The Spirit is properly held in high regard by comic book fans and professionals. The work Will Eisner and his team did on this series, which ran as a newspaper supplement for well over a dozen years was a playground for Eisner to expand on his ideas about how comic book stories could be told and also expound on themes and ideas he wanted to put forward to a more adult audience. But it was a slow build as we'll see in these earliest stories featuring the hero. The Spirit stories have been reprinted in many formats over the decades.
Quality 40's -50's
Fiction House 50's
Super Comics 60's
Harvey 60's
Kitchen Sink 70's
Warren 70's
Kitchen Sink 70's and Beyond
The Spirit material was reprinted in the 1940's and 1950's by Quality Comics and in the 1950's by Fiction House. After a long hiatus in addition to some Underground publishers, the strip was reprinted by Super Comics and then by Harvey. In the 1970's the stories were revived by Kitchen Sink and Warren, and then again at for a very long time Kitchen Sink, in both magazine and comic book and other formats. Eventually DC got hold of the property around the turn of the century and began to reprint the stories in their standardized Archives format. Let's begin with the very first volume.
The Origin of the Spirit June 2, 1940
The adventures of Denny Colt start when he decides to go after Dr. Cobra and collect a little reward money. He underestimates his quarry and ends up in a pool of strange acid which makes it appear he's dead. Declared so officially he rises from his tomb and becomes the Spirit and after informing Commissioner Dolan of the situation goes after Cobra again. This is a pretty standard comic strip at this point. It deals with crime in much the same way other comic books have done. Cobra is a mad scientist, one of countless others. Where the strip begins to set itself apart is in the byplay between Colt and Dolan -- it's the kind of dialogue one expects in a good B-movie, and that I think was Eisner intention. It is to be noted that Ebony is present in this story, but barely. There is no hint that he is anything but a one-off character playing into regrettable stereotypes of the time.
The Return of Dr. Cobra June 9, 1940
In the second Spirit story the Commissioner's daughter and her fiance are being driven by Ebony when the Spirit shows up. They later help Dr. Cobra to escape, believing his yarn about being imprisoned unfairly. He kidnaps them and puts his gang back together. The Spirit gets involved after the police instigate a feckless shootout. Dr. Cobra is confronted, and he blows himself up. Later the Spirit reveals the Ellen Dolan we come to know when he takes off her glasses and lets down her hair. She seems smitten. This is a fun follow-up but seems clearly to have more plot than the meager eight pages can hold. Eisner is using lots of very small panels to tell a lot of story. He will find the balance. No mention is made of Ellen being legally liable for Cobra's escape, but then the law is not top of mind in this strip. It is nice to see the cast we will come to love, slowly assemble.
The Black Queen June 16, 1940
The Black Queen is a sharp lawyer who gets thugs off in court. She gets Slot Gorgan off a murder charge and that means it's up to the Spirit to bring him to justice. With the help of Ebony White, the Spirit has a mock trial, and Slot confesses to the crime. Somehow that means he's up on charges again, but because the Spirit had him donate money to charity, he gets life instead of a death sentence. Once again, the law is turned its head when despite double jeopardy, Slot is tried a second time. If Eisner wasn't trying to keep the Spirit's hand's clean, he'd have found another way for Gorgan to meet justice. Ebony becomes an official part of the Spirit team when he's recruited to be his regular taxi-cab driver. The pacing in this story seemed better despite the panels still feeling a bit constricted.
Voodoo in Manhattan June 23, 1940
Ebony brings a friend to seek the Spirit's help. The Spirit helps a group which believes its meeting house is haunted. Of course it turns out it's not, but the secret of the haunting does involve actual voodoo and a bizarre villain who uses the threat of such magic to his advantage. This story makes a solid attempt to make the Spirit live up to his name. His rise from the ground in the Wildwood Cemetary setting is well done by Eisner. It's at once creepy and totally mundane when the device is explained. Gone are the chintzy headstone calling cards thank goodness. It should be noted that this one has an actual title -- "Voodoo in Manhattan" -- not something which becomes the norm.
