The Spirit

image=

Creation of character

The strip showed similarities to both Batman and Dick Tracy, featuring colorful villains and fast-paced storytelling.

Related Topics:
Batman - Dick Tracy - Villains

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During World War II Eisner enlisted in the army. In his absence, the newspaper syndicate used ghost writers and artists to continue the strip. Many fans, however, believe the best stories are those that Will Eisner wrote and drew. Eisner developed a cinematic style; through the use of shadows and different angles of view, he drew the reader into the seedy atmosphere of his stories. The title The Spirit was usually integrated into the background or scenery of the first frame in each series.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Spirit ceased publication in the 1950s, following the "Trip to the Moon" stories by Eisner and Wally Wood.

Related Topics:
1950s - Wally Wood

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Compared to contemporary properties, The Spirit has proven highly durable as one of the most respected American comic book series from the Golden Age. Kitchen Sink Press published extensive reprints of the series, first as large format black & white magazines and as trade paperbacks. They would later do a complete reprinting of all the post-WWII Eisner work in a color comic series, and started another series to reprint all the stories from the begining, but only did ten issues. Shortly before the company's demise, a revival series featured Spirit stories by many star talents. DC Comics is currently reprinting all the Spirits in their Archive series. His last appearance (done by Eisner) is in a recent issue of The Escapist, from Dark Horse Comics.

Related Topics:
Golden Age - Kitchen Sink Press - Reprint - Trade paperback - DC Comics - Dark Horse Comics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DC announced in July, 2005 that they plan to publish a Batman/The Spirit one-shot crossover by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Darwyn Cooke in late 2005, followed by a new The Spirit ongoing series by Cooke, in 2006.

Related Topics:
July - 2005 - Crossover - Jeph Loeb - Darwyn Cooke - 2006

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~