Remembering Artist Will Eisner

Remembering comic pioneer and artist Will Eisner on his birthday (March 6, 1917 - January 3, 2003) with a couple of his covers to the Spirit, featuring femme fatales...including P'Gel of Paris!

From The Spirit #20 and #21 (April and June, 1950).

A Christmas Spirit

Just a little Christmas Spirit to help get you in the mood for the holidays, here, Will Eisner's classic hero, Denny Colt, in his alter ego of the Spirit, from Warren Magazine's The Spirit #12 (February, 1976)...

...with reprints of newspaper strips that revolve around Christmas from the 1940s and 1950s.

Harvey Comics' Spirit

You may know of Denny Colt, the man who was the Spirit...creation of Will Eisner that first appeared June 2nd, 1940 in a syndicated Sunday supplement by the Register and Tribune Syndicate that continued until October 5th, 1952, wherein Denny Colt faced menaces such as the crimelord the Octopus, P'Gell the femme fatale, childhood crush Sand Saref, mad scientist Dr. Cobra, adventurer Silk Satin all for Commissioner Dolan, often with help from the chief's daughter (and Spirit's girlfriend), Ellen Dolan and sidekick Ebony White all in a stylish blue suit,  white shirt, red tie and domino mask armed pretty much only with his wit and determination.

These stories also ended up being published in Police Comics #11 (September, 1942) by Quality Comics through Police Comics #102 (October, 1950) along with Plastic Man, Modern Comics #102 (October, 1950) with Blackhawk and 22 issues of the Spirit by Quality Comics from 1944 until August of 1950.

This could have been the end of the Spirit, but Will Eisner was a smart businessman as well, and owned the rights to his character....and ended up having 2 comics of the Spirit in the 1960s at Harvey Comics (known more for characters like Richie Rich, Little Lotta, Little Dot and Casper the Friendly Ghost).

Harvey Comics Spirit #1

Harvey Comics' Spirit #1 came out in October, 1966, with 8 stories including a new origin for the Spirit written and pencilled by Will Eisner (with an inking assist by Chuck Kramer) to lead off the book (it was the third version of his origin, but still just Denny Colt going off to fight crime and thinking he died, becoming the Spirit....)...


...with 7 other stories from 1948 and 1949 newspapers, and an "interview with the Spirit" by Marilyn Mercer, as well as a 2 page featurette by Will Eisner called the "Spirit Lab Invincible Devices".

Not bad for 25 cents (a large amount to spent on a comic in those days....it was a "Giant Size Harvey Thriller" after all!).

Harvey Comics Spirit #2

Harvey Comics Spirit #2 came out in March, 1967, and was also a larger issue, with a new story by Will Eisner and to lead it off...this time featuring the Octopus, who was given an alter ego, Zitzbath Zark, for the first time, as well as an origin tale here.

There was a two page text feature by Marilyn Mercer wherein the Spirit answers your mail...as well as a 2 page story likely inspired by the Man from U.N.C.L.E. by Will Eisner in the "Spirit Lab, The Man from MSD" as well as 7 different reprints of newspaper features from 1948 through 1950.

These two comics showed the Spirit (and Will Eisner) was able to adapt to the times, and find a home no matter the odds, dealing with everything including the kitchen sink (ironic, as Kitchen Sink Press was the next home of the Spirit in the 1970s!).

Quality's Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam was a known figure (being based on New York meat packer Samuel Wilson), was referred to in the lyrics of Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1775, was a literary character in 1816, and was an image as he was usually known by in J. M. Flagg's recruitment poster of 1917 (for World War I).

He's even made it into a few other comic book companys...like Marvel's Captain America and Fawcett's Captain Marvel...

A Quality Uncle Sam

The spirit of America was made into an official comic book character at Quality Comics, with National Comics #1 (July, 1940, thus before Captain America even existed), and this Uncle Sam was created by Will Eisner (who also created and retained ownership of the Spirit), and the cover was drawn by Lou Fine (and interior story drawn by Dave Berg).

Uncle Sam was joining the fight for World War II to save us all!

Uncle Sam's origin appeared in National Comics #5 (November, 1940), with story by Will Eisner, and cover and interior art by Lou Fine (this issue also introduced Quality's speed hero, Quicksilver....).

Uncle Sam stayed to fight for America from National Comics #1-45 (that last issue in December, 1944, and Uncle Sam was on the covers up to #41 before being replaced by the Barker...).

During this time, Uncle Sam proved popular enough to even get his own book as well!

Uncle Sam Breaks Loose

Uncle Sam Quarterly #1 came out in Autumn, 1941, and the title wasn't quite quarterly...#2 was Winter of 1941 cover by Lou Fine, #3 was Summer of 1942 cover by George Tuska, #4 was Autumn of 1942 cover by Gill Fox, #5 was Winter of 1942 cover by Al Gabriele, #6 was Spring of 1943 cover by Ruben Moreira, #7 was Summer of 1943 cover by Al Bryant, and the last issue of the series, #8, was in Fall of 1943, and cover by Alex Kotzky.

The title then became Blackhawk, which is why Blackhawk started with issue #9 at Quality Comics!

Sam's last Quality appearance was in National Comics #45 (December, 1944)...but that wasn't the last appearance of Uncle Sam.  DC Comics had purchased the Quality characters, and kept the Blackhawks, G.I. Combat, Heart Throbs and Robin Hood Tales titles going under the DC banner (or is that checker?)...and even revived Plastic Man in the 1960s...but as for the rest...their freedom came in the 1970s...

Freedom for the Quality Heroes

Len Wein and Dick Dillin brought back 6 of these unused Quality characters as a team in Justice League of America #107-108 (September-December, 1973) as the Freedom Fighters.  Uncle Sam had recruited Phantom Lady, the Human Bomb, the Black Condor, Doll Man and the Ray to help him fight the Nazis who had won World War II on their Earth (Earth-X)...and with this story, also got the help of Earth-1's Justice League and Earth-2's Justice Society.

The Freedom Fighters then graduated to their own book, entitled Freedom Fighters, that lasted for 15 issues from 1976 to 1978, by writers Gerry Conway, Marty Pasko and Bob Rozakis and artists Ric Estrada, Pablo Marcus, Ramona Fradon, and Dick Ayers, facing a foe from Earth-X, the Silver Ghost!

While the JLA stories are reprinted in Crisis On Multiple Earths 3 under an Alex Ross cover, the Freedom Fighters tales have yet to be collected (and are wanted....)

The World War II origins of the Freedom Fighters got covered in All-Star Squadron #31-35 (March-July, 1984, by Roy Thomas and Rick Hoberg), and told how these (and other) Quality heroes (like Miss America, Magno and Neon the Unknown) had originally started on Earth-2, and left to help Earth-X, and unintentionally allowed the Nazis to win World War II!

Sadly, these Freedom Fighters saw their modern adventure together end soon after their appearance in DC Comics Presents #62 (October, 1983 by Bob Rozakis, Dan Mishkin and Irv Novick with a text piece resolving the Firebrand/Silver Ghost battle left from the original Freedom Fighters series) in Crisis On Infinite Earths (though others continue to pick up their legacy...

...most recently in two 8 issue mini-series of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters by writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmioti, and artists Daniel Acuna on the first series, and Renato Arlem on the second series, and a Freedom Fighters series with the same writing team and with art by Travis Moore for 9 issues before it ended...reviving even more Quality characters under the DC banner).

More Uncle Sam History

Uncle Sam himself got a more recent origin with Secret Origins #19 (November, 1987, by Len Wein and Murphy Anderson, which is pretty faithful to Uncle Sam's stories from National Comics #1 and 5, and Uncle Sam Quarterly #1, and has a cover by Anderson for Sam, and Captain America co-creator Jack Kirby drawing DC's shield-slinger, the Guardian!), and if you still want more Quality and Uncle Sam comic history, check out the wonderful Quality Companion from TwoMorrows, by Mike Kooiman and Jim Amash with a cover by Dick Giordano!

Uncle Sam, we salute you!