Mark Wheatley Teams with Will Eisner for CBM Retailer Exclusive
For the conclusion of Diamond Comic Distributors Retailer Summit and for the opening of Geppi’s Entertainment Museum’s new exhibit 75 Spirited Years: Will Eisner and The Spirit on Friday, September 25, 2015 – four top creators were asked to provide their interpretations of a concept sketch that had been created by Eisner but never before finished.
One of those creators was Mark Wheatley, the Inkpot, Mucker, Gem, Speakeasy, and Eisner award-winning writer-artist perhaps best known for his successful and often cutting-edge collaborations with fellow writer-artist Marc Hempel. Wheatley will see his piece based on Eisner’s sketch featured on the cover of a limited edition of Overstreet’s Comic Book Marketplace Yearbook 2015-2016. This version will be given to retailers who attend the closing party for the Retailer Summit, which is also the official kick-off of the Eisner exhibit.
“I’m thrilled to have been asked to posthumously collaborate with Will Eisner on this project. Will’s sketch left a lot open to interpretation, but really evoked the tone of The Spirit to me,” Wheatley said.
Wheatley will sign copies of the limited edition cover at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum on Friday, September 25, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Retailers attending the opening will receive one copy each free of charge and will be able to purchase additional copies. The two standard versions of Overstreet’s Comic Book Marketplace Yearbook 2015-2016 are scheduled to go on sale at shops on October 7, 2015. The 192-page, full-color, trade paperback-size publication carries a $12.95 cover price.
“Mark Wheatley is not only a consummate professional, he’s a monumentally talented creator who also happens to know vast amounts of pop culture history, and on top of that he’s simply a great person, too. We’ve been very pleased to have him associated with the museum since before it opened, and I’m glad to see that association continue in conjunction with 75 Spirited Years: Will Eisner and The Spirit,” said Melissa Bowersox, President of Geppi’s Entertainment Museum.
Overstreet’s Comic Book Marketplace Yearbook 2015-2016 features a special look at Dean Mullaney’s Eclipse Comics, its impact on creator ownership, manga – with profiles of Scout, Fashion in Action, Mai The Psychic Girl, Winterworld and more – and looks at Mullaney’s present work with The Library of American Comics and EuroComics. Also included are interviews with Sal Buscema, Paul Ryan, Steve Epting and the late Jerry Robinson, features on Marvel-ous self-promotion in F.O.O.M. and Marvel Age, the 75th anniversaries of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, the 25th anniversary of Cable, the incredible first year of Milestone’s Static, the greatest Dinosaurs For Hire interview you never knew you needed, a look back the now-classic Impact line version of The Black Hood, the Fireside books, market reports, and much more.
“Working with Mark Wheatley is always a very rewarding process. He always delivers more than he’s asked for, and he inevitably finds a way to draw inspiration from the assignment. Of course in this case, since we were working from a concept by Will Eisner, there was plenty of inspiration!” said J.C. Vaughn, Vice-President of Publishing for Gemstone Publishing.
Mark Wheatley and Marc Hempel collaborated on Mars, Blood of the Innocent, Tarzan, Jonny Quest, Titanic Tales, and Doctor Cyborg, among other projects. They are presently at work on a fully restored and lavishly produced reissue of their critically acclaimed, best-selling graphic novel Breathtaker for Titan Comics.
On his own, Wheatley has most recently had his work for CBS Television featured on The Millers and Super Clyde, and he’s presently part of a team that is developing a live stage show featuring Dick Tracy, Tarzan, and the Green Hornet. In print his work has been featured in the acclaimed Jungle Tales Of Tarzan from Dark Horse Comics, on the cover of the Meteor House release of Exiles Of Kho, the Phillip Jose Farmer series novel by Christopher Paul Carey, and his own well received new art book, Stars, which presents elaborate line art portraits of actors, musicians, and authors. With a track record that includes Frankenstein Mobster, Radical Dreamer, Return of the Human, Hammer of the Gods, EZ Street, Skultar, and Lone Justice, he has lectured at the Library of Congress, exhibited at the Norman Rockwell Museum, created set pieces for The Black Eyed Peas, designed for Lady Gaga, and contributed designs to ABC’s Beauty and the Beast.