What do you think?
Rate this book
The Spirit Archives #1
The Spirit Archives, Vol. 1
The first volume in a complete series reprinting Will Eisner's classic crimefighter The Spirit in chronological order from June 2nd to December 29, 1940. Includes "The Origin of The Spirit," "Orang, The Ape Man," "The Kiss of Death," "The Prom," the first Christmas Spirit story and 26 others in full color. Also features a preface by Eisner on how The Spirit came to be, a foreword by Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, AMERICA'S BEST COMICS) and an introduction by comics historian R.C. Harvey.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1940
14 people are currently reading
433 people want to read
About the author
Will Eisner
761 books534 followersWilliam Erwin Eisner was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series The Spirit (1940–1952) was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term "graphic novel" with the publication of his book A Contract with God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Award was named in his honor and is given to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium; he was one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 1, 2009
F*** you, Frank Miller.
July 20, 2022
I was drawn to this book by a couple of things. Will Eisner’s standing as a pioneer of comic book art and storytelling make The Spirit a real landmark, worth having a look at, to rediscover the potential of the comic book. And, as a fan of 1940s’ noir, I looked at The Spirit as something different from the popular superhero comics that have pushed their way to the front since those days.
There are several introductory essays, the first by Eisner himself, explaining how he came up with the idea for The Spirit and how it got its start. Superman and Batman comics were out by then, and Eisner wanted to do something different. The Spirit is not a superhero. As a concession to his partners, Eisner did give The Spirit a mask, but, other than having survived a near-death experience, he’s a normal human being.
These comics are short by modern standards — Eisner, in his Introduction, says that they began as 16 pages, although here they are published as 7 book-sized pages, usually with 9 panels per page. They were distributed as inserts for Sunday newspapers, starting in June, 1940. The series itself lasted until 1952, although Eisner himself missed the war years while serving in the Army. This book includes all the stories from 1940.
Somewhat like Batman, The Spirit’s identity is secret, known only to Police Commissioner Dolan. And his “powers” are ingenuity, fighting skill, and technology (he even has a flying car!). But his personality is different — he has an irrepressible cool and sense of humor, even in the worst of circumstances.
The Spirit lives under a cemetery, where his secret identity, criminologist Denny Colt, is thought to have been buried. In reality he has survived — in an accident, he suffered temporary suspended animation and was thought to have died. He was buried, but escaped the grave. And now he’s back to fight crime.
The stories are not especially noirish, if by noir we mean that over-riding fatalistic doom familiar from noir novels and film. The stories are generally a bit light-hearted, with caricaturish bad guys, with bad guy accents and bumbling incompetence.
By contrast with current comics, the art is clear and simple, and so are the stories. No psychotic episodes, no disorienting, multi-layered stories wth confusing plots. Kind of a cross between a “just for fun” approach and a noirish urban culture.
It’s a quick, fun collection to read. It’s from another time and style, but I found myself wishing the current writers of mainstream popular comics would adopt some of the simplicity and clarity Eisner demonstrated with these.
There are several introductory essays, the first by Eisner himself, explaining how he came up with the idea for The Spirit and how it got its start. Superman and Batman comics were out by then, and Eisner wanted to do something different. The Spirit is not a superhero. As a concession to his partners, Eisner did give The Spirit a mask, but, other than having survived a near-death experience, he’s a normal human being.
These comics are short by modern standards — Eisner, in his Introduction, says that they began as 16 pages, although here they are published as 7 book-sized pages, usually with 9 panels per page. They were distributed as inserts for Sunday newspapers, starting in June, 1940. The series itself lasted until 1952, although Eisner himself missed the war years while serving in the Army. This book includes all the stories from 1940.
Somewhat like Batman, The Spirit’s identity is secret, known only to Police Commissioner Dolan. And his “powers” are ingenuity, fighting skill, and technology (he even has a flying car!). But his personality is different — he has an irrepressible cool and sense of humor, even in the worst of circumstances.
