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Will Eisner's comic characters in P.S. magazine offered
tips essential for troubleshooting Army equipment that
Command Sgt. Maj. Toese J. Tia Jr. has never forgotten.
Tia, the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground Garrison's
senior enlisted leader, shared memories of Eisner's artwork
and its impact on Soldiers during a March 5 museum launch of
an exhibit at Geppi's Entertainment Museum in Baltimore that
focuses on the famous cartoonist's contribution to the Army.
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Will Eisner designed artwork, like this 1959 cover for PS Magazine, for 21 years. (U.S. Army courtesy photo)
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"We had a very important spot for our P.S. magazines and it was
part of our battle rhythm monthly as we received the new P.S.
magazine," Tia said, recalling his service as a young mechanic at
Fort Riley, Kansas, in the late 1980s. "We had to familiarize
ourselves and use it as a reference. We found it to be very
effective."
The "Will's War" exhibit honors Eisner's use of
comics to educate and inform Soldiers. The exhibit includes 21
framed pieces of Eisner's work, much of it part of Benjamin
Herzberg's collection. Herzberg, a Will Eisner expert who once
worked with the artist, organized the panel discussion.
Creator of "The Spirit," a comic superhero, Eisner was drafted in
1942 and went to APG for basic training, Herzberg said.
"He
was already very well known. He was in the Baltimore Sun," Herzberg
said. "So they put him on the post newspaper, "The Flaming Bomb."
At APG, Eisner created characters Private Dog Tag and Joe Dope.
And he came up with a novel idea -- use comics to teach Soldiers
about preventive maintenance. Eisner developed "Army Motors"
magazine in World War II and later "P.S., The Preventive Maintenance
Monthly."
APG Garrison 1st Sgt. Richard Bernard recalled how
researchers from P.S. once asked him how to maintain protective
masks, a topic later featured in comic form. Bernard said he has
turned to P.S. for tips for 22 years.
"It's captivated me
enough to retain a lot of information that would not have been
gained from a boring [technical manual]," Bernard said. "This
targets the audience it needs to target."
Eisner's audience
was the "Soldiers who have busted knuckles, greasy oily grimy hands,
worn coveralls and scuffed boots … the Soldiers who keep the Army's
equipment ready," said Jonathan Pierce, the current editor of P.S.
magazine.
"Rarely has art and the written word been so well
blended," Pierce said. "Will Eisner showed that content and
sequential art complement one another."
Now, P.S. will become a mobile app with interactive features,
Pierce said. The conversion is rooted in the same principle as when
Eisner created the magazine in the early 1950s.
"Get Soldiers
where they are at. Deliver to it to them in a format that they find
interesting," Pierce said. "We'll continue to have our contract
artists draw the magazine; it's just going to be on the mobile app."
Daniel Boehm, a government civilian with the U.S. Army Medical
Research Institute of Chemical Defense at APG, recalled always
reading P.S. at the motor pool when he served in uniform.
Now
a self-proclaimed comic nerd, Boehm and his son attended the exhibit
launch. He said learning about the Eisner legacy was interesting, as
was hearing about the new P.S. app.
"They are trying to
remain on the cutting edge with technology, where it seems the
trends are going," Boehm said.
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Will Eisner designed artwork like the ones on the pages of this 1959
PS Magazine. Will Eisner would have turned 100 in 2017. (U.S. Army photo
by Rick Scavetta)
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The museum's collection includes more than 6,000 items,
from the 19th century to the present day. There are toys,
posters, unique art and memorabilia. More than 1,000 comic
books on display include the first Superman and the first
Batman comics and several original Eisner Spirit comics.
The Eisner exhibit opened the same day as the museum's
Batman exhibit, according to Michael Solof, the museum's exhibits and
collections manager.
"Will Eisner only drew Batman two
times," Solof said. "So it's amazing that we got one to show."
This year is Aberdeen Proving Ground's centennial year and would
also be Will Eisner's 100th birthday, Tia said. He added that the
Army's priority of readiness sparked Eisner's efforts, and he leaves
a legacy in the generations of Soldiers who benefited.
"Down
the road, when I reflect, I can say I served where Will Eisner was,
walked the same [path]. I'm part of the P.S. magazine development,"
Tia said. "At one time, a young Soldier like me read that magazine.
Now, I'm here as a command sergeant major looking at the same
magazine 27 years later. That's pretty remarkable."
By Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground
Army News Service
Copyright 2017
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