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DC Anniversary Celebrations
Will Eisner's The Spirit: A Celebration of 75 Years
Universally celebrated as one of comics’ most influential creators, Will Eisner broke new ground with nearly every project he undertook during his long and extraordinary career. But no creation was more ambitious, innovative, or ahead of its time than the weekly serial he launched in 1940 - The Spirit!
Over the twelve years of its initial publication, this legendary strip revolutionized the cartooning medium, establishing new methods of storytelling, developing new depths of characterization, and demonstrating to readers everywhere that comics could truly be an art form. In the years that followed, fans and professionals alike regularly revisited The Spirit to rediscover the feature’s timeless appeal.
To honor the 75th anniversary of Eisner’s historic achievement, DC Comics is proud to present this deluxe edition collecting more than four hundred pages of the Spirit’s four-color adventures. Beginning with his very first appearance in print, WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS follows the indefatigable criminologist Denny Colt across the decades to his most recent re-imaginings by some of contemporary comics’ greatest talents - including Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell and Darwyn Cooke.
Over the twelve years of its initial publication, this legendary strip revolutionized the cartooning medium, establishing new methods of storytelling, developing new depths of characterization, and demonstrating to readers everywhere that comics could truly be an art form. In the years that followed, fans and professionals alike regularly revisited The Spirit to rediscover the feature’s timeless appeal.
To honor the 75th anniversary of Eisner’s historic achievement, DC Comics is proud to present this deluxe edition collecting more than four hundred pages of the Spirit’s four-color adventures. Beginning with his very first appearance in print, WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS follows the indefatigable criminologist Denny Colt across the decades to his most recent re-imaginings by some of contemporary comics’ greatest talents - including Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell and Darwyn Cooke.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2015
6 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Will Eisner
761 books537 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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 6, 2017
A mixed bag, but a great piece of comics history.
The Bad:
I don't normally start with the bad, but I'm going to in this case. It's pretty obvious to anyone who flips through this that there is a pretty harsh depiction of The Spirit's buddy, Ebony, who is a young black person and depicted in a manner that's totally unacceptable today. I don't really seek to condemn or defend this so much as to tell you it's there, and if it's too much to get past, then skip this book.
For me, I guess I'd compare it to Mark Twain in that I can completely understand someone who is like, "This might be a classic, but 219 N-words in a single book is over my threshold." And I don't think that's wrong. The reason I compare it to Mark Twain, however, is because I think the negative depictions are very indicative of the time (early 1940's), and because there is a lot of value to be derived if you're willing/able to go past all that. But again, I wouldn't look down on someone who says, "No thanks." I don't seek to do that so much as reassure someone who's unsure that yes, there is good in this book that may make it worth your while.
I'll say the other bad part. In a weird way, it'd be good to see some other comics printed at the time within this volume. The reason being, I think it's easier to appreciate just how much further Eisner was taking the medium of comics than a lot of his contemporaries if you could see them together.
The Good: The layouts and art are pretty amazing. The title pages are so creative and interesting, way more than a lot of pages today. And the stories are sophisticated in a way that a lot of comics aren't. This book does not hold your hand so hard that you'll know everything that's going on, and boy did Eisner have a willingness to tell very different stories through The Spirit, sometimes telling stories where the titular character doesn't appear at all.
This book definitely lays the groundwork for a lot of superhero books, especially Batman (and I've gotta believe that a lot of the campiness of the 1960's Batman has The Spirit to thank), and I think it also lays the groundwork for something that I've always loved, which is a different kind of superhero book.
Every so often, you'll get a Spider-Man issue where he, say, spends most of the pages chatting with Wolverine about something. Or a X-Statix which shows Doop's average day. I love these little interludes, and even though they might seem like space fillers, I feel like the writers really get into them and do interesting stuff when they don't necessarily spotlight the main character or when they tell a very different kind of story. I think The Spirit is one of the oldest books I've read that has those kinds of stories, the non-superhero or superhero-adjacent story that's surprisingly great.
Also, the essays by Neil Gaiman and Darwyn Cooke are excellent. If you're struggling with this book for whatever reason, I'd advise just skipping to those, reading them both, and then taking another crack at it. They really speak well to what makes this book so special.
My question: I never saw the Spirit movie. Who's seen it? What's it like? Watching the trailer again, my suspicion is that they didn't include enough of the fun into the story. But that's based on 3 minutes of a movie being marketed at a time when the gruff, serious superhero was everything.
The Bad:
I don't normally start with the bad, but I'm going to in this case. It's pretty obvious to anyone who flips through this that there is a pretty harsh depiction of The Spirit's buddy, Ebony, who is a young black person and depicted in a manner that's totally unacceptable today. I don't really seek to condemn or defend this so much as to tell you it's there, and if it's too much to get past, then skip this book.
For me, I guess I'd compare it to Mark Twain in that I can completely understand someone who is like, "This might be a classic, but 219 N-words in a single book is over my threshold." And I don't think that's wrong. The reason I compare it to Mark Twain, however, is because I think the negative depictions are very indicative of the time (early 1940's), and because there is a lot of value to be derived if you're willing/able to go past all that. But again, I wouldn't look down on someone who says, "No thanks." I don't seek to do that so much as reassure someone who's unsure that yes, there is good in this book that may make it worth your while.
I'll say the other bad part. In a weird way, it'd be good to see some other comics printed at the time within this volume. The reason being, I think it's easier to appreciate just how much further Eisner was taking the medium of comics than a lot of his contemporaries if you could see them together.
The Good: The layouts and art are pretty amazing. The title pages are so creative and interesting, way more than a lot of pages today. And the stories are sophisticated in a way that a lot of comics aren't. This book does not hold your hand so hard that you'll know everything that's going on, and boy did Eisner have a willingness to tell very different stories through The Spirit, sometimes telling stories where the titular character doesn't appear at all.
This book definitely lays the groundwork for a lot of superhero books, especially Batman (and I've gotta believe that a lot of the campiness of the 1960's Batman has The Spirit to thank), and I think it also lays the groundwork for something that I've always loved, which is a different kind of superhero book.
Every so often, you'll get a Spider-Man issue where he, say, spends most of the pages chatting with Wolverine about something. Or a X-Statix which shows Doop's average day. I love these little interludes, and even though they might seem like space fillers, I feel like the writers really get into them and do interesting stuff when they don't necessarily spotlight the main character or when they tell a very different kind of story. I think The Spirit is one of the oldest books I've read that has those kinds of stories, the non-superhero or superhero-adjacent story that's surprisingly great.
Also, the essays by Neil Gaiman and Darwyn Cooke are excellent. If you're struggling with this book for whatever reason, I'd advise just skipping to those, reading them both, and then taking another crack at it. They really speak well to what makes this book so special.
My question: I never saw the Spirit movie. Who's seen it? What's it like? Watching the trailer again, my suspicion is that they didn't include enough of the fun into the story. But that's based on 3 minutes of a movie being marketed at a time when the gruff, serious superhero was everything.
March 30, 2021
I hadn't read anything by Will Eisner before this. I was completely unfamiliar with his work or why he was so noted as one of the most influential and celebrated creators in comics history. Having finished this collection I can say that I get it.
[However before I get into it I want to note that there is some extremely racist and horrendous depictions of black people in this. Spirits sidekick in the earlier half of these stories is a young black boy literally named "Ebony" that talks in stereotypical broken english and is drawn in about the most racist and ridiculous way. I wanted to say this up front because I was not prepared going in and every panel with him was very uncomfortable to read. I wish I knew more about this depiction before reading it and I certainly wish there was an actual disclaimer in the collection itself.]
