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View Full Version : The Spirit by Eisner (lots of images)


Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 15th, 2006, 01:41 AM
Thanks to Reapersaurus I've learned that Frank Miller is taking on Will Eisner's The Spirit, for his first film as a director. I'm stoked beyond belief.
DC Comics has been consistently releasing The Spirit archives in hardbound format. I think the complete collection wil be around 25 volumes. I've been collecting the series since volume 1. This was before my first child was born. They're up to Volume 19 currently. I've always like DC's coloring in these volumes, but never realized how lush they are when scanned. Wow these colors really POP compared to how the look with the book in my hands.

Keep in mind:

:!: Will Eisner and his studio pumped these 7-8 page color stories on a WEEKLY basis. They were inserts in certain newspapers.

:!: Eisner covered a wide range of genres and story formats: humor, Christmas and Halloween tales, westerns, etc. But the tales he's often spotlighted for are his noir, crime yarns.

:!: Eisner had a lot of help with inking and other art chores on The Spirit. I'm pretty sure Jerry Grandenetti did the splash page for the following story.

:!: In many Spirit tales, the crime-fighting detective is not the focal point. He could be fighting in the background while the featured character is busy committing crimes, running from the law, or other dubious acts. As you'll see The Spirit eventually makes his way into this story, but you can spot him on the second page!

:!: There is a lot of information on each page, each panel. Note to read the newspaper headlines, sound affects, panel shapes, etc.

Presented here is the very first Spirit story I read as a pre-teen. The aspect that really floored me in The Last Trolley was the setting. Eisner's splash pages (the first page usually with one large intro panel) are a highlight in nearly every Spirit story. The Last Trolley is no exception. If you read Frank Miller's Daredevil issues, you'll see where he was influenced for all those papers floating around his urban battlgrounds.
I love the shots of the outskirts of town the muddy ponds and deserted jalopies. The bay shoreline near our house looks a lot like this sans the garbage. Lots of salt flats and shallow ponds. There is even a railroad cutting across this area and over a bridge. I'm reminded of The Last Trolley every time I cross the Dumbarton Bridge and look south towards Moffit Field. I LOVE that area of my town because of Eisner's Spirit tale here.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRIT001.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRIT002.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRIT003.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRIT004.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRIT005.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRIT006.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRIT007.jpg

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 15th, 2006, 02:28 AM
Here is Slippery Eall. Another classic Spirit strip and a splash page that's just as classic.
I first read this tale in a 3-D Spirit Comic published by Kitchen Sink Comics. There are a lot of moments in this tale that lend themselves to the red and blue glasses!

:!: Oh, and here is a panel from one of Frank Miller's issues of Daredevil. You might see the influence Eisner had on Miller in this panel.
I had been reading quite a few Eisner (and Miller) comics when I happened to see this panel and instantly I though, "That's an Eisner storm drain grate and fire hydrant! Miller's not joking when he says Eisner is a big influence on his work!"
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/DD.jpg


Compared to THe Last Trolley, you'll see how much darker Eisner got with the artwork. There's a lot more blacks and the lines are not so elegant as in Trolley.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spirit00001.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spirit00002.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spirit00003.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spirit00004.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spirit00005.jpghttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spirit00006.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spirit00007.jpg

LilNewbie
September 15th, 2006, 11:16 AM
Awesome! Thanks for posting those scans and detailing the information on the artwork.

Newb.

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 15th, 2006, 03:23 PM
Newbie I'm having great fun with my scanner. I don't really mind if anyone reads these strips or not, But I do like to offer them up and check out the colors once they're scanned!
If you or anyone else gets a kick outta them, the better for everybody involved!

More to come!

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 01:08 AM
Other great splash pages
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritB.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/SPIRITescape.jpg

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 01:19 AM
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritD.jpg

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 01:24 AM
This splash page is for RevDyer. Curiously is reminds me of his Front Page article. ;)
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritE.jpg

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 01:27 AM
Olga Bustle, the girl with those big 'eyes'! Eisner is spoofing a promotional poster of a Jane Russell movie.
Jane Russell was well endowed too!
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritF.jpg

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 01:33 AM
Quite possibly the best crime-suspense splash page Eisner ever did. This rates way up there on my favorite splash pages (pun intended). Just awesome...
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritG.jpg

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 01:49 AM
And then we come to the first P'Gell story. P'Gell is the ultimate Spirit love interest & enemy.
I think these first threee pages capture P'Gell at her finest. She's devious, sexy and way dangerous. But she'll never hurt the Spirit enough to kill him. :lol:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritH.jpg

Look at that panel with P'Gell's foot on the cash. Wow. IS this page not a work of pure comic art?!? I love it!
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritHa.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritHb.jpg



Here's another P'Gell story where we find her running an exclusive girls' school.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritC.jpg

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 01:57 AM
One more for tonight. A funny, great cover with a clever way to tie in the Spirit title and the theme/moral of the story! Love the sweat on Comish Dolan's head!

Btw. is this strip really over 60 years old?!? Wow. Stands up to the test of time...
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritJ.jpg

LilNewbie
September 20th, 2006, 10:44 AM
Great stuff! Amazing how creative each splash page is. Thanks for posting!

Newb.

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 11:03 AM
Great stuff! Amazing how creative each splash page is. Thanks for posting!

Newb.

Thanks NewB, this has to be one of my all-time favorite splash pages:
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/jonan_jello/spirit/spiritG.jpg

atmospro
September 20th, 2006, 03:09 PM
I'm going to on record. HEH is just scratching the surface of the genius that was Wil Einser, the greatest comic book creator we have ever seen. If you like comics, do yourself a fasour and go find some Wil Eisners stuff. He is single handly responsible for indy comics that have plots and subject matter more than skin deep. He explored so many this thing other creator would not touch such as racism, sex, politics in a time where comic books were kid stuff. Truely the greatest of all comic book legends.

One last note Wil continued to create well into his 80's and publish new material into the new millenium, so their is some current flavour to his last works.

LilNewbie
September 20th, 2006, 04:29 PM
Any recommendations for some Eisner Compilations? Comics and good stories...sounds like a great match. :D So far the stuff HEH has posted has really peaked my interest in Eisner. Thanks, HEH! One of the many reasons why I love coming to this site.

Newb.

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 05:10 PM
Any recommendations for some Eisner Compilations? Comics and good stories...sounds like a great match. :D So far the stuff HEH has posted has really peaked my interest in Eisner. Thanks, HEH! One of the many reasons why I love coming to this site.

Newb.

There's been numerous Spirit collections if that's where you want to start first. I think the Spirit stuff has to be reprinted as large as possible to the original art's size to be fully appreciated. There is some much storytelling going on in those 7 pages and within the individual panels that the comic-sized reprint TPBs can't always convey clearly.

Warren magazine did a reprint magazin series that I like. But most of the stories are in b&w. Not a bad thing, but colored was how the original inserts were published back in the day.
Here's a current auction for a lot of 13 issues of the Warren magazine series on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/13-issues-THE-SPIRIT-will-eisner-2-up-Warren-1974_W0QQitemZ190031744422QQihZ009QQcategoryZ280QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ 1QQcmdZViewItem

There were some large-sized books reprinting Spirit stories (in B&w). They're 'best of' reprints and you can't go wrong except for the lack of color if that's detrimental to your comic pleasure. Here's The Spirit Casebook Vol. 1 signed on eBay. You pay more for the autograph:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Will-Eisners-Spirit-Casebook-autographed-1990-edition_W0QQitemZ200028835497QQihZ010QQcategoryZ3972QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewIt em

Here's a colored collection of Spirit comics - The Spirit Colored Album vol. 3
http://cgi.ebay.com/Will-Eisners-Spirit-Color-Album-volume-3_W0QQitemZ230030912578QQihZ013QQcategoryZ69QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You can't go wrong with any of hte Kitchen Sink Comics reprints. They published every post WWII story Eisner did (he had just returned from the war and was off the strip for a couple of years).
It's at this return where Eisner hit his peak on the series The first 12 issues were gorgeously colored. The remainder of the series went to b&w because of cost issues. They're reprinted at comic book size, so the art will be smaller, but the Kitchen Sink series had interviews and 'behind the scenes' info on nearly all stories. I still have my set in a comic box in the garage:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Spirit-1-82-Kitchen-Sink-Comic-83-to-91-lot-of-63_W0QQitemZ140026593488QQihZ004QQcategoryZ60213QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ 1QQcmdZViewItem

Atmos probably knows the good stuff Eisner has done outside of The Spirit strips. I'll leave those recommendations to him.

atmospro
September 20th, 2006, 06:28 PM
Any recommendations for some Eisner Compilations? Comics and good stories...sounds like a great match. :D So far the stuff HEH has posted has really peaked my interest in Eisner. Thanks, HEH! One of the many reasons why I love coming to this site.

Newb.

Newb any comic book store worth it's salt is going to have a whole section of Eisner's graphic novels.
Suggestions

A Contract with God
New York: The Big City
The Last Day in Vietnam
The Last Knight
Dropsie Avenue: The Neighborhood

LilNewbie
September 20th, 2006, 09:09 PM
Thanks for the info. I'll check out the comic stores in the area.


Newb.

Joah
September 20th, 2006, 10:56 PM
I'm going to on record. HEH is just scratching the surface of the genius that was Wil Einser, the greatest comic book creator we have ever seen. If you like comics, do yourself a fasour and go find some Wil Eisners stuff. He is single handly responsible for indy comics that have plots and subject matter more than skin deep. He explored so many this thing other creator would not touch such as racism, sex, politics in a time where comic books were kid stuff. Truely the greatest of all comic book legends.

One last note Wil continued to create well into his 80's and publish new material into the new millenium, so their is some current flavour to his last works.One of the many panals of his work I checked out at the "Masters of American Comics",( on exhibit at Milwaukee's Art Museum last Summer) was Eisner, in comic, being offered "dirty book work".
It was great.
Could've spent ALL afternoon there.
Alas, I only had a couple of hours.

Hex_Enduction_Hour
September 20th, 2006, 11:22 PM
I'm going to on record. HEH is just scratching the surface of the genius that was Wil Einser, the greatest comic book creator we have ever seen. If you like comics, do yourself a fasour and go find some Wil Eisners stuff. He is single handly responsible for indy comics that have plots and subject matter more than skin deep. He explored so many this thing other creator would not touch such as racism, sex, politics in a time where comic books were kid stuff. Truely the greatest of all comic book legends.

One last note Wil continued to create well into his 80's and publish new material into the new millenium, so their is some current flavour to his last works.One of the many panals of his work I checked out at the "Masters of American Comics",( on exhibit at Milwaukee's Art Museum last Summer) was Eisner, in comic, being offered "dirty book work".
It was great.
Could've spent ALL afternoon there.
Alas, I only had a couple of hours.

You lucky duck. Nothing looks better in comics than seeing the actual art in original size, uncolored, right in front of you. They always look soooo much better to me.

Hex_Enduction_Hour
October 8th, 2006, 02:34 PM
There ya go all interested parties!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280036049729&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1#ebayphotohosting

http://i6.ebayimg.com/02/i/08/94/d1/b7_1.JPG