Gods' Man is a wordless novel by American artist Lynd Ward (1905–1985) published in 1929. In 139 captionless woodblock prints it tells the Faustian story of an artist who signs away his soul for a magic paintbrush. It was the first American wordless novel, and is seen as a precursor of, and influence on, the graphic novel. Ward first encountered the wordless novel with Frans Masereel's The Sun (1919) while studying art in Germany in 1926. He returned to the United States in 1927 and established a career for himself as an illustrator. He found Otto Nückel's wordless novel Destiny (1926) in New York City, and it inspired him to create a similar work. Gods' Man appeared a week before the Wall Street Crash of 1929; it nevertheless enjoyed strong sales and remains the best-selling American wordless novel. Its success inspired other Americans to experiment with the medium, including cartoonist Milt Gross, who parodied it in He Done Her Wrong (1930). In the 1970s Ward's example inspired cartoonists Art Spiegelman and Will Eisner to create their first graphic novels.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God%27s_Man

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

235:

Having been exiled to labor in the mines of Sardinia by Roman emperor Maximinus Thrax, Pope Pontian resigned to make the election of a new pope possible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pontian

1821:

The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain was drafted in the National Palace in Mexico City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_of_the_Mexican_Empire

1912:

Over 470,000 people from Ulster, Ireland, signed the Ulster Covenant in protest against the Third Home Rule Bill (Edward Carson pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Covenant

1972:

Against the backdrop of the Cold War, the Canadian ice hockey team defeated the Soviet team in the Summit Series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Series

2012:

War in Somalia: Somali National Army forces and their AMISOM and Raskamboni allies launched an offensive against Al-Shabaab in the latter's last major stronghold of Kismayo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kismayo_(2012)

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

medicaster: (dated, now chiefly literary) A quack doctor; someone who pretends to have medical knowledge. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/medicaster

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Things have their root and their branches. Affairs have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning.   --Confucius (孔子 · Kongzi) https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Confucius