Johnny Marston June 30, 1940
This one is all about gambling. A desperate but prideful young man named Marsten finds a windfall in the gambling halls, money much needed to help his sick wife. But the hoods who operate the gambling hall have other ideas about how he'll spend that money, if he gets to keep it at all. The Spirit has to step in to set things right. He outwits the gamblers, leads them on a merry car chase, and then tricks them into confessing to crimes they haven't even committed. This one is straight up crime, with no attempt at supernatural mystery. The Spirit is a crime buster pure and simple. He brings his wits and his fists to make justice for those who are helpless and need his assistance. The panels are still very small, especially when it came to the car chase scenes. Eisner is still adapting to his page limits. We get a little box on at the top of the first page which lays out the Spirit's origin in very brief terms.
The Black Queen's Army July7, 1940
The first of the Spirit's femme fatale's returns and this time she gathers an army of gangsters from across the country to stage an audacious robbery of the New York City Treasury Building. The police are overwhelmed by the Spirit uses his brand-new flying car to get into the city and foil the scheme. This one is filled with fisticuffs and action. Alas much of that action is at postage stamp size. This story felt like one of those over-the-top pulps or a squished-up movie serial. Action, action, action!
Mr. Midnight July 14, 1940
The strange, blue-skinned Mr. Midnight shows up at police headquarters and announces he will murder a man before their very eyes. And he does. His secret is uncovered by the Spirit who has to invade Midnight's deadly castle to capture the villain who takes the most dramatic way out. Mr. Midnight evoked Batman's Joker in many ways, though he didn't cackle. He has a strange skin and gets off on showcasing his impossible crimes with advance warning. The Spirit has a real time bringing him to justice.
Eldas Thayer July 21, 1940
The Spirit pleads with the rich Eldas Thayer to spend money to save his own niece. Rather the terminally ill Thayer schemes to die early and implicate the Spirit as his murderer. The Spirit still strives to save the girl as the police hunt him down. We see the heart of the Spirit on display in this story which ultimately ends with him being at odds with the police. He was thought dead as Denny Colt, but now he's a wanted man as the Spirit. It adds some spice to the adventures and puts Dolan in a hard spot.
Palyachi, The Killer Clown July 28, 1940
Palyachi is a clown who loves the exotic Marka, who say she will love him if he kills for her. His bloodlust is unleashed on the city and despite many murders to get wealth for Marka, she still holds him off. The crimes are a mystery to the police, but the Spirit solves them in no time with no small threat to himself. The Spirit has to solve these crimes while being hunted himself. With this splash page and the one for Mr. Midnight, we can see that Eisner is loosening up his approach to the storytelling. He's beginning to see the splash as an ad for the whole adventure. This is the first story in which the Spirit gets roughed up enough to has his shirt torn.
The Death Dolls August 4, 1940
This a weird one with a mad scientist who unleashes not only a giant robot onto the world but even more effective strange little robots. The first functions almost like a trojan horse for the latter. It's wild ride with lots of pulp roots. The entire city is under threat from bizarre little mechanical men who roam and kill at will until the Spirit is able to find a way to say the day, and still stay out of jail himself.
The Kidnapping of Daisy Kay August 11, 1940
Ellen Dolan returns when she decides to use the new-found beauty the Spirit uncovered in her first adventure to get a job on the stage under the name "Daisy Kay". She ends up working for a gangster. When her former fiance Homer Creep tries to kill the Spirit in a fit of jealousy, the latter concocts a bizarre scheme to kidnap Ellen and have Home save the day. Things get complicated. The romance between the Spirit and Ellen gets a real boost in this light-hearted romp.
The Morber Boys August 18, 1940
Four identical brothers attempt revenge on the people who convicted and executed their father twenty-five years before, thus fulfilling a pledge their mad mother extracted from them all those years ago. They get the drop on the Spirit who is only partly successful in saving the day. The Spirit is shown to be capable of making mistakes in this one. His mistakes cost lives, but he's doing his best on the edge of society to protect it. The Spirits flying car gets quite the workout in this one.