The Spirit lives under a cemetery, where his secret identity, criminologist Denny Colt, is thought to have been buried. In reality he has survived — in an accident, he suffered temporary suspended animation and was thought to have died. He was buried, but escaped the grave. And now he’s back to fight crime.
The stories are not especially noirish, if by noir we mean that over-riding fatalistic doom familiar from noir novels and film. The stories are generally a bit light-hearted, with caricaturish bad guys, with bad guy accents and bumbling incompetence.
By contrast with current comics, the art is clear and simple, and so are the stories. No psychotic episodes, no disorienting, multi-layered stories wth confusing plots. Kind of a cross between a “just for fun” approach and a noirish urban culture.
It’s a quick, fun collection to read. It’s from another time and style, but I found myself wishing the current writers of mainstream popular comics would adopt some of the simplicity and clarity Eisner demonstrated with these.
October 8, 2020
De The Spirit había leído maravillado los 76 tebeos de grapa en blanco y negro que publicó Norma en los 90. Hace poco hojeándolos vi que esa colección solo recogía las historias que hizo Eisner después de la guerra. Y mirando por Internet descubrí que la publicación original fue en color. Total. que me lancé entusiasmado a estos Archivos de The Spirit, una edición completa y a color.
Estas primeras historias no tienen nada que ver con el despliegue de creatividad, con esa nueva sorpresa en cada historia al que estaba acostumbrado. Hay alguna historia que vale la pena, pero en general se me ha hecho larguísimo. Por no hablar del coche volador…
Estas primeras historias no tienen nada que ver con el despliegue de creatividad, con esa nueva sorpresa en cada historia al que estaba acostumbrado. Hay alguna historia que vale la pena, pero en general se me ha hecho larguísimo. Por no hablar del coche volador…
August 2, 2020
This is first volume of Spirit reprints in DC's 8 year effort to reprint the entire run of Will Eisner's classic comic series. The Spirit was published as 7 pages in a 16-page syndicated comic book inserted syndicated throughout the country.
This book contains the first six months of Spirit strips. The strip start out ordinary enough with the origin of how Denny Colt was assumed dead and decided to become a masked crime-fighter living in the cemetery. There are several leaps in logic (not uncommon in Golden Age comics) but you just have to go with it.
Within the month, the strip shows signs of what it will become: Weekly installments of the Spirit began with beautiful stylized splash pages/panels. The stories took on a variety of themes from detective stories, crime melodramas, to a bit of light comedy, counter-espionage as America ramped up its defense, and even some monster science fiction. Eisner took the Spirit in all sorts of interesting directions.
The art is really top notch, particularly for the era. You not only have some eyepopping splahes, there are some great angles and so many nice touches that make the stories visually interesting.
Not all the stories work, and there's one plot arch that Eisner's unwilling to commit to. The Spirit becomes wanted for murder and is hunted by the police. However, the police make little efforts to contact him and it seems the plot point is practically forgotten some weeks, particularly as he remains chummy with Commissioner Dolan. It's summarily resolved later in a way that feels like the neglected point is just being put out of its misery.
I should also talk about Ebony White. This book was released in 2000, so there was no discsussion of the character in the intro. Ebony is very stereotypically drawn and his dialogue is also stereotypical. However, it should be noted that Eisner treats the character with respect as he shows himself to be quick-thinking, resourceful, and brave in an era when the "cowardly manservant" stereotype dominated portrayals of blacks in culture. How that balances against his appearance/speech portrayal and is weighted for the time period the stories were written will be up to everyone's individual judgment.
Regardless, these are historic strips that represent the beginning of a long and fruitful career for Eisner's creation, The Spirit.
This book contains the first six months of Spirit strips. The strip start out ordinary enough with the origin of how Denny Colt was assumed dead and decided to become a masked crime-fighter living in the cemetery. There are several leaps in logic (not uncommon in Golden Age comics) but you just have to go with it.
Within the month, the strip shows signs of what it will become: Weekly installments of the Spirit began with beautiful stylized splash pages/panels. The stories took on a variety of themes from detective stories, crime melodramas, to a bit of light comedy, counter-espionage as America ramped up its defense, and even some monster science fiction. Eisner took the Spirit in all sorts of interesting directions.
The art is really top notch, particularly for the era. You not only have some eyepopping splahes, there are some great angles and so many nice touches that make the stories visually interesting.
Not all the stories work, and there's one plot arch that Eisner's unwilling to commit to. The Spirit becomes wanted for murder and is hunted by the police. However, the police make little efforts to contact him and it seems the plot point is practically forgotten some weeks, particularly as he remains chummy with Commissioner Dolan. It's summarily resolved later in a way that feels like the neglected point is just being put out of its misery.
I should also talk about Ebony White. This book was released in 2000, so there was no discsussion of the character in the intro. Ebony is very stereotypically drawn and his dialogue is also stereotypical. However, it should be noted that Eisner treats the character with respect as he shows himself to be quick-thinking, resourceful, and brave in an era when the "cowardly manservant" stereotype dominated portrayals of blacks in culture. How that balances against his appearance/speech portrayal and is weighted for the time period the stories were written will be up to everyone's individual judgment.
Regardless, these are historic strips that represent the beginning of a long and fruitful career for Eisner's creation, The Spirit.
March 22, 2018
Will Eisner's Spirit is justifiably lauded as a trailblazing series, and a high-water mark in comics history. However, that reputation wasn't reached in the first six months of the series, collected in this volume. While better than a lot of other comics I've read from the period, these books show Eisner still working more or less within the conventions of the time. The stories and artwork aren't anywhere near as innovative and groundbreaking as we see in the postwar era of the Spirit. Instead, we get relatively straightforward crime stories, with the Spirit mostly fighting a succession of larger-than-life gangsters, with some spy-busting and the occasional comedy story mixed in.
As a satisfying read in its own right, it shows the somewhat creaky beginnings of any series. As a chance to watch Eisner evolve into the graphic pioneer he would become, it's an essential part of the story.
Unfortunately, it's also very much a product of its time, particularly when it comes to depictions of racial and gender stereotypes. While these help inform us about the culture in which these comics were produced, they weren't acceptable then, and shouldn't be now. However, I feel that we are seeing a time in which people are increasingly comfortable displaying their intolerance towards others. I believe that if we ignore the more extreme examples of similar behavior from the past, we are doomed to slide all the way back down. I feel that I can appreciate Eisner's work as a storyteller while still condemning his stereotypes, but I don't want them just swept under the carpet, either.
As a satisfying read in its own right, it shows the somewhat creaky beginnings of any series. As a chance to watch Eisner evolve into the graphic pioneer he would become, it's an essential part of the story.
Unfortunately, it's also very much a product of its time, particularly when it comes to depictions of racial and gender stereotypes. While these help inform us about the culture in which these comics were produced, they weren't acceptable then, and shouldn't be now. However, I feel that we are seeing a time in which people are increasingly comfortable displaying their intolerance towards others. I believe that if we ignore the more extreme examples of similar behavior from the past, we are doomed to slide all the way back down. I feel that I can appreciate Eisner's work as a storyteller while still condemning his stereotypes, but I don't want them just swept under the carpet, either.
April 1, 2014
This book is about a superhero who was once a cop who tried to take a bad guy out but falls into radioactive stuff to make him into a superhero with many superpowers. This was one big book with a bunch of The Spirit comics all in one. I thought it was a good book over all because it's a classic and had good art. Anyone who's into superman or classic superheroes would love this book.
February 12, 2025
Most of Eisner's post-WWII Spirit stories rank among the best comic book stories of all time. But in 1940, when Eisner began the series, he was a long way from that peak. The payouts are interesting at times, but the artwork looks fairly shoddy much of the time (although much of that may be due to whoever was inking the series at the time) and the characters are vastly different than what they would become later on. I am rather fond of Ebony, but here he is very much the racial caricature that critics would accuse him of being and Ellen is little more than a spoiled ditz. And the character of the Spirit isn't there yet either. Here he is not above using guns, even mowing criminals down with a machine gun at one point. Plus, he is a master inventor, creating a serum that causes X-ray vision and converting his car into a hybrid airplane/car. But the plotting is the real problem here. Even this early Eisner is creating interesting villains: a talking orangutan, a psychotic clown, a female lawyer is also a crime boss, etc. But Eisner doesn't know what to do with them. The stories are too easily resolved and are usually too fantastic to be believed. These stories may have been Shakespeare compared to its contemporaries, but they make for dreary reading now.
