The Spirit #6/9/1940
The Spirit Section dated June 9, 1940 is the second installment of Will Eisner's groundbreaking newspaper-supplement series — and it is the issue where the Spirit first wears his now-inseparable blue domino mask, a detail Eisner omitted entirely from the debut the week before. It also marks the first appearances of Ellen Dolan, Commissioner Dolan's headstrong daughter and the Spirit's primary romantic counterpart, and of Homer Creep, her ill-fated fiancé, completing the core cast that would define the strip's emotional center for over a decade. That the series' most recognizable visual trademark — and one of its most enduring female characters — arrived not at the launch but in only the second outing underscores how quickly Eisner was building and refining the world of Central City in real time.
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Will Eisner launched the Spirit Section on June 2, 1940 in partnership with publisher Everett 'Busy' Arnold and the Register and Tribune Syndicate, after Arnold commissioned him to create a Sunday newspaper supplement that would help newspapers compete with the booming comic-book industry. Crucially, the contract Eisner negotiated granted him ownership of his creations, including the backup features Lady Luck and Mr. Mystic. The Spirit Section ran as a 16-page tabloid insert — with the Spirit headlining eight (later seven) pages, and Lady Luck and Mr. Mystic each filling four pages — and by its peak was distributed to 20 newspapers reaching a combined readership of some five million. Eisner oversaw the section as editor-in-chief and wrote and drew most Spirit installments himself in the early period, with his Tudor City studio — staffed by collaborators including Bob Powell and Lou Fine — handling the backup features from the outset.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Spirit's domino mask: the hero appeared without it in the June 2 debut, and Eisner added the iconic blue mask starting with this second installment dated June 9, 1940.
- First appearance of Ellen Dolan, Commissioner Dolan's daughter and the Spirit's primary love interest throughout the strip's twelve-year run.
- First appearance of Homer Creep (also spelled 'Homer Creap' in some sources), Ellen's fiancé, who appears alongside her in this story.
- The story title is 'The Return of Dr. Cobra' — Dr. Cobra, the mad scientist from the origin story who placed Denny Colt in suspended animation, escapes custody after naively being helped by Ellen and Homer, who are tricked during a tour of the jail's mental ward.
- Ebony White, who debuted as an unnamed taxi driver in the June 2 issue, is present here driving the cab in which the Spirit, Ellen, and Homer first meet; this is the installment in which he begins taking on a defined role in the recurring cast.
- The issue is part of the 16-page Spirit Section published by the Register and Tribune Syndicate, which also included the first appearances of backup features Lady Luck (created by Eisner with artist Chuck Mazoujian) and Mr. Mystic (created by Eisner, drawn by Bob Powell) — both of which debuted the previous week on June 2.
- Creator credits for this issue: Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks); the coloring for the DC Archives reprint was provided by Joe Kubert, and letters by Zoltan Szenics.
- The entire 1940 run, including this issue, was reprinted in DC Comics' Spirit Archives Vol. 1 (hardcover, 2000) and is also covered in Dark Horse's subsequent archival editions, making the early Spirit Sections accessible to modern readers in collected form.