The Orphans August 25, 1940
The Spirit takes an orphan under his wing to show him that the gangs are not as glamourous as he imagines them to be. While stopping the mob the Spirit is captured and tortured, rather vividly I thought. There is almost a horror-film feel to some of the sequences. There is a bit of a twist in this one to look for. Needless to say, that by the end the moral of the story is "Crime Does Not Pay". The splash page is an iconic one, needless to say.
Orang, the Ape Man September 1, 1940
Things get really weird when we encounter Orang. He's an ape, transformed into a speaking "civilized" creature by a mad scientist who has also taken a young woman and turned her savage. The Spirit is put onto the case by the girl's father and it's all he can do to battle this new take on the classic Dr. Moreau yarn and manages to end the menace. Orang appears to have died by the end of the story, but it turns out that's not quite the case. Orang is presented as a very sympathetic character in this story, and not a monster. But that will change.
The Return of Orang the Ape that is Human! September 8, 1940
Orang returns from the dead and takes Ellen Dolan hostage. He then departs for the distant jungles where his instincts say he should live. The Spirit must follow the pair into the wilds where he's able to strip show another side of his heroic nature. We see him doff his city togs to take to the trees in a Tarzan fashion. Of course he saves Ellen, that went without saying, but what becomes of Orang is truly tragic, as this creature discovers he doesn't fit in anywhere. I assume Eisner had this in mind as a two-parter from the get-go, and it's interesting to see how Orang changes.
Ebony's X-Ray Eyes September 15, 1940
Ebony knocks over one of the Spirit's experiments and gets some of the strange fluid in his eyes and allows him to see through things. He spends a panel or two looking beneath people's clothes. but then it gets a bit more serious. A couple of hoods discover this and try to use the hapless fellow to help them break into banks. The Spirit is on the trail quickly to save Ebony the criminals who want to make us of his new-found talents. This story had a real comedic feel to it, and Eisner seems already to looking to expand his storytelling.
Gang Warfare September 22, 1940
The Spirit gets caught up in a gang war. They mob wants him to join but he'd rather fight them. Ebony gets into the act and actually is a key to how the story resolves itself. We are reminded that the Spirit is wanted by the cops, a detail which has faded somewhat. Lots of good action and the Spirit uses a machine gun to help bring the battling gangs into order. We are treated to a nifty splash page, a sign of things to come.
Oriental Agents September 28, 1940
Homer Creep returns, forlorn that Ellen has broken their engagement. At his lowest point a dame sees him and soon he's kidnapped. Soon thereafter a murder of an important international figure makes the news in the city. The Spirit is on the case having rebuffed Ellen's entreaties for him to look for Homer. Turns out Homer is the murderer. The how and the why are the essence of this short little thriller which still have some nice dashes of fun. The balance in the stories seems to be getting adjusted and the tone is starting to feel familiar.
The Mastermind Stikes! October 6,1940
The Mastermind is a mysterious criminal who is murdering by means of a bomb. The Spirit, despite being hunted by the cops, still seeks out the killer. More bombs go off and more deaths, but the Spirit has his keen eye on a real suspect. This one is a nifty tale in pace and tone, but the brevity of the story undermines the mystery as we don't really have any red herrings. We all know who done it, because there's really only one suspect. Nice mysterious image on the front gives this one a creepy feel from the beginning.
The Spirit! Who is He? October 13, 1940
The Spirit as a criminal is eliminated in this story which takes some time clear his name. A newspaper gets on the mystery of the Spirit and assigns a top reporter who begins to dig in. But the Spirit stays one step ahead, and eventually he is able to prove that Eldia Thayer committed suicide and frame him. There's some good fun in this one with disguises and false Spirits. I can only imagine see this section in an actual newspaper given its detailed splash.
