CULT

Published: 2009 - November/December, ZOOM

Will Eisner and New York
The stories of the city, its spaces and the people who are living in it discover a beautiful form of representation in the comic books designed by Will Eisner, one of the greatest American authors who in 1987 was awarded an eponymous prize dedicated to the art that tells stories using drawing. Eisner was born in New York in 1917 and died in 2005. He has made a significant contribution to the evolution of American comics, introducing graphic choices who have had the ability to communicate to its readers an effective perception of the characters’ actions and feelings, often in close contact with the boroughs of the Big Apple. The City of New York, for example, is the center of all the events present in “Spirit”, a hero without superpowers. ‘Spirit’ was born in 1940 and is responsible for making Eisner and his ‘pencil’ famous, as well as getting closer to the ‘graphic novel’ genre. One of Eisner’s other most successful stories is “A Contract with God”, published in 1978 and focused on the tale of a marginal Jewish immigrant and his relationship with God. In this story, Eisner proposes one of the predominant traits of his style: the choice of putting the spotlight on his characters, with the aim of characterizing human and emotional experiences and giving the readers a perception of the areas in which the story takes place. In “A Contract with God”, in particular, the Bronx “gets closer” to the readers and the comic ends to provide a real insight into not only the territoriality of the city but also of its personality and of those who choose to live there.

Venice videogaming
A mysterious murder among fireworks, dancing and indiscreet glances at the Venetian Carnival. These are the first images of “Assassin’s Creed II”, the video game available from November, developed by the French firm Ubisoft and set in Venice and Florence during the Renaissance, using the atmosphere of intrigue and corruption of the era for a plot in which Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, Caterina Sforza, and Lorenzo de ‘Medici take part in. The real excitement, however, is created by the reconstruction of the lagoon city, where one can freely explore the streets, bridges and fondamentas. As a result, fifteenth-century Venice gets to revive in a three-dimensional environment of outstanding graphic level. The team of 240 members (including consultants, architects and historians) who worked on the project has reconstructed in great detail the Rialto Bridge, the Canal Grande, the Basilica of San Marco, the Frari Church and the Arsenale, thus shaping a scenario that was immediately hailed as complex yet charming - capable of blending extravaganza with the necessary historical and artistic components. For example, little is known about what the Rialto Bridge looked like in the fifteenth century (it also happened to be destroyed by a fire during that period of time). The only certainty we have is that it was made out of wood, and that is why the creators used the bridge’s present day aspect and added wood on top of it in the video game. Walking through the maze of Venetian streets at night, or even taking a ride in a gondola, was once a fantasy that now becomes reality.