The Spirit

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The Spirit is a comic series by Will Eisner , which appeared as a weekly Sunday supplement from 1940 to 1952, was reprinted several times and filmed by Frank Miller . The series is one of the most important comic classics.

action

The masked lead actor The Spirit is an unusual detective. He is the policeman Denny Colt, who is doused with a mysterious liquid in the first episode and is believed to be dead by his partner. The liquid only made him seem dead temporarily; after his funeral he leaves his grave and wants to remain anonymous in order to hunt criminals as The Spirit . An underground laboratory in the cemetery is his retreat and work space. The Spirit is a not infallible hero who goes on his adventures in a hat and street suit without special skills. He fights his enemies with humor and irony. Its distinguishing feature is a narrow black band in front of the eyes.

style

The motif of the crime story is in the foreground in The Spirit , but there are also elements of mystery and comedy in the stories . Parallels to Dick Tracy and Batman can also be found in the stories, human fates of the big city determine the plot. The series set itself apart from other publications of the time because of its graphic and narrative quality. Eisner was strongly influenced by the film and used its techniques in his comics. He experimented with numerous creative means, such as dramatic shadows, unconventional cuts and unusual angles.

Publications

The Spirit was drawn for a 16-page comic supplement published by Quality Comics Group , which was included in the Sunday editions of various newspapers every week. From October 1941 to March 1944 there was also a day trip , which was taken over after six weeks (during Eisner's military service) by Lou Fine , later Jack Cole . Eisner finished work on The Spirit in 1952 and created educational comics for various American federal agencies.

Eisner was surprised when Denis Kitchen became interested in a re-release for an adult audience in 1973. Kitchen published two episodes of the series in his magazine Esprit de Corps . Publishing stopped when Eisner signed a deal with Warren Publishing . Warren published 16 issues of the series until 1978, for which Eisner created new covers. After the discontinuation, the rights to republish went to Krupp Comic Works . In the 1980s and 1990s, the series was reissued and was also published in German by Carlsen Verlag . Salleck Publications has been publishing a complete German-language edition under the title Will Eisner's Spirit Archive since 2002 . So far 22 book editions and two special volumes ( The best stories [2008], and Femmes Fatales [2012]) have been published.

2007 was published by DC Comics of One Shot Batman / The Spirit of Jeph Loeb , drawn by Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone , from which a new series emerged.

The Spirit was first filmed in 1987 , as a television film. Sam J. Jones played The Spirit, Nana Visitor was Ellen Dolan, and Garry Walberg played Commissioner Dolan. Laura Robinson was the femme fatal P'Gell Roxton that the Spirit competes against in the film.

In 2008, Frank Miller shot a film that was released in German cinemas on February 5, 2009. Gabriel Macht played the Spirit (Denny Colt) and Samuel L. Jackson played the opponent Octopus. Scarlett Johansson played Silken Floss, Eva Mendes was Sand Saref and Jamie King played Lorelei. Johnny Simmons was allowed to play the young Denny Colt.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andreas C. Knigge : From "cheerful Fridolin" to "little asshole" . In: Ders .: Everything about comics. A journey of discovery from the cave pictures to the manga . Europa Verlag, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-203-79115-3 , p. 24.
  2. ^ Günter Metken : Comics (Fischer Bücherei). Fischer-Taschenbuchverlag, Frankfurt / M. 1970, ISBN 3-436-01274-2 , p. 86.
  3. ↑ a b Andreas C. Knigge: Comic Lexikon . Ullstein, Frankfurt / M. 1988, ISBN 3-548-36554-X , p. 175.
  4. ^ Wolfgang J. Fuchs, Reinhold C. Rittberger: Comics. Anatomy of a mass medium . Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 1973, ISBN 3-499-11594-8 , p. 284.
  5. ↑ Will Eisner's Spirit Archives Vol. 25 - The Complete Daily Strips: 1941 to 1944 . DC Comics, New York 2008
  6. ^ Paul Gravett: Graphic Novels. Everything you need to know . Collins Design, New York 2005, ISBN 0-06-082425-5 , p. 36.
  7. ↑ Patrick Rosenkranz: Rebel Visions. The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975 . Fantagraphics Books, Seattle WA 2002, ISBN 1-56097-464-8 , p. 223.
  8. ↑ Patrick Rosenkranz: Rebel Visions. The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975 . Fantagraphics Books, Seattle WA 2002, ISBN 1-56097-464-8 , p. 259.