[PSI]≡ Download Spirit The Archives Volume 1 June 2 December 29 1940 Spirit Archives Will Eisner Books

Spirit The Archives Volume 1 June 2 December 29 1940 Spirit Archives Will Eisner Books

Download As PDF : Spirit The Archives Volume 1 June 2 December 29 1940 Spirit Archives Will Eisner Books

Spirit The Archives Volume 1 June 2 December 29 1940 Spirit Archives Will Eisner Books

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 atThe 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.


Tags : Amazon.com: Spirit, The - Archives, Volume 1: June 2 - December 29, 1940 (Spirit Archives) (9781563896736): Will Eisner: Books,Will Eisner,Spirit, The - Archives, Volume 1: June 2 - December 29, 1940 (Spirit Archives),DC Comics,1563896737,Comic books, strips, etc.,Comic books, strips, etc,Comics & Graphic Novels,Comics & Graphic Novels General,Fiction,GRAPHIC NOVELS,General,Science Fiction

Spirit The Archives Volume 1 June 2 December 29 1940 Spirit Archives Will Eisner Books Reviews

This is my first introduction to The Spirit. The fact that Darwyn Cooke has started up a new run of the series and Frank Miller's movie will be in theaters by next year definitely peaked my interest. I have to say, coming from a Batman fan, I think this blows the early Batman stuff away, in both story and especially artwork.

Being as old as this is, I was surprised at how mature a lot of the themes were. Many of the stories deal with crime, corruption, murder, and suicide. The stories were always consistent, and while not everyone of them was brilliant, there were never any that were plain bad. What is great about Eisner's style is he introduces new characters in nearly every strip and when these were first printed it was on a weekly basis.

I marveled at how he was able to come up with so many unique stories without just bringing back the same old villains again and again (most of them are killed off). In fact in some cases, The Spirit doesn't even appear until midway through the story so there's always something new to focus on. The comic strips are only 7 pages in length and so I was impressed at how much story Eisner was able to tell in such a short amount of time (granted he typically stuck to the traditional 9 page layout).

Worth checking out, whether you are already a fan of The Spirit's updated stuff, or want to check it out for the first time.
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.
Husband loved it.
I've always wished to read Will Eisner's The Spirit because it's widely acknowledged like one of the most important milestones in the comic art.
Now that I've almost finished reading this first volume, I totally agree with other people who love that comic. The Spirit is art!
Excelent!I recomend it!
Here we have the Spirit Archives Volume 1. This is Eisner's prewar work. It is still excellent. The artwork is phenomenal and the storylines are great. The appearance of the comic is very noir, the cityscape is everything. As a reader you get to meet Denny Colt for the first time as well as commissioner Dolan, and various villains The Spirit fights. This Spirit was not your average super hero - he crossed many different genres (even though he was mainly noir). This is only volume 1 of Eisner's signature character - I would also recommend the other volumes of the Spirit or the Best of The Spirit to any comic book aficionado. This is a classic.
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 atThe 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.