to think of when they about Kentucky Fried Chicken. For all that M&Ms might proclaim that "Chocolate tastes better in colour," most people probably think of the slogan "M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand (started all the way back in 1954)" when they think of the brand. General Electric abandoned the slogan "G.E. We bring good things to life!" in 2002, but more people probably associate it with the company than other slogans.

It also seems to me that often a company is lucky to get one classic slogan (Coke must be very lucky). In 1971 the classic slogan "You deserve a break today" was used to promote McDonalds. To this day, people still associate it with the brand. And yet the past few years have seen a succession of, in my humble opinion, some rather lame slogans used to promote McDonalds: "We love to see you smile," "Smile," and, worst yet, "I'm Lovin' It." One thing I can say about Burger King; they have never wholly given up on the classic "Have it your way..."

I have often pondered why companies sometimes change their advertising slogans. I would suppose it is to keep up with the changing times, to give the appearance they are still "hip (I don't even know if it is hip to say "hip" anymore...)." As I see it, however, it might be best to simply find a good slogan that the public remembers and stick with it. Everyone thinks of Wheaties when they hear "the Breakfast of Champions." "Leave the driving to us" brings to mind Greyhound Bus Lines. Can anyone tell me the product that was promoted with the words "Generation Next?" That was Pepsi Cola's slogan from 1997. I doubt anyone will remember that slogan 60 years from now...

The Dime Store

There was a time when the dime store loomed large in American pop culture. The movies Five and Ten, Alice Adams, and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean all involved dime stores to one degree or another. An old song proclaimed "I found a million dollar baby in a five and ten cent store." The dime store was as much a part of the main streets of American towns as the drug store or barber shop.

For those of you who are too young to remember, a dime store was a store which sold a wide array of inexpensive items. Dime stores carried everything from toys to clothing to jewellery to candy. Many items would be priced at five or ten cents, hence the dime store's many synonyms. Dime stores were also called "five and dime stores," "five and ten cent stores," or, more simply, the "five and ten." They were also called "variety stores," due to the fact that they carried a wide variety of merchandise. Dime stores differed from department stores in one important way. Quite simply, dime stores were decidedly downscale from the average department store.

The origins of the dime store can be traced back to the wholesalers Butler Brothers and a man named William Moore. Butler Brothers was founded in Boston in 1877 as a company that sold wholesale to merchants, primarily through catalogues. In 1878 the company developed the idea of a "five cent counter." The idea was that a five cent counter would be placed near the front of the store to attract customers. Customers would come into the store to buy the five cent items and would usually wind up buying some more expensive items as well.

This brings us to William Moore, who operated Augalbury and Moore's Drygoods in Watertown, NY. Among his employees was one F, W, Woolworth, the most prominent figure in dime store history. Perhaps noticing the success of other stores with five cent counters, Moore introduced one to his store. In charge he placed his young employee F. W. Woolworth. Woolworth picked out the items for the counter and was charged with restocking it. On the very first day the five cent counter sold out, so that Woolworth had to order more items for the counter. It was then that Woolworth realised that if a five cent counter could be a success, then what about an entire store filled with items for five and ten cents? Woolworth opened his first dime store in Utica, New York on February 22, 1879. Unfortunately, the store went out of business within a few months. Undeterred, Wooworth opened another store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 21, 1879. The store was a success. Indeed, by 1911 Woolworth had over a 1000 stores. By 1919 Woolworth owned the tallest building in the world, the Woolworth Building in New York City. In 1919 alone the company boasted $107 million in sales.

Woolworth was the most successful dime store chain, but it was by no means the only one. Bulter Brothers, who had set the events in motion that would lead to the development of dime stores, had been among the most successful companies in the United States. By the turn of the 19th century, they had 100,000 customers nationwide. Unfortunately, by the 1920s they had seen their business eroded by the advent of chain stores such as Woolworth. In 1927, then, Butler Brothers decided to open a chain of dime stores under the name "Ben Franklin." The Ben Franklin stores proved fairly successful. Butler Brothers sold the chain in 1959, but it continues to this day.

Another giant in dime stores was the S.S. Kresge Company. The company's beginnings go back to J. G. McCrory and Sebastian Spering Kresge. McCrory opened his first store in Memphis, Tennessee in 1896. A year later he entered into a partnership with Kresge and the two opened a store in Detroit, Michigan. In 1899 Kresge paid $3000 to McCrory and gave up his interest in the Memphis store to become the sole owner of the Detroit store. In 1900 Kresge found another partner in his brother in law Charles Wilson. Wilson was to operate store #2 in Port Huron, Michigan. By 1907, however, Wilson had tired of the business, so Kresge bought him out. It was then that S.S. Kresge Company was founded. It was incorporated in 1912, at which point its annual sales exceeded $10 million.