But there are definite signs of improvement as the book goes on. The artwork gets better and you can see the steps towards the splash pages that would become so masterful. And there are two stories (The Prom and Slim Pickens), that, with minor tweaks, would have fit right in with the later stories. I'm looking forward to reading volume 2 to see more of that progression.
But there are definite signs of improvement as the book goes on. The artwork gets better and you can see the steps towards the splash pages that would become so masterful. And there are two stories (The Prom and Slim Pickens), that, with minor tweaks, would have fit right in with the later stories. I'm looking forward to reading volume 2 to see more of that progression.
November 20, 2020
This collection introduces us to Will Eisner's iconic superhero The Spirit. What you get is about the first six months of his 8-page Sunday comics stories (not the early strips that ran from 1941-1943 those are in volume 25 of the archives). The artwork isn't a tight as Eisner's stories drawn after he came back from WWII in 1946, but you can definitely see where he was going from day one.
The stories aren't the typical comic stories of the time. They have a sense of graphic design in the page layouts and use of typography that was absent from most comic books or strips of the era. The fact that Eisner kept redesigning The Spirit's title for every story shows just how much work he put into what he was doing. Though the stories were mainly created for kids, you could see that his stories weren't dumbing down the plots and there is a certain level of character development after these first six months that starts to make the characters around the Spirit seemed settled in.
If you're new to The Spirit this is about the best way possible to get to know the character through his origin story and the introduction of the cast of characters that would surround him through the years. The Spirit Sunday comic strips were also a milestone in the way comics were formatted and distributed. Eisner only got better as time went on and so did the Spirit's stories. These earliest tales aren't the most captivating the Eisner told, but they're still worth reading for any serious fan of the character, Will Eisner, or the comics medium.
The stories aren't the typical comic stories of the time. They have a sense of graphic design in the page layouts and use of typography that was absent from most comic books or strips of the era. The fact that Eisner kept redesigning The Spirit's title for every story shows just how much work he put into what he was doing. Though the stories were mainly created for kids, you could see that his stories weren't dumbing down the plots and there is a certain level of character development after these first six months that starts to make the characters around the Spirit seemed settled in.
If you're new to The Spirit this is about the best way possible to get to know the character through his origin story and the introduction of the cast of characters that would surround him through the years. The Spirit Sunday comic strips were also a milestone in the way comics were formatted and distributed. Eisner only got better as time went on and so did the Spirit's stories. These earliest tales aren't the most captivating the Eisner told, but they're still worth reading for any serious fan of the character, Will Eisner, or the comics medium.
June 26, 2022
The earliest issues of Eisner’s Spirit comic from 1940. Each story is 7 pages long, and you can see Eisner’s style developing as the year progresses. I always found Eisner’s drawing of the Spirit character more compelling than his story-writing, and I continue to find these comics visually interesting. I own the first five volumes in this series, and I suppose I’ll read some more of them.
October 22, 2017
Magistral.
January 5, 2019
A volume of classic stories of The Spirit from the 1940s. Entertaining and well drawn.
December 12, 2021
A classic.
October 14, 2012
Will Eisner was one of the true giants working in the medium of comics, and this is where that greatness really began. This volume collects the seven page Spirit comics between the series opening in June 2 and December 29 1940, framed by a preface by Eisner ("The Spirit: How It Came to Be" from 2000), a foreword by Allan Moore ("The Pioneering Spirit" from 1986) and an introduction by R. C. Harvey ("The Consummate Comic Book"). While this is clearly not Eisner's greatest hour by any means (it's certainly still early in his illustrious career), it nevertheless shows the genius of the man very well.