While these comics do feel like products of their time, they ironically also feel way ahead of their time in terms of the art and narrative. The very earlier stories weren't much but it quickly became extremely engaging and fun to read, way more so than I was expecting. Eisner implements such energy into the flow from panel to panel along with his frequently stunning artwork. The stories themselves become genuinely interesting as they go on and I want to get more of the section from 1947 on. A lot feature Spirit as more of a background character who's personal involvement is not inherent to the story, something very unique for the lead in a series named after them. I loved how Eisner approached tone and how every once in awhile there would be a fun goofy story and then a dead serious one, and often there would be the best of both in play at the same time. Will Eisner knew exactly what he was doing and was able to be self aware at times (although unfortunately not in the case of Ebony).
After the scattering of Spirit Section serials there are two from the New Adventures of Spirit anthology; one by Neil Gaiman and one by Alan Moore, both great. Gaiman's felt true to what Eisner tried to do, while Moore's was sort of a metacommentary on the character and his legacy. (Not collected in this are Alan Moore's other stories he did for The New Adventures that show different sides of Spirits origin and I highly recommend reading before the story that is collected in this.) Lastly is the Batman/Spirit crossover by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke which was a very fun comparison of the two characters and their worlds. It was rich with details and references and seemed again like a celebration of the Spirits legacy. I didn't like it as much as the previous ones but it was fun and got me excited to start Cooke's run on The Spirit.
This is one of my longer reviews but that's because this was a really interesting read for me. There's a lot to digest with Will Eisner's work. I could see these being fun adventures for the younger audience to read but he puts so much attention on how he establishes thematic moods and narrative flow that I feel like only a mind paying closer attention could process. I would not recommend this to just anybody like I might other golden or silver age comics, this is definitely something more for the creator's that are interested in making comics or the history of comics as a medium.
After this I'm excited to see how other creative's handle Spirit but I'm perhaps more eager to get my hands on other works by Will Eisner himself.
[However before I get into it I want to note that there is some extremely racist and horrendous depictions of black people in this. Spirits sidekick in the earlier half of these stories is a young black boy literally named "Ebony" that talks in stereotypical broken english and is drawn in about the most racist and ridiculous way. I wanted to say this up front because I was not prepared going in and every panel with him was very uncomfortable to read. I wish I knew more about this depiction before reading it and I certainly wish there was an actual disclaimer in the collection itself.]
While these comics do feel like products of their time, they ironically also feel way ahead of their time in terms of the art and narrative. The very earlier stories weren't much but it quickly became extremely engaging and fun to read, way more so than I was expecting. Eisner implements such energy into the flow from panel to panel along with his frequently stunning artwork. The stories themselves become genuinely interesting as they go on and I want to get more of the section from 1947 on. A lot feature Spirit as more of a background character who's personal involvement is not inherent to the story, something very unique for the lead in a series named after them. I loved how Eisner approached tone and how every once in awhile there would be a fun goofy story and then a dead serious one, and often there would be the best of both in play at the same time. Will Eisner knew exactly what he was doing and was able to be self aware at times (although unfortunately not in the case of Ebony).
After the scattering of Spirit Section serials there are two from the New Adventures of Spirit anthology; one by Neil Gaiman and one by Alan Moore, both great. Gaiman's felt true to what Eisner tried to do, while Moore's was sort of a metacommentary on the character and his legacy. (Not collected in this are Alan Moore's other stories he did for The New Adventures that show different sides of Spirits origin and I highly recommend reading before the story that is collected in this.) Lastly is the Batman/Spirit crossover by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke which was a very fun comparison of the two characters and their worlds. It was rich with details and references and seemed again like a celebration of the Spirits legacy. I didn't like it as much as the previous ones but it was fun and got me excited to start Cooke's run on The Spirit.
This is one of my longer reviews but that's because this was a really interesting read for me. There's a lot to digest with Will Eisner's work. I could see these being fun adventures for the younger audience to read but he puts so much attention on how he establishes thematic moods and narrative flow that I feel like only a mind paying closer attention could process. I would not recommend this to just anybody like I might other golden or silver age comics, this is definitely something more for the creator's that are interested in making comics or the history of comics as a medium.