The stores of S. H. Kress & Company may have been better known for the architecture of their stores than their stores themselves. Samuel H. Kress in 1896 opened his first "five and ten cent store" in Memphis, Tennessee in 1896. Eventually, Kress would own 300 stores in thirty states. Their stores stood out from any other dime stores in their architecture. They were built in an art deco style, complete with curved display windows and yellow or buff coloured brick with off white trim. In the late Twenties and Thirties, the architectural division of S. H. Kress & Company had about l00 people in its employ, all to design stores. In 1965 the Kress chain was taken over by Genesco Inc. In 1980 Genesco liquidated the company, making Kress one of the first giants of dime stores to fall.

Of course, there were many other smaller chains. TG&Y was a chain of variety stores that was at one time found across the Midwest. It was named for its three founders: Don Thompson, Les Gosselin, and Raymond A. Young. The stores once covered much of Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and other parts of the western Midwest.

I can remember that Moberly boasted three dime stores at one point. I remember the old Woolworth store from when I was fairly young. I can't remember if it had a lunch counter, as many Woolworth stores did (I think it may have), but I can remember the rest of the layout to some degree. The toy aisles were towards the middle of the store. At the very back was the pets section. There was also a Ben Franklin store in Moberly, as well as one in Salisbury. The Ben Franklin stores were more nondescript than Woolworth stores, although I seem to recall that their toy aisles were towards the back. I have better memories of TG&Y. It opened in 1972 and remained open until I was a young adult in the early eighties. Indeed, I remember Burt Ward (Robin on the old Batman TV show) was there for the store opening (I still have his autograph). Naturally, I remember that the toy section was near the middle of the store. Clothes were towards the right and the records and tapes (yes, we didn't have CDs back then) were towards the left, outer edge of the store.

Dime stores are a rare thing today, although they still exist. And arguably, the "dollar store" is their direct descendent. Ironically, the demise of the dime stores grew out of the dime stores themselves. In 1950 a man named Sam Walton opened a Ben Franklin franchise in Bentonville, Arkansas under the name "Walton Five and Ten." Walton went onto found other Ben Franklin franchises. Eventually he fell upon the idea of buying goods wholesale and selling them at discount prices. Walton tried convincing the Ben Franklin chain that his approach was valid to no avail. As a result, Walton decided to strike out on his own. In 1962, in Rogers, Arkansas, the first WalMart was opened.

During this same period, Harry B. Cunningham, president of S.S. Kresge Company as of 1959, set his corporation on a new course. In the years following World War II, competition increased in the world of retailing. Studying various discount stores, Cunningham struck upon the idea of Kmart, a discount chain which would be owned and operated by S.S. Kresge Company. The first Kmart store opened in Garden City, Michigan in 1962, to be followed by seventeen more stores that same year.

One need look no further than the history of Kmart for the fate of the dime store. By 1977, a mere 15 years after the first KMart had opened, KMart stores accounted for 95% of all sales for S.S. Kresge Company. That same year the name of the company was changed to Kmart Corporation. In 1987 the remaining Kresge stores were sold to McCrory Corporation (the company founded by Kresge's old business partner, J. G. McCrory). By 1992 McCrory Corporation would file for bankruptcy. Others also suffered Kresge's fate. Woolworth, the giant of dime stores, would go out of business in 1997. Ben Franklin has survived, but only by changing from a dime store chain to a craft store chain. Unfortunately, the competition from the discount stores such as WalMart and Kmart drove many of the dime stores out of business.

Of course, there are still dime stores in existence. Some are mom and pop operations. Others are run by small, regional chains. Arguably, the dollar stores such as Family Dollar, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree could be considered the descendent of the dime store, although most do not carry the variety of merchandise as sold at the old dime stores. For myself, the demise of the dime is regrettable. Many of the old dime stores (particuarly those belonging to the Kress chain) were beautiful art deco buildings with stylised windows and signs. The interiors of the stores were cozier than the typical WalMart or Kmart. Indeed, it seems to me that items were easier to find in Woolworth than they are our local WalMart. Another superior feature of the dime stores is that, unlike WalMart and Kmart, check out stations were scattered throughout the store (just like the old department stores). One did not have to make his or her way all the way to the front of a store just to pay for an item.

I suppose that with the success of dollar stores it is possible that the dime store could make a comeback in a new form. Unfortunately, I can't see Dollar General adding a lunch counter any time soon or Family Dollar adopting art deco designs for their stores...

