World War II will increasingly come to dominate the proceedings in the Spirit series, and that only makes sense. War was blazing in Europe and in the Pacific and it was only a matter of time until the U.S. became directly involved. Many Americans were already helping out and public policy was inevitably shifting. By the end of the year and the stories covered in this third volume of The Spirit
Archives covered in this volume, Pearl Harbor will have happened, and the die was well and truly cast. But that doesn't mean there were lots of regular crimes to be solved as well. The Spirit strip did a fine job of balancing these kinds of stories.
Agent 24 July 6, 1941
Both the Spirit and Ellen race overseas to rescue a mysterious "Agent 24" who is the last hope of his kingdom, recently overrun by invaders. Ellen had planned This on being an ambulance driver, but when she meets the Spirit on the same trip she teams up despite his protests. When their ship is sunk buy a U-Boat, their troubles are only beginning. Old Spirit ally Silk Satin shows up in a most surprising way and ends up being crucial to the success of the mission. This one has lots of twists and turns and reads almost like a miniature war film of the time.
Stolen Squad Cars July 13, 1941
Commissioner Dolan is saddled with a new assistant, the corrupt Squire Samon, who is a favorite of the Mayor because of his popularity with the Women's League. Stolen cars are the crime of the moment, and the Spirit is able to uncover the secret of the thieves' success when he is taken to their hideout. Squire Samson is a repeat character, one of the many signs that in many ways the strip functioned in pretty much the same way as a soap opera. The Spirit also tests out some new additions to his smoke screen capsules, changes which make it the smoke luminescent.
The Jewel of Death July 20, 1941
This story has special significance for me. It was the very first Spirit story I ever read and because he's acting in a foreign country minus the cast of regulars, it gave me wrong-headed notion of the actual nature of the strip. The Spirit is in the Middle East searching for a Doctor who has a cure much needed for a plague back home. The Doctor was ridiculed for his research and is soaking away his sorrow and refuses to help. He has found a new wife, one who infamously has a string of husbands who have all died in a day. There is also a greater secret about her, and one in which the Spirit plays a critical part.
Pink Perkins July 27, 1941
Pink Perkins is a cartoonist who has a successful series titled Gumshoe Gus, and two of his fans think he's just the ticket to get to the bottom of a mystery. Meanwhile the Spirit is doing just that. Perkins is reluctant to help but eventually does when the boys are kidnapped. By mistake the hoods think that Perkins is a violent and dangerous chap. With the help of the Spirit, the boys are rescued, though there is a definite The Ransom of Red Chief vibe. One can only assume that Eisner put himself, or at least part of himself into the series with the introduction of the character.
Wanted Dead or Alive - The Spirit August 3, 1941
The story begins when the Spirit takes a young man to his Wildwood hideout. The youngster has been charged with murder and the Spirit is certain he is innocent. To prove that he kidnaps Commissioner Dolan and the Mayor and reenacts the crime. They become convinced. Meanwhile the youth, consumed with a desire for revenge knocks Ebony out and goes to get his pound of flesh. This story has an international flavor to it and looming sense of tragedy.
The Element of Time August 10, 1941
A crackpot scientist manages to distill time into a liquid. When he tests it by injecting it into a young man he finds in the park, the man sees the whole of his scheme to kill a man in revenge play out. The Spirit is there to stop him multiple times. When the experiment is over the man tells the scientist the drug was ineffective. Eisner uses color holds to demonstrate the trip through time. It's a fascinating technique is a bit confusing in places. I admit to being a tad befuddled by the ending.
The Spirit Am Unfair to His Assistant August 17,1941
Ebony gets tired of getting no recognition as the Spirit's sidekick, so he opens his own detective agency, a very low rent one. He gets a case which involves a haunted house and Eisner is then able to utilize the then common stereotype that black folks are unduly afraid of the supernatural. I was reminded of movies I've seen with black actors who were almost always used as comic relief because they were terrified of ghosts. They required a white character to shine the light of reason on their superstition.
River Lily August 24, 1941
An old blind sailor conscripts Ebony to be his eyes as he explores a seemingly haunted ship. There's treasure to be found aboard the mysterious pirate craft. The Spirit meanwhile is fighting thugs aboard that same ship. River Lily is a new character who plays a pivotal role. I found it odd that the reader gets two stories with a supernatural angle in a row.
Barton Hartsell August 31, 1941
Barton Hartsell is a famed criminologist, and he asks the Spirit to impersonate him for a brief time. In that short time Hartsell is murdered and the immediate evidence points to a nephew who had been disinherited. But as we suspect from the beginning, the Spirit is able to look deeper and find the real killer, but not before another murder happens. This one has that locked-room mystery quality, though it's not one technically.
Dorothy Heartburn September 7, 1941
The Spirit ditches Ellen Dolan when they were supposed to go to a swanky party. She's upset and goes to the columnist "Dorothy Heartburn" for guidance, but she instead finds a fellow to pretend to be the Spirit. But as we all knew crime is afoot and the Spirit's presence is needed just as a beautiful dame makes a strong play for him. The strongest feature of this story is that the guy Ellen taps to portray the Spirit is clearly meant to be gay. It's not overt, but it's obvious.
The Biography of a Big Shot - Joe Frisk September 14, 1941
This one is told from the point of view of a gangster named Joe Frisk who is relating the story of his life to his presumed biographer. He tells of his early hard childhood which led him to get into crime. He suggests that you never fight with the law but use wits and muscle in more devious ways to outwit both the cops and his fellow gangsters. The Spirit is there to battle Joe. But old grudges are hard to forget sometime as Joe sadly discovers. Frisk is a bully, but we are given some insight into him as he was abandoned as a kid. This follows with Eisner's general notions that crime is a symptom of a sick society.
Gogi the Yogi September 21, 1941
In a weird variation of the Charles Atlas mythology, a lovesick Ebony seeks advice and finds Gogi the Yogi who hypnotizes him and convinces him he has the strength of two men. But during the process Gogi extracts a secret concerning the Spirit and sells it to foreign spies. While "Super-Ebony" uses his new-found might to wind over not just one but two, the Spirit is hard at work battling espionage. As everyone knows Ebony is a regrettable visual choice, though his personality is vital. Things along that line seem to be improving, if only in small ways.
Women September 28, 1941
A woman-hating bartender tells the story of a drunk named Snipe who is goaded by his wife Goldie to kill the Spirit, or at least seeming to do so. He uses this to muscle his way to the top of the gang. Ellen Dolan rushes to rescue the Spirit when she hears and finds him not completely dead. The power of women to inspire men to both noble and ignoble deeds is Eisner's theme, and it's one he comes back to time and again, even in his later 70's work after he was done with the Spirit.
Sphinx and Satin October 5, 1941
Satin is distressed when she gets a mission to knock off the Spirit. Her counterpart the Sphinx is also after a liquid bomb. When the Spirit turns up close at hand, she decides to go forward with her mission, but it forestalled when a few of the characters turn out to be different than they purport to be. This is a nifty light-hearted spy tale which goes one step further to reinforce the romantic relationship between the Spirit and Satin. She gets quite the reward at story's end.
The Genius October 12, 1941
The Tidewater brothers are back and the youngest, the one who doesn't talk and always sucks on peppermint sticks is mistakenly believed to be a genius who is coveted by a gang of criminals to help plot their scheme. Ebony and some of his usual sidekicks are on hand to give this romp some additional texture and help cleave a bit closer to the Spirit universe. The revelation of the truth is painful for more than a few.
The Oldest Man in the World October 19, 1941
This is a weird one. One thousand years in the future some archeologists find a Spirit comic preserved sap. The story concerns a cruel chap who claims to be the oldest man in the world who proceeds like the Pied Piper to lure all the children in the world to their doom. All that stands between thousands of kids and imminent death is the Spirit and Ebony aboard the Auto-Car. Is he really the oldest man in the world? The story addresses that question directly. Some interesting color-hold work to make a distinction between the future and the present.
Hallowe'en Dusk October 26, 1941
It's a wild ride for this Halloween adventure. The murderous Mr. Dusk and his savage wife Twilight are joined by two more strange folks -- Witch Hazel and a chap named Nothing. These four happen to waylay Ebony as he's out and about pulling Halloween pranks and just so happen be in the same house as a kidnapper the Spirit is searching for. Eisner is going full tilt for some zany comedy in this one, though it's exceedingly dark as there are at least two murders. This is Witch Hazel's debut.
The Confessions of Monk Mallon November 2, 1941
The Spirit must battle against four thugs specifically hired to stop him from bringing in Monk Mallon for the crimes of a man soon to be executed. The clock is ticking as the Spirit was defeat the guards and get a confession from Mallon who is a hardened criminal. I'm not sure the ending on this one worked, but as with all the Spirit stories, getting there is most of the fun. Eisner always puts such personality into his criminals, it makes them often more interesting than the good guys.
Killer Ghost November 9, 1941
The Spirit is convinced that a young man on death row for multiple murders is innocent and seeks evidence of same. We follow the story in first person from the Spirit as he uncovers clues to save the man and prove that real killer is an actual ghost. Or is he? This is one of the strangest stories yet from Eisner, a horror story that really doesn't seem to have that feel. It's more a supernatural noir.
Eustace the Turkey November 16, 1941
Eustace is a turkey on Thanksgiving, and he rises among his kin to complain and is promptly kicked from the flock. Ebony is looking for a turkey and Eustace happens by and the chase is on. During that chase Eustace encounters some jewel thieves and swallows an important diamond. Now the Spirit and the criminals are after him as well. This one has lots of twists and turns and Eisner works hard to make the reader identify with Eustace.
Ellen Dolan, Fullback November 23, 1941
Elllen is playing football and Commissioner Dolan doesn't like it. So, the Spirit heads off to convince her to give up the game. The team goes to another town for a game and spends many days training. The ultimate game that is played suggests that women can play such sports. This one is a romp giving us yet another twist in the ongoing romance between Denny Colt and his fair maiden. Football was far from the culture-consuming behemoth it has become in our modern day.
Goll Girder November 30, 1941
A fantastic splash page leads us into another tale in which the Spirit is standing up for a youngster driven to crime by his malignant father. Despite his mother's pleas the boy forced to steal to keep Goll Girder in drink. The Spirit is turning more and more into a social work good guy in many of these stories. The stories seem to suggest time and again that the official system is not able to confront let along solve the problems of the time. Sounds familiar.
The Last of the Minstrels December 7, 1941
It's a date that will live in infamy, but Will Eisner didn't know that when he created this tale. This is a tale told in seven Acts, with each page of the story its own separate Act. There's a ball given by a rich dame where women go with a blind date. The lady has a jewel of great price and when she's killed to get it, the Spirit has to find the murderer. He's not a mystery to us, he's the Minstrel named Aesop who turns out to be Ellen Dolan's date. It's how he committed crime that's a mystery.
Ventro December 14, 1941
Ventro was a ventriloquist who loses his mind to jealousy and murders the dollmaker Marius. It's up to the Spirit to bring him in and as he often does he surprises Commissioner Dolan in the way he gets the job done. This is a pretty straight-forward crime and action tale, but it is done with that usual Eisner panache. Pages and pages of action in this one.
Army Operas No. 1 - Chuck Magoo December 21, 1941
It's more of the Spirit's social work as he takes a small-time young criminal named Chuck Magoo and gets him into the army as opposed to the jailhouse. The reformation of Magoo's character takes a bit of time and seems to be a failure until real danger appears on the horizon. This one is told by a soldier peeling spuds, a nifty device. Eisner seems to be on the lookout for variations.
The Christmas Spirit - A Trilogy December 28, 1941
In a mild parody of part of the Christmas story we get three hobos who find a young man, lame and bitter and criminally minded and tell him three tales, each involving Santa Claus. These stories of how Santa saved them all in very different ways inspires the kid, known as King Hobo to make a critical choice. The Spirit is worried he will have to hunt criminals on Christmas, something he'd prefer not to do.
Next time we enter the war years and Eisner needs some help.
Rip Off
No comments:
Post a Comment