After this I'm excited to see how other creative's handle Spirit but I'm perhaps more eager to get my hands on other works by Will Eisner himself.
April 5, 2017
Some fun stories and some good stuff for history of comics perspective but definitely needs to be approached as historical artifact because the sexism and racism are otherwise overwhelming.
July 5, 2015
This is DC Comics' homage to one of the greatest comic book characters ever created, by republishing some of his greatest adventures before and while hey held the license to his product.
June 17, 2018
Will Eisner's The Spirit: A Celebration of 75 Years is a compilation of some of the best representative of the Spirit stories over the years to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary debut (2015). In truth, I never heard of The Spirit and I was eager to learn all about him from this anthology.
Apparently, Detective Denny Colt as The Spirit is a fictional masked crime fighter – fighting crime in Central City with the blessing of the Police Commissioner. Except for his superhuman longevity, it seems like The Spirit is similar to Batman in both skill as a fighter and detective. The stories presented in the anthology has a variety of styles from straightforward crime drama, noir, light-hearted adventure, mystery, horror, comedy, and love stories and any mix of hybrid elements of the above.
This anthology contains about sixty stories from its inception in Register and Tribune Syndicate in 1940 and listed chronology to the early 2000s. It is rather interesting reading about The Spirit from the pre and post war era and even to the modern era – how he evolved with the times. My favorite of the stories listed has to be the last one Batman/The Spirit (2007) one-shot written by Jeph Loeb and penciled by Darwyne Cooke.
A word of warning, this anthology shouldn't be rated through the modern lens, but in a historical context, because the series – especially the earlier ones are highly sexist and racist or discriminatory at the very least. The character Ebony White stands out the most – he is The Spirit's black sidekick and he is drawn and characterized in a very stereotypical and demeaning manner. Nowadays, Ebony White, in this form, would never be accepted or produced.
All in all, Will Eisner's The Spirit: A Celebration of 75 Years is a wonderful selection of stories over the three-quarters of a century that The Spirit has been around. It is a good anthology for both the avid and subdued fan alike, as I have learned quite a bit about The Spirit.
Apparently, Detective Denny Colt as The Spirit is a fictional masked crime fighter – fighting crime in Central City with the blessing of the Police Commissioner. Except for his superhuman longevity, it seems like The Spirit is similar to Batman in both skill as a fighter and detective. The stories presented in the anthology has a variety of styles from straightforward crime drama, noir, light-hearted adventure, mystery, horror, comedy, and love stories and any mix of hybrid elements of the above.
This anthology contains about sixty stories from its inception in Register and Tribune Syndicate in 1940 and listed chronology to the early 2000s. It is rather interesting reading about The Spirit from the pre and post war era and even to the modern era – how he evolved with the times. My favorite of the stories listed has to be the last one Batman/The Spirit (2007) one-shot written by Jeph Loeb and penciled by Darwyne Cooke.
A word of warning, this anthology shouldn't be rated through the modern lens, but in a historical context, because the series – especially the earlier ones are highly sexist and racist or discriminatory at the very least. The character Ebony White stands out the most – he is The Spirit's black sidekick and he is drawn and characterized in a very stereotypical and demeaning manner. Nowadays, Ebony White, in this form, would never be accepted or produced.
All in all, Will Eisner's The Spirit: A Celebration of 75 Years is a wonderful selection of stories over the three-quarters of a century that The Spirit has been around. It is a good anthology for both the avid and subdued fan alike, as I have learned quite a bit about The Spirit.
January 8, 2025
A reprint of ‘The Best of The Spirit’, published 10 years earlier, with some additional stories by Eisner and a couple of artists who continued the character he invented. Even the foreword by Neil Gaiman gets recycled.
The oldest stories contain portrayals of women and blacks which were already criticized in the 1970’s. At the same time, while some are quite silly and dated, almost all of them remain graphically stunning and the best as humane and moving as ever. The world would be poorer for cancelling them.
