Will Eisner’s final book, Expressive Anatomy For Comics and Narrative, was released this week from W.W. Norton without a lot of fanfare. It would have slipped our notice had James Vance not discussed it at his blog.

Among his comments, Vance wrote, “But the reward was being allowed to pore over decades’ worth of Eisner work, concentrating on it as never before, and learning all over again just what a terrific craftsman he was. Even the pieces which I’d dismissed as lesser work revealed lovely little nuggets of compassion in the characterizations, brilliance in construction and masterful shorthand in the staging. Old school or not, at its best Will’s stuff is still among the few examples in the graphic storytelling field that’s truly for grownups.”

The book completes a series of text books by the acknowledged master of the artform and supplements his 1985 volume Comics and Sequential Art and 1996’s Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative.

Eisner, 1917-2005, was at work on the book when he had the heart surgery that surprisingly led to his death.
 

Adding to its line of big names to present their stories, Bluewater Productions has announced Roger Corman Presents. Similar to their Ray Harryhausen Presents and the just launched Vincent Price Presents, the new series, debuting in 2009 will feature all new stories based on Corman’s vast library of properties.

The first title will be Roger Corman Presents Black Scorpion which will involve co-creator Craig J. Nevius. The series will feature photo covers of Michelle Lintel, who played the character on the Sci Fi Channel series. Other properties planned for the series include Death Stalker, The Barbarian Queen, Humanoids from the Deep, and several of the horror classics based on the Edgar Allen Poe stories.

“Comic books have given me so much over the years that it’s time I gave something back to the medium,” the legendary Corman said in a release.

Corman and Nevins both imagined Black Scorpion to be a comic book after two Showtime telefilms with Joan Severence proved successful. Instead, it became a one season wonder for the Sci Fi Channel and finally, years later, is becoming a comic book.

Talent for the new series is said to include Paul Salamoff, Shon Bury, Neal Bailey, Ed Brisson & Daniel Cuchacovich while each will include interviews, behind the scene pictures and reminiscing about the titles from Corman himself.
 

Before the new television season kicks off next week, ABC is already reloading their larder with five new series.  Among them is Cupid, a revival of the one-hit wonder series from a decade ago.  Created by Veronica Mars’ Rob Thomas, it debuted on September 26, 1998 and starred Jeremy Piven as a man who might or might not be the reincarnation of the mythological Cupid.  Consigned to Earth by Zeus as punishment, he must help 100 couples romantically connect without once using his god-like powers. After a mere 15 episodes, the network axed the show. As Thomas was developing new ideas for the network, everyone kept circling back to the Cupid concept and a fresh approach was approved.

Snakes on a Plane’s Bobby Cannavale and The Spirit’s Sarah Paulson with the actress playing the psychiatrist who is treating his “delusion”.

Nathan Fillion will transition from Wisteria Lane to the Big Apple when he stars in Castle. He’s a crime novelist who winds up assisting the NYPD solve murder cases.

Alyssa Milano returns to the network, starring in Single with Parents, a sitcom about a woman struggling to handle her job, her life and parents, played by Annie Potts and Beau Bridges.

Harold Perrineau Jr. remains free from Lost’s island by starring as part of the ensemble cop series The Unusuals along with Amber Tamblyn, Jeremy Renner, Adam Goldberg, Kai Lennoz and Terry Kinney.
 

Canadian cartoonist Ralph Hagen will craft a new comic strip, The Barn, debuting from Creators Syndicate on October 27. The strip will concentrate on the interaction between farm animals and local humans.

Hagen, a self-taught artist, has been professionally illustrating for 31 years and has been published in a variety of outlets from The Saturday Evening Post to Reader’s Digest. He’s also done commercial illustration for numerous clients including Kraft Foods.