Lost

Last year, at the beginning of the television season, I stated that the word for this season was "bland." For the most part I stand by that. For the most part the shows that debuted this television season have been derivative and unremarkable. Little did I know that there would be one exception to the overall banality of this year's TV offerings, a show simply called Lost.

When I first heard the premise for Lost, I thought it sounded utterly preposterous. For one thing, with today's technology it seems impossible that a plane load of people could remain stranded on an island very long. For another, I thought that a show about people stranded on an island would run out of stories to tell pretty rapidly, unless they played it for laughs (and that has been done before--the classic Gilligan's Island). Little did I know that creator J. J. Abrams had more in mind than a TV version of Robinson Crusoe with more characters.

Indeed, there is more to Lost than meets the eye. Abrams has left many questions to be answered, not the least of which is what caused the plane to crash and exactly where our castaways are. Why don't the compasses point to where north should be? How did John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) miraculously start walking after the crash, when he had been in a wheel chair before? What is the mysterious beastie that stalks the island's jungles? One thing seems clear. This island is like no other. In fact, it might not even be in this reality...

Much of the success of Lost can be attributed to its large and fine cast. Dominic Monaghan (Merry from the Lord of the Rings movies) is perfect as Charlie, the good hearted rock star who is recovering from a heroin addiction. Josh Holloway is all too convincing as Sawyer, the bad guy in the group who always looking to make a quick buck. Perhaps the best performance is given by veteran Terry O'Quinn as the mysterious John Locke, the man who seems to know literally everything.

If Lost has one flaw, it is Abrams' tendency to telegraph his foreshadowing. The perfect example is from the pilot episode. People keep walking in front of the plane's turbines, which are still spinning. It doesn't take much for even a none too bright viewer to realise that sooner or later someone will get sucked into the turbine (and they do...).

For the most part, however, Lost is an enjoyable ride. Even when one starts thinking that the show is a bit far fetched, the show soon traps them once more. Lost is an enthralling show to watch. And the single bright spot in an otherwise dull season.

The 300 Spartans

My DVD of The 300 Spartans arrived from Amazon.Com today. I seem to recall seeing it as a child. I know I saw it a few years ago on TCM. Naturally, I watched it again tonight.

The 300 Spartans is based on the battle of Thermopylae, recounted in Herodotus's Histories. It was at the pass of Thermopylae that King Leonidas of Sparta and 300 Spartans fought King Xerxes of Persia and his absolutely vast army (Herodotus estimates 3.4 million; modern historians number his forces at anywhere from 25.000 to 300.000). Although Leonidas and his are ultimately defeated, they delayed Xerxes long enough for the rest of Greece to gather enough forces to defeat the Persians.

The 300 Spartans was one of the last sword and sandal epics, released by Twentieth Century Fox in 1962. Beyond Richard Egan and Sir Ralph Richardson, some of the acting is a bit stilted. Some of the battle scenes seem rather disorganised at times, not quite what one would expect of two highly trained forces of soldiers. And an entirely unneccessary romance is introduced into the plot. But don't let these shortcomings deceive you. The 300 Spartans is one of those movies that is greater than the sum of its parts.

First, The 300 Spartans is one of the few historical movies that remains somewhat loyal to its source material. The plot more or less follows Herodotus' tale of the battle, with only a few departures from the text. This is remarkable for any movie based on a historical event, even those made today. Second, while some of the battle scenes could have used better choreography, there are others that are absolutely brilliant. The final showdown between the Spartans and their Persian enemies is appropriately dramatic and accomplishes much without the benefit of a big budget or special effects. Third, both Richard Egan and Sir Ralph Richardson give stellar performances. Indeed, Egan has some of the best lines from any movie, particularly the line "Today we will fight in the shade," in response to Persian claims that their arrows will blot out the sun (the line is straight from Herodotus!). Fourth, the film is beautifullly shot. It has some fine cinematography.

The average film goer today probably has not heard of The 300 Spartans, which is unfortunate. While the film does not match Spartacus, it is superior to many other sword and sandal movies. And it tells one of the most compelling stories straight from the pages of history.

The Late, Great Will Eisner

On January 3, 2005, perhaps the greatest legend in comic books died. Will Eisner died at age 87 following quadruple bypass heart surgery in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Eisner not only created numerous comic book and comic strip characters (the most famous of which was probably The Spirit), but also changed the shape of comic books and introduced the concept of the graphic novel. Most importantly, perhaps more than any other single creator, he argued for the acceptance of comic books and comic strips as genuine works of art.

Will Eisner was born in Brooklyn, NY on March 6, 1917. He attended high school at De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where Bob Kane (the creator of Batman) was one of his classmates. Eisner was 19 when he sold his first work to Wow What a Magazine! There he created two features, Harry Karry and The Flame (later renamed Hawks of the Sea).

Wow What a Magazine! folded after four issues, after which Eisner entered into a partnership with friend Jerry Iger to form the Eisner-Iger studio. The Eisner-Iger studio was the first of its kind, a studio dedicated to generating comic strips both for newspapers and the new medium of comic books. The studio employed many artists who would later become famous: Jack Kirby, Lou Fine, and Bob Kane. The Eisner-Iger Studio produced strips for such comic book publishers as Fiction House, Quality Comics, and Fox Publications. It was at the studio that Eisner co-created Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, with Jerry Iger.

Eisner parted ways with Iger in 1939 for a deal with Quality Comics. There Eisner created some of the most enduring comic book characters: Doll Man (one of the earliest superheros and the first with shrinking powers), Uncle Sam, Blackhawk, The Black Condor (co-created with Lou Fine), and The Ray (also co-created with Lou Fine). It was Quality Comics that would lead to his most enduring creation. Everett M. Arnold, Quality's publisher, had struck upon the idea of producing comic book like inserts to be placed in Sunday newspapers. Arnold asked Eisner to develop a comic strip for these inserts. The strip that Eisner created was The Spirit.

The Spirit was criminologist Denny Colt. Mistakenly thought dead after an attempt on life, Colt used his supposed death to his advantage, assuming the identity of The Spirit to fight crime. It was in the pages of The Spirit that Eisner introduced Lady Luck, one of the earliest female costumed characters. She soon got her own comic strip.

The Spirit proved very successful, so that naturally the newspaper strips were reprinted in Quality comic books. Eisner's original run on The Spirit ended in 1942 when he was draughted. Eisner was stationed in Washington D. C. where he practised his art in the service of his country. He created "Joe Dope," a comic strip through which Jeep maintenace was taught to servicemen. He also edited the army journal Firepower.

Demobilised in 1946, Eisner returned to The Spirit. For the next four years Eisner took The Spirit where no comic strip or comic book had been before. Rather than supervillains, The Spirit fought petty hoodlums and cheap criminals. Eisner's style became more cinematic, with unsual angles and panel shapes. His stories became epic in length. Effectively, The Spirit became one of the few adult strips around.

Eisner left The Spirit in 1950 to found the American Visual Corporation, which produced various magazines and manuals. His creation, The Spirit, now in others' hands, ended in 1952.

Eisner may well have been forgotten by all but comic book and comic strip fans had it not been for Jules Feiffer. In 1965, The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer was published. The Great Comic Book Heroes was not only a nostalgic look back at the Golden Age superheroes, but the first book to examine the medium with any amount of seriousness. Feiffer singled Eisner out for praise and included, among the other comic book stories reprinted in the book, one featuring The Spirit. Soon Eisner found himself deluged with requests for The Spirit's return.

Eisner wrote new Spirit stories for much of the Seventies. In 1978 Einser invented the graphic novel with the publication of A Contract with God. In fact, it was Eisner who coined the term "graphic novel." Thereafter Eisner produced at least one graphic novel each year.

Will Eisner was among the earliest proponets of comic books as a literary form. While many of his contemporaries in the Thirties were wanting to break into magazine illustration, Eisner was already looking at the comic book as an artform. He wrote the book Comics & Sequential Art in which he outlined the principles telling stories in comic books. Besides expressing his own ideas and theories on the artform, Eisner argues for its acceptance as an artform. Eisner wrote another book, Graphic Storytelling, which expands upon the ideas he expressed in Comics & Sequential Art.

Eisner was respected as an innovator in the field of comic books. Aside from the many important characters he had created, he had revolutionised the field. Eisner was the first artist to use panels with no dialogue or even thought balloons in which a character's facial expression showed how he or she felt. Einser was the first to address serious issues in the form of a comic book. He was the first to vary panel size, angles, and even lettering to suit the story at hand. With Iger he was the first to establish a comic strip studio. And as pointed out, he also invented the graphic novel. Is it any wonder that the comic book industry's equivalent of the Oscar or the Emmy is called the Eisner?

As a comic book fan, it is impossible to estimate the influence Will Eisner has had on my life. I read The Spirit as a child, as well as stories featuring other characters he had created. As an adult I read his grahpic novels, as well as Comics & Sequential Art. Even had I read nothing written and drawn by Eisner, it would be hard to escape his influence. Virtually every comic book, every graphic novel published today shows his influence in some way. It is for that reason that I am very saddened by his passing. It means that Plot, to be published later this year, will be his last work. It is doubtful that comic books will ever see one as great as Eisner.