It bears repeating that it can be instructive and at times amusing to look back at uncensured oldies. E.g. at the Valentine episode of 1950 that deals with a protagonist who is labelled as ‘demure’, long before the term got hyped during 2024’s slow news summer.
So enjoy the ride back in time, all the way back to before the landing on the moon, before the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll, … assuming you believe the last of those really happened.
The oldest stories contain portrayals of women and blacks which were already criticized in the 1970’s. At the same time, while some are quite silly and dated, almost all of them remain graphically stunning and the best as humane and moving as ever. The world would be poorer for cancelling them.
It bears repeating that it can be instructive and at times amusing to look back at uncensured oldies. E.g. at the Valentine episode of 1950 that deals with a protagonist who is labelled as ‘demure’, long before the term got hyped during 2024’s slow news summer.
So enjoy the ride back in time, all the way back to before the landing on the moon, before the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll, … assuming you believe the last of those really happened.
July 31, 2023
Jako całość trudno oceniać bo historie starzeją się różnie i niektóre naprawdę są świadectwem swoich czasów z dobrodziejstwem, ale i tak te dobrze wypadają scenariuszowo i rysunkowo lepiej niż wiele rzeczy z tego co uznano za "Złotą" erę amerykańskiego komiksu. Ale i tak w pierwszej kolejności od Eisnera to trzeba poznać nie to a okres co zaczął się od Umowy z Bogiem
April 14, 2017
Your best option when it comes to getting a good look at The Spirit without having to spend a fortune.
Will Eisner's Spirit is a comic that could have been written today. You can really see why these stories stood out from the other comics of the 40s. The art is great even by today's standards and the story follows suit.
You do see a big difference in quality if you compare the earlier stories to the latter ones, especially in the art. When Eisner found his own style the strip soared higher than before, experimental techniques like lack of boarders was something Eisner liked to play around with.
Of course that's not all this book contains, It also contains stories from Alan Moore,Darwyn Cooke and more. Which is quite a treat considering how good these stories are too.
Will Eisner's Spirit is a comic that could have been written today. You can really see why these stories stood out from the other comics of the 40s. The art is great even by today's standards and the story follows suit.
You do see a big difference in quality if you compare the earlier stories to the latter ones, especially in the art. When Eisner found his own style the strip soared higher than before, experimental techniques like lack of boarders was something Eisner liked to play around with.
Of course that's not all this book contains, It also contains stories from Alan Moore,Darwyn Cooke and more. Which is quite a treat considering how good these stories are too.
July 16, 2015
While I would have perhaps selected different stories -- Silken Floss is not included, the Spirit Jam is nowhere to be seen (yes, I realize that the jam isn't necessarily a great Spirit story, but it is a fun one), and I would have found room to include the entirety of The first issue of The Spirit: The New Adventures by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and also Eisner's last Spirit work, a team-up with Michael Chabon's The Escapist -- this is still a great collection featuring Will Eisner's most well-known creation.
October 28, 2016
I started reading the Spirit in various reprints in the late 80' and early 90's. But they were all over the place in the order I received them. Here we have a slightly larger than standard comic size presentation with all the garish colors and in the order first printed. The stories might have been hokey by modern standards but for the time and audience ( inserted into Sunday papers ) they were and still are a fun read.
August 6, 2015
Ebony? WTH?
I bought this to read a famous author/artist's work on a hero I am familiar with by name and appearance only. I had high expectations but hit a wall at the first appearance of Ebony, the cartoonish stereo type Black man servant. I was disappointed and wished I hadn't bought the book. I didn't enjoy it.
I bought this to read a famous author/artist's work on a hero I am familiar with by name and appearance only. I had high expectations but hit a wall at the first appearance of Ebony, the cartoonish stereo type Black man servant. I was disappointed and wished I hadn't bought the book. I didn't enjoy it.
July 26, 2015
Excellent collection of Will Eisner's classic comic character. If you want to become familiar with this golden age comic and the amazing groundbreaking writing and art of Eisner then this is the book to intro you to both. Fantastic selection of the comic stories. Very recommended
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews