If you’re a Will Eisner fan, as I am, you may have thought that everything he’s done has been reprinted – from The Spirit to “A Contract With God” to his last graphic novels, including “The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” (which I reviewed in EYE #57).
Hot off the press is a lost chapter of the Eisner story, his work for the digest sized PS Magazine : The Preventive Maintenance Monthly. Abrams ComicArts has just issued excerpts from this incredible US Army fix-it guide, from 1951 – 1971. Eisner, a Warrant Officer during World War II, used his entrepreneurial skills to produce this exclusively comic pub that gave all new meaning to standard operating procedure. It was funny, bawdy at times, sexist too, but also stunning in its capacity to translate the most boring information into pure educational entertainment.
The original characters that appeared in PS, were Private Joe Dope, Private Fosgnoff, MSG Bull Dozer, Percy the Skunk, SFC Windy Windsock, SFC Macon Sparks, SFC Pablo Hablo, Half-Mast, and Connie Rodd. (Wikipedia)
I thought I’d seen everything Eisner’s studio produced. I’m glad I hadn’t. This is gold.