In a medium where the visual sequence had often been subjected to a cut-and-paste treatment of the component panels, Eisner was among the first to carefully compose pages as pages rather than fixed lines of panels. This volume is a testament to his work with establishing this, and his trying out different compositions. As such, the volume is not merely of interest to fans of The Spirit, or even of Eisner's work in general, but anyone interested in the early development of the comics medium itself.
In a medium where the visual sequence had often been subjected to a cut-and-paste treatment of the component panels, Eisner was among the first to carefully compose pages as pages rather than fixed lines of panels. This volume is a testament to his work with establishing this, and his trying out different compositions. As such, the volume is not merely of interest to fans of The Spirit, or even of Eisner's work in general, but anyone interested in the early development of the comics medium itself.
February 23, 2013
Ouch. I confess to having high, possibly unrealistic, expectations for the first collection of Spirit stories, but wow. This is some of the worst comic writing I've ever encountered, even taking the era into account. And while Eisner was obviously playing with bold color choices and dynamic framing, he hadn't really broken out of a very traditional narrative progression. The biggest problem is the massive number of plot holes – big enough for you to fly a car through. Exposition that would embarrass a soap writer. Endless reliance on coincidence or dumb luck. A total lack of character. I'm willing to cut the extraordinary racism of Ebony White some major slack, given the era, but it didn't make the other flaws go down any easier. Two stars for the occasionally impressive splash pages and some modest innovation.
July 14, 2007
This was my first exposure to the classic Spirit tales and I gotta tell you, this was thoroughly enjoyable. It holds up surprisingly well. Each story is only 7 pages long but it never ceased to amaze me how much Eisner could pack into those 7 pages. There are a few anachronisms in the book but that's to be expected for a series that was written prior to WWII. The most glaring is the dialogue of Ebony White. If you are the type of PC person who gets offended by historical anachronisms, this might put you off. Me, I just found it annoying to try and figure out the dialogue because it slowed me down. I will certainly be picking up the next one when finances permit. It was great fun.
Read
May 22, 2008It is always weird to read a comic that's early in the series' history. Much like webcomics and newspaper comics, early Eisner looks creakily drawn. Um, it kind of reminds me of the part in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -- spoilers ahead! -- where they meet the animals altered to look like humans and something is Not Quite Right and Downright Grotesque about the way the way they look. (Why can't I write here without constantly alluding to other works? That is just how my brain works.)
Anyhow, I can see how this would amuse kids (and adults) back in the 1940s. It's colorful, sexy, funny, melodramatic, and so on.
Anyhow, I can see how this would amuse kids (and adults) back in the 1940s. It's colorful, sexy, funny, melodramatic, and so on.
August 15, 2008
The Spirit is born with Denny Colt "dies" and returns to life to fight the underworld. I had never read any Spirit comics and was a little disappointed. The stories are very much like every '30's/'40's noir tales (Batman included). The Spirit's "back from the dead" gimmick didn't seem to make much sense and wasn't used to strike fear in any villains. If he wears a mask, why does it matter that his alter-ego is believed dead? I guess the fact that Eisner did a couple multi-issue stories (like the Spirit being accused of murder) is important since very few examples of story arcs are found in early comics.
January 20, 2015
As far as Will Eisner's works go... this isn't his best. But this isn't a horrible book, to say the least. The greater half of this book is filled with cooky hi jinx, cartoony characters, and daring escapades. Only problems are that the characters are a bit stale and the stories tend to be a bit... holey. However, it's perhaps the last five comics where you can really see Eisner's writing skill start to grow. And those comics are genuinely good. So if you want to read some old comics from the 40's, these are sure to be good for anyone. But if you want a proper introduction to Eisner, I'd first recommend "A Contract with God".
October 25, 2009
Like most of the Golden Age comics archives, the first issues of The Spirit are mostly a reminder of just how primitive comics were in the late thirties and early forties. The characters are stereotypical and thin, and the plots almost indistinguishable from the Batman comics being published a few doors down the road.
Evolution happens fast, though, and within weeks of the first issue Eisner is making little breaks in the format of pulp comics. There's a lot of potential here that would reach its full expression later on, and even the most ordinary stories are good two-fisted fun.
