The Spirit Quality Index

You too can read The Spirit—for free! 

The Spirit shared the spotlight with Plastic
Man several times in 1943: cover of Police
 Comics #23 (1943); art by Jack Cole.

When I was writing the Spirit's profile for the Quality Companion, Cat Yronwode's Spirit Checklist was an invaluable help. (The original Checklist can be found at Wildwood Cemetery, a site which has fallen into disrepair. It was updated by Wes Tumulka, PDF.)

But scans of the original Spirit Section Sunday are still quite spotty at the public domain collection at the Digital Comics Museum.

As an alternative, you can begin reading the strip by downloading the comic books in which the Sunday strip was reprinted — in Quality Comics' Police Comics and The Spirit. Within these titles, the character's Sunday adventures are well-represented through 1946, but they were not reprinted in perfect chronological order. This Index helps you rearrange the reprints in order.

Sadly, it was after 1946 when The Spirit's most lauded tales were written, and when Eisner and his assistants (don't be fooled, there were many) more finely honed the look of things.

If you find yourself going ape for the character, see Further Reading.

STEPS:

1. To read digital comics, I use Comic Book Lover (Mac only). Also, Comical (Windows & Mac).
2. Register with the Digital Comic Museum and download specific issues of Police Comics and The Spirit. (And if you're nice, give a contribution to the site!)
3. Read your digital comics in the order presented below...

How to Read the Checklist

The following list arranges all of the reprints of the original Spirit Section appearance that appeared in either Police Comics or The Spirit comic book. The reprints did not adhere to the original publishing order. Police Comics reprinted about 25% (one per month) of the original weekly installments into 1947. Notes about the creators are truncated from the original Checklist.

The first number is the episode number, followed by the original publish date, and title. On the next line, bulleted lines give the issue in which it was reprinted.

Police Comics

Spirit Sections 1–100

Scripts, pencils and inks largely by Will Eisner

Cover of Police Comics #16
(1943); art by Gill Fox.

1. 2 June 1940: The Origin of The Spirit

• Police #11

3. 16 June 1940: The Black Queen

• Police Comics #12

5. 30 June 1940: Johnny Marston

• Police Comics #13

7. 14 July 1940: Mr. Midnight

• Police Comics #15

8. 21 July 1940: Eldas Thayer

• Police Comics #14

9. 28 July 1940: Palyachi, the Killer Clown

• Police Comics #16

10. 4 August 1940: The Death Dolls

• Police Comics #26

12. 18 August 1940: The Morger Boys

• Police Comics #22

13. 25 August 1940: The Orphans

• Police Comics #17

16. 15 September 1940: Ebony’s X-Ray Eyes

• Police Comics #23

17. 22 September 1940: Gang Warfare

• Police Comics #18

18. 29 September 1940: Oriental Agents

• Police Comics #21

21. 20 October 1940: Ogre Goran

• Police Comics #20

25. 17 November 1940: Dr Prince Von Kalm

• Police Comics #25

26. 24 November 1940: The Kidnapping of Ebony

• Police Comics #24

28. 8 December 1940: The Haunted House

• Police Comics #19

33. 12 January 1941: The Silk District Beat

• Police Comics #29

34. 19 January 1941: Pancho De Bool & Peppi Tamale

• Police Comics #39

36. 2 February 1941: Davy Jones’ Locker

• Police Comics #38

37. 9 February 1941: The Substitute Spirits (refried in 422)

• Police Comics #27

38. 16 February 1941: Radio Station WLXK

• Police Comics #28

39. 23 February 1941: Invasion From Argos

• Police Comics #40

40. 2 March 1941: Dead Duck Dolan

• Police Comics #36

43. 23 March 1941: Boombershlag aka Dipsy Dooble

• Police Comics #31

44. 30 March 1941: Captured aka Captured by the Underworld

• Police Comics #30

50. 11 May 1941: A Dull Week

• Police Comics #37

52. 25 May 1941: Thomas Hawkins

• Police Comics #32

60. 20 July 1941: The Jewel of Death aka The Spirit in Damascus (partially refried in 509)

• Police Comics #41

62. 3 August 1941: Wanted Dead or Alive: The Spirit

• Police Comics #34

71. 5 October 1941: Sphinx & Satin

• Police Comics #33

72. 12 October 1941: The Genius

• Police Comics #35

Spirit Sections 101–128

Scripts, layouts (plus some pencils and occasional inks) by Will Eisner, finished Art by Lou Fine with various assistants, except for Sections 119, 120, 121 and 125: Scripts by Manly Wade Wellman, Pencils by Lou Fine, Inks by John Belfi.

114. 2 August 1942: Professor Pinx

• Police Comics #42

115. 9 August 1942: Shoplifters & Sodas

• Police Comics #43

Spirit Sections 129–168

Scripts by Manly Wade Wellman or Bill Woolfolk, Pencils by Lou Fine. Sections 133, 136, 137, 152 and 153: scripts and layouts by Will Eisner, pencils by Lou Fine. Section 168: Script and layout by Eisner.

146. 14 March 1943: Byron’s Memoirs

• Police Comics #54

157. 30 May 1943: The Spirit Ain’t Fair

• Police Comics #48

160. 20 June 1943: Parrot Puggins

• Police Comics #50

161. 27 June 1943: