Daniela Marino

Essay Assignment # 1

Comic Books and Graphic Novels

The Spirit – The origin of The Spirit

Prof. Kuskin

Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name

When reading a single Comics page without knowing the characters very well or

the plot, one might think it would be hard to understand what the story is all about and

the truth is that it doesn’t matter! Even if the reader is not familiar to Will Eisner strips,

it is impossible not wonder what happens next for this single page is able to open and

close a complete scene.

Maybe that was exactly what Umberto Eco meant when he said Comics differ

from ancient myths for the myths are stuck in an everlasting event, while Comics hold

the reader’s interest by focusing the attention on the unpredictability of what will

happen (Eco, 1974, 259) and this is what we feel when Denny Colt is hit by the liquid

spilled from the vat: will he survive? Will Dr. Cobra succeed? (Will Eisner, Quality

Comics, 1946)

What really pops out from this page is how clear it seems that the story is set in

the 40’s. Not only because the noir films influence, but also because there’s certain

innocence, naivety in the way the characters behave. For instance, even before Denny

Colt became The Spirit, he was only an officer with noble intends whose figure and

attitudes would be synonyms of justice. He doesn’t need special powers. He can’t fly

and yet, on this page we notice that his mere appearance before Dr. Cobra is presumed

to be enough to put an end to the villain’s intentions. Unfortunately, although Colt

fights Dr. Cobra’s accomplice, he is not able to arrest the enemy for he is pushed

against the vat, leaving us to figure his future out.

Another important point is that the events take place in Chinatown, as it is stated

in the first grid, differently from DC Comics which adventures are taken to a fictional

city such as Gotham or Metropolis. I understand that it brings us closer to the scene as if

we were part of it or, at least, makes us believe that things are more likely to happen.

Dr. Cobra’s head floating in the middle of the page saying Colt’s name out loud

calls our attention to two things: from that we can assume he knew Denny Colt and at

the same time he was kind of surprised to be caught, as if he really expected to cause all

the damage he wanted without the police interference. We also learn that the villain had

tried to deliver his Machiavellian plans before, but he never succeeds and this time

could be different… Colt was hit!

The three by three grid page and the use of strong colors such as red and yellow

together with a sequence of movements give speed to the scenes, making them look as

vivid as if they were happening is a short space of time. No time to lose, no time to

breath or think, just action! We can feel the blood running into our veins while

following each movement and they do move! Maybe this kind of Comic is the reason

why storyboard in movies is so important.

I really don’t know whether Eisner thought his drawings as films, but the fact is

that we can picture a film from the way he draws them and the way he so aptly applies

the text to the grids. A good example is how the narrator takes us to the scenes,

describing the scenario: “Crooked narrow alleys that thread like grey veins…” someone

is meandering in the shadows like a snake; someone is watching you from the dark

corners of Chinatown.

Maybe, when reading the first two grids one can be under the impression that a

super-hero is coming up and then we see a Dick Tracy kind of figure that looks just as

ordinary as any officer can look, but as we follow this man grid by grid we realize that

our judgment was unfair and that ordinary is not the word for someone who cannot

count on anything else but his own intentions to do good and a gun on his hand.

In the 40’s this kind of strip worked really well, but according to Eisner, the

cultural industry used to see a Comic reader as a typical 10-year-old-boy from the

countryside (Eisner, Martins Fontes, 1974), so when he introduced The Spirit the plots

were considered a bit more adult-like. The Spirit can be the responsible why adults

started to consume Comics more often, changing this market for good.

Denny Colt’s urge for justice is stronger than any super-power he could have.

He is shown here as a fearless man that could be anyone: your father, your neighbor,

ourselves! And after being hit we are able to see how human and fallible he is. He can

be real; he can be a man and still fights the evil! Let me introduce you to the Spirit!

References:

Eco, Umberto. 1974. Apocalípticos e Integrados - Apocalypse Postponed. São Paulo:

Perspectiva.

Eisneir, Will. 1999. Quadrinhos e Arte Sequencial - Comics and Sequential Art. São

Paulo: Martins Fontes.