Ogre Goran October 20, 1940
Ogre Goran breaks jail and plots revenge against his former girlfriend. He takes her captive and kills her boyfriend. He gets his face changed to help allude the cops, but the Spirit is onto him immediately. This one has some real tension, a dark Spirit story indeed, though one still rich in character as the strip increasingly is. I felt a little like I was watching an early Bogie thriller at times.
Conscription Bill Signed! October 27, 1940
Part of getting the Spirit cleared of murder charges was probably in anticipation of this story which sees him pitching in to help the nation during the war effort. The army decides the Spirit would best be used in counter-espionage efforts and recruits him for that purpose. As one might expect, he finds some spies to crush immediately in his patriotic story. Ebony is now considered his partner and is playing a greater role in the tales, making his mushed-mouth portrayal more and more unfortunate.
The Manly Art of Self Defense November 3, 1940
Ellen Dolan in order to get the attention of the Spirit, with whom she has fallen in love, seeks out a notorious gangster marked for death by the mob. When she finds his dead body things are only getting started. The Spirit does indeed arrive in time to save the day, but to do that he has give Ellen a shiner. This one had the tone of those ditzy romantic comedies from the 30's starring the likes of Claudette Colbert and the like.
The Kiss of Death November 10, 1940
The deadly Black Queen returns for her third bout with the Spirit. In this one she evokes both the Catwoman and Poison Ivy as she uses deadly lip gloss to do in her enemies. Her murderous nature is well on display, and she lives up to her role as the first of the femme fatales who will both haunt and tempt the Spirit throughout his career. I was a bit disappointed by the ending.
Dr. Prince Von Kalm November 17, 1940
The Spirit goes under cover for the government as an important diplomat named Von Kalm who is wanted by the other side. The Spirit's plan is to simultaneously defeat their plans to get powerful propaganda and also to save Von Kalm's daughter who is being held captive. This one is filled with dashing intrigue and reminded me of one of those Errol Flynn epics.
The Kidnapping of Ebony November 24, 1940
Ebony's importance to the Spirit is underlined when he is seen as a way to get to the powerful crimefighter. The gangster Salty Peters thinks that he can use Ebony to leverage the Spirit but learns that capturing and keeping Ebony White are two entirely different things.
The Prom December 1, 1940
Ellen Dolan comes into her own when she schemes to get the Spirit to her college campus to attend the prom. To do that she gets a body by means of a medical student and pretends that a murder has taken place. This idea though is too much for a dotty professor who then goes on to commit murder. The splash on this one is likely the most famous in this collection having been used many times over the years in articles and such about the Spirit.
The Haunted House December 8, 1940
The Spirit and Ebony have to enter what seems to be a haunted house to foil the scheme of criminals to take over the old folks' home. They discover many creepy things and many secrets, secrets which changed the whole nature of their mission. This story evoked memories of the many haunted house movies from Hollywood over the decades. It's a mix which offers great suspense and comedy as well if handled correctly.
Slim Pickens December 15, 1940
We get our first story told from a specific perspective. After meeting the young Johnny Beaver, we are introduced to his idol Slim Pickens to tells the aspiring criminal that such a life is not what he thinks it will be. This is a wonderfully constructed morality tale, told with precision by Eisner. This felt like a classic Spirit story from years to come.
The Christmas Spirit - Black Henry and Simple Simon December 22, 1940
The first of what will become traditional Christmas stories is told as the Spirit takes a break and allows the "Christmas Spirit" to fill in. It does so masterfully as two robbers get second thoughts about all the dough they've managed to steal from a local bank after meeting a kindly man with white beard. We are now bouncing back and forth comfortably in the strip from suspense to comedy and blends. Great stuff worthy of O'Henry.
The Leader December 29, 1940
This collection and the year close out with a bizarre tale of the Spirit in action abroad. When he parachutes down to an island ruled by a cruel despot and his minions, you'd think the Spirit would be at a disadvantage, but it's not the case. The Spirit is wild in this story which does suffer from too little space to unwind its yarn.
And that's volume one of the Spirit Archives. Hang in there with me as 2025 steams ahead. We have twenty-five more volumes to go as well as scuds of other Eisner greatness.
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