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Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Favourite comics: The Christmas Spirit - Will Eisner

Continuing with the Christmas theme one of my favourite feastive comics is the above issue of the Spirit #12 (December 1975) by Wil Eisner. Published by Warren in the 1970’s this magazine reprinted Eisner’s classic newspaper strip from the 1940’s and ran for 16 (mostly) black and white issues before the title moved to Kitchen Sink. Up until I purchased this magazine (around 1980) from Arthur’s book stall in Glasgow, my knowledge of the Spirit was restricted to an illustration of the character from a half page advert that appeared in select DC comics in the early 1970’s for the “Menomonee Falls Gazette” - a weekly tabloid style paper featuring classic newspaper comic strips. The above tale "The Christmas Spirit” (originally published in December 1948) was one of 9 strips that featured in this issue and shows just how much of a master of the comic book form Will Eisner was – Enjoy.
The above half page advert for the "Menomonee Falls Gazette” appeared in DC titles around 1972/3.
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6 comments:

  1. KidDecember 20, 2023 at 2:56 AM

    I first heard of The Spirit in 1972, when I read about him in the 1st edition of 'The Penguin Book Of Comics', borrowed from my local library on a dark afternoon around October. I've got a few Spirit comics now, and it's interesting to note that Smash! ran a series called 'At Night Stalks... The Spectre', which had a similar concept to The Spirit, though it was a different Spectre to DC's version.

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    Replies
    1. McSCOTTYDecember 20, 2023 at 8:23 AM

      I have read a lot about that Penguin Book of Comics from old fans but I've never seen a copy. I remember that Smash strip but don't recall the details. I will need to look out a few issues to check the story.

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  2. Rip JaggerDecember 20, 2023 at 5:28 AM

    Eisner spun a great Christmas yarn indeed. These holiday Spirits are full of heart, and the usual great craftsmanship.

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  3. McSCOTTYDecember 20, 2023 at 8:26 AM

    I've been a fan of Eisners work ever since I picked up this issue. There was always a charm to his work regardless of the subject.

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  4. Colin JonesDecember 21, 2023 at 12:52 AM

    A heartwarming festive tale - thanks for that, Paul :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. McSCOTTYDecember 21, 2023 at 1:01 AM

    Glad you enjoyed it Colin.

    ReplyDelete

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