The Spirit is private investigator Denny Colt, created by comics legend Will Eisner, and first appeared in as a feature (dubbed "The Spirit Section") in a tabloid-sized newspaper insert distributed by the Register and Tribune Syndicate newspapers on June 2, 1940. The original comic strip lasted until 1952. Since then, new and reprinted adventures of the character have appeared from at least nine different publishers. In addition to various comic strips, The Spirit on television and in film; both a planned animated film and a radio program never materialized. In 2011, the media website IGN ranked The Spirit as 21st of the Top 100 Comic book Heroes of all time.
While trying to apprehend the mad scientist Dr. Cobra, Denny Colt falls into a state of suspended animation and is pronounced dead. Colt wakes up after being interred in Wildwood Cemetery and begins his career as a crime-fighter with the blessing of Police Commission Dolan. Having been declared dead, Colt uses his anonymity to create The Spirit, and establishes his headquarters underneath his own tombstone. He has no supernatural powers but he is an expert at hand-to-hand combat and has peak mental and physical powers. His costume -- such as it is -- is a business suit and fedora with a blue domino mask and blue leather gloves. Although he meets many beautiful women in his adventures, his main love interest is Commissioner Dolan's daughter, Ellen. His assistant is a small Black cabdriver named Ebony White, depicted in a cartoonish stereotypical manner. (Ebony is an off-putting character for many, but was surprising popular with Black readers -- despite his physical appearance, he was resourceful and respected by all, and came across as "a combination of Tom Sawyer and Penrod, with a touch of Horatio Alger hero, and color didn't really come into it."
The Spirit was innovative in both concept and execution and has been a major influence on the industry. Even after Eisner had ceased most of his work on the comic, The Spirit retained his unique artistic style and use of color, lettering, and background. Later writers for the comic included Jules Feiffer, Jack Cole, Manly Wade Wellman, William Woolfolk, and Klaus Nordling. Later artists included Lou fine, Jack Cole, Jerry Grandenetti, Wally Wood, Dave Berg, Jules Feiffer, and James Dixon.
One of The Sprit comic book incarnations came from Fiction House, which published five issues of reprint adventures in 1952-3. Their first volume included:
- "The Case of the Counterfeit Killer" A man claiming to be Denny Colt suddenly appears in Central City, demanding the remains of his family inheritance. There is no way to prove that he is not the original Colt. Then the imposter turns up dead and Commissioner Dolan is arrested for embezzling the proceeds of the Colt estate. This one was scripted by Jules Feiffer and drawn by James Dixon.
- "The Curse of Claymore Castle" The Spirit journeys to Scotland Yard on the trail of an international swindler and enters Claymore Castle on the isolated Scottish moors, where he encounters an abandoned bride, a *vanished ape, and "the jewels of destiny." Written by Klaus Nordling and again drawn by James Dixon.
- "The Plot of the Perfect Crime:" For his entire life, young Marvin had been accused of things he did not do. He grew up bitter and hard and had only one desire -- to actually commit the perfect crime and never be blamed for it! Marvin actually kills a man and gets away with it but he is -- caught, convicted, and executed for a crime he did not commit -- killing two men. Written by Feiffer and drawn by Dixon.
- And, "Panic on Pier Eight" A big North City mob is moving in on the waterfront. One of The Spirit's agents is killed, with a mysterious note in his pocket signed "The Ancient Mariner." The Spirit heads to the waterfront just as a violent mob instigates a dock war. To stop the war and to capture the ringleaders, The Spirit has to solve maritime riddle. Written by Nordling and drawn by Dixon.
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