Evolution happens fast, though, and within weeks of the first issue Eisner is making little breaks in the format of pulp comics. There's a lot of potential here that would reach its full expression later on, and even the most ordinary stories are good two-fisted fun.
Want to read
April 15, 2007Bless me father, for I have sinned. I am a comic fanatic and I have never . . . never read any of Eisner's work. I know I've been reading comics since I was ten, and I own every volume of the Essential X-Men, but no Eisner. I even own "X-Men vs. The Fantastic Four" in TPB, but not a story of "The Spirit." It is not as if I have avoided the classics - I have Peanuts, I have Krazy Kat . . . and I mean to buy The Spirit, I do, but then it gets put on the "To Buy Later" list. Soon, soon.
May 18, 2018
We see the beginnings of Eisner’s magnum opus in this volume. Some ideas work better than others. The overt racism in Ebony’s depiction is a problem to modern sensibilities, and I’d imagine to more than a few at the time. His growth as a character over the series run is quite something.
I wonder if we’ll see the Black Queen in the future? She’s the first in a series of Femme Fatales that populate the Spirit’s world.
I wonder if we’ll see the Black Queen in the future? She’s the first in a series of Femme Fatales that populate the Spirit’s world.
July 12, 2012
Tratando de evitar polémica (conmigo mismo, claro), voy a aclarar de una por qué le pongo sólo dos estrellitas a este supuesto clásico de clásicos: le tuve que hacer muchas, DEMASIADAS concesiones para poder leerlo sin problemas. No sé las historias siguientes, pero al menos las que contiene este primer tomo envejecieron muy pero muy mal, pese a las inventivas composiciones de página de Eisner (quizás, lo más destacable de todo). Espero que los posteriores me sorprendan para bien.
January 2, 2013
The art is fantastic.
And the storytelling (as much of it as I took in; I made it about three 7 page serials) is solid, integrated with the art and into all adventure narratives in pop culture.
And the content is so dated, sexist, racist, and now also cliched, that I see no reason to wade through a dozen volumes of it, or even just one.
And the storytelling (as much of it as I took in; I made it about three 7 page serials) is solid, integrated with the art and into all adventure narratives in pop culture.
And the content is so dated, sexist, racist, and now also cliched, that I see no reason to wade through a dozen volumes of it, or even just one.
December 31, 2013
The rating is for the art, which is fantastic. While there are still a lot of artists who could learn from Eisner's action and paneling, his use of perspective is still above and beyond today's standards. Otherwise, dated by some very misogynistic and racist stereotypes. The stories started out on par with Stan Lee, then dropped off.
June 13, 2015
I am reading the Archives in celebration of The Spirit's 75th anniversary. The character is Eisner's magnum opus, and, while the war years stories (1942-1945) are generally the creation of writers and artists other than Will Eisner, there aren't any really bad stories in the series -- only good, better, and best.
December 26, 2007
what can i say? hands down my favorite comic character of all time. i even love the years that eisner was in the military and the strip was ghosted. yeah, they weren't as good, but as soon as he returned, this thing blasted into orbit.
January 16, 2009
Nice start...definitely easier to read than the old Batman collections. It's amazing the kinds of stories Eisner was willing to try so long ago. He hadn't quite gotten into his art groove yet, but it still had some impressive layouts.
August 18, 2013
The earliest Spirit stories were much more traditional in their pulp/comics influence, though one can see Eisner beginning to ease in both his sense of design and sense of humour. Be warned, though, that the portrayal of other than white people tends to be pretty horrible.
November 19, 2014
Classic Eisner is always worth reading. The strip starts out a bit rough around the edges, but you can see Eisner getting better and better with each page. Many of the innovative storytelling techniques are in place by the end of the book, an it only gets better from here. Recommended!
August 8, 2015
This series really made a 10 year run? I can barely stand the first volume. The Spirit is a comic book strip about a detective known as The Spirit who solves crime with various characters. The story was lame and the depiction of African Americans was rather racist.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews