The Spirit

[berk]

(don't remember seeing a Spirit thread before, but apologies if I missed it and am starting a new one unnecessarily)

Must admit, never really seen what all the fuss was about as far as the writing was concerned. Always felt to me like pretty average, perhaps even somewhat sub-par, crime fiction of the era. And never particularly cared for the title character's basic concept or look, with the pointless mask.

HOWEVER, I've always loved Eisner's artwork in this series. For me, it totally deserves every bit of the great acclaim it's received over the years and then some.

Am I wrong in my dismissal of Eisner's writing - which I admit I haven't really looked at all that closely - and in my feeling that it's mainly the artwork that makes The Spirit a true classic?

And what is the best source for Spirit stories? the Archive editions? The old Warren reprints? I bought a few (3 issues) of those on the cheap recently, and was a but disappointed that they were mainly in black and white. Not that they don't still look great, but my memory of the colour inserts mislead me into thinking the whole of each issue was in colour. And weren't the original stories reprinted in those Warren mags in colour? I know there was also a daily b&w strip for a while, so maybe I'm confused.

[CromagnonMan]

for me, the writing is spot on. so much creativity and variation from week to week. great characters and lots of fun and humour too. Definately influential in terms of the writing itself, and of course the brilliant artwork tops it off and makes it one of the most polished and enjoyable strips ive ever read.

i would say the DC archive editions would be the best way to enjoy them, comparing them to the Kitchen Sink reprint comics i have they are so much crisper (and in colour). Although the Archives would be improved by being a slightly larger format. Im not sure what size the Spirit sections were, tabloid size?

[The Confessor]

Gotta agree with CromagnonMan here, the writing in the Spirit is endlessly inventive and the artwork is just to die for.

[MDG]

Although the Archives would be improved by being a slightly larger format. Im not sure what size the Spirit sections were, tabloid size?

The sections were printed tabloid, but folded in half. Readers were supposed to fold and cut them to create a 16(?)-page 8 1/2 x 11" comic. There were other stories besides the Spirit, initially Lady Luck and Mr. Mystic. Later, I believe Jules Feiffer had a kid strip in it toward the end.

If you're not sold on the spirit yet, I wouldn't run out and by archives--you can sometimes find Kitchen Sink reprints in bargain bins. Also remember that "prime" Eisner is the post-war stuff, before he got busy with other projects and delegating more and more of the Spirit to his studio.

Most of the work is great, and head-and-shoulders above 95% of comic book work at the time, especially crime/superhero.

[emb021]

Hmmmm.

For me I really got into the Spirit thru the KSP Magazines that followed the Warren Spirits in the early 80s. I had recalled as a kid coming across a couple of them on the newstands, but didn't get them at the time.

For me, what grabbed me was the great story telling and artwork of Eisner. The stories varied. Mystery, humor, adventure, etc. For me, the post-war Spirit was great. Only later did I read the first Spirit stories, which I didn't find as good.

[dupont2005]

I just started reading them recently because I had no experience with Eisner work and it seemed to be his defining work. The artwork is definitely ahead of it's time. I can't believe I'm looking at a golden age comic when I see this art, until the black kid pops up and I'm reminded this was long, long ago. I haven't read enough to give it a serious opinion as far as writing is concerned, and as far as comparing it to contemporary work I'll be ill equipped since I really don't read comics that old. I like it though so far, when I see one cheap I buy it.

[Simon Garth]

I've not seen the Warren books, but had a set of the KS books, the DC(?) reprints, and have seen a scanned colour set of the strips, and to my mind, there's no contest - the best presentation is the Kitchen Sink magazine, by a mile. Some colour sources look awful with the colour removed, as all the artistic flaws, previously hidden by the coour, are exposed; on the contrary, Eisner's brilliance is brought into sharp focus by the B&W and the colour reproductions & scans honestly look like crap in comparison.

[benday-dot]

(don't remember seeing a Spirit thread before, but apologies if I missed it and am starting a new one unnecessarily)
And what is the best source for Spirit stories? the Archive editions? The old Warren reprints? I bought a few (3 issues) of those on the cheap recently, and was a but disappointed that they were mainly in black and white. Not that they don't still look great, but my memory of the colour inserts mislead me into thinking the whole of each issue was in colour. And weren't the original stories reprinted in those Warren mags in colour? I know there was also a daily b&w strip for a while, so maybe I'm confused.

The Warren run of Spirit was 16 issues, magazine size, in black and white with colour covers and ran from 1974-76

Kitchen Sink had three runs of Spirit (Dennis Kitchen is the literary agent for Eisner's estate):

1973 series: 1-2 regular comic size, colour covers black and white
1977-1983 series: 17- 41 resumed/took over the earlier Warren run, magazine sized, with colour covers and black and white interiors.
1983-1992 series:1-87, all regular comic size, of which issues 1-11 were colour covers and colour interiors(extra thick, baxter stock) and issues 12-87 were colour covers and black and white interiors. (the series you are sampling from I believe)

DC Archives: all full colour hard cover books: 26 volumes, the complete Eisner Spirit
DC trade paperback: 2005 "Best of Spirit", full colour Spirit sampler along with 2008's "Spirit: Femmes Fatales", very similar to the 2005 volume, but focusing the female characters of Eisner.

Harvey Comics: 1966 series, 1-2, 64 pages and full colour on newsprint.

For reprints the DC Archives are probably the ultimate source to go to. I thought the colouring was pretty faithful, though I haven't actually seen any original Spirit sections.

If you want nice samplers in colour go for the Harvey reprints (great early reprint job on these!), or the DC tpb trades I mentioned.

I would avoid the Baxter coloured Kitchen Sink comics from the early part of 1983 series. The colour was poor and it was a wise switch to B&W. I agree with Simon Garth this was a great way to view and read Eisner's work. I found a few issues had sketchy printing, broken and faint lines, but on the whole it was excellent and very affordable. I have a about half the run.

Go for the Warren or Kitchen Sink magazine size books if you want to be behold Eisner in a larger canvas, never a bad thing. Next month IDW is releasing their much awaited Spirit Artists Edition. Expensive as hell, but guaranteed to be glorious and ultra faithful.

Hope this helps.

[Aaron King]

I've read some Eisner. Contract With God, Last Day in Vietnam, The Building... and I like The Spirit the most. I always feel like a superhero shill when I feel that, but I've tried to take a pretty studied approach, and I always reach the same conclusion.

The Spirit had one-offs, extended stories, and crazy genre switches that never felt forced or pretentious because of the speed that Eisner had to put these things out at. It was all an earnest attempt at melodrama in the best sense of the word: short sketches in broad strokes that somehow manage to zero in on feelings with laser-like sights.

The melodrama in Eisner's graphic novels is always a strong as present as it is in The Spirit, but, over the longer span of the graphic novel, it tends to wander and stagnate and flood the thing with tears.

I have two of the Spirit Archives, and I think they're great books. They shouldn't be too hard to find for half price. The texture of the paper is perfect, the color is bright and flat, and the dust jacket designs are different from the normal Archive versions in order to reflect Eisner's famous splash pages.

[Simon Garth]

I've read some Eisner. Contract With God, Last Day in Vietnam, The Building... and I like The Spirit the most.

I'm the same - I read Contract With God, and I think I've read The Building, and to be honest they just do nothing for me - the obvious skill & mastery of the medium is there, but it just doesn't have the magic of the Spirit.

[berk]

Thanks for all the suggestions and info, everyone. I'm leaning towards trying one of the Archive books if I can find one for a decent price. Volumes 15 onwards seem to be from the consensus peak period, would that be right?

I have to acknowledge that the black and white Eisner does look quite amazing, unlike most comics art I've seen in b&w that was originally meant for colour, so I'll probably continue to pick up more of those Warren mags if I see any at cheap prices.

[CromagnonMan]

Vol 16 is excellent (i say this having read only vol 16, 21 and 22). If i had to pick one out of those three i would go for 16 so maybe this helps you choose about the quality distribution in the series. You can get the Archives for $20 each from the right place (www.cheapgraphicnovels.com) which i think is pretty great value especially if youre in USA.

[Aaron King]

Vol 16 is excellent (i say this having read only vol 16, 21 and 22). If i had to pick one out of those three i would go for 16 so maybe this helps you choose about the quality distribution in the series.

I have volumes 16 & 17 and I really dig them. I'm pretty sure one of them has "Gerhard Shnobble, The Man Who Could Fly," which is often held up as one of the best Spirit stories.

[Gothos]

Some Eisner stories are average, to be sure. But if one could (somehow) put aside the art, a fair number make good basic stories in themselves.

Eisner had a great sense of humor, for one thing. A lot of it is executed in visual terms but he did a good deal of funny dialogue. I rather like "Barkarole" in this respect.

[MDG]

I have volumes 16 & 17 and I really dig them. I'm pretty sure one of them has "Gerhard Shnobble, The Man Who Could Fly," which is often held up as one of the best Spirit stories.

I really don't like that story--feels like he's trying to hard to be "deep." he's more successful with things like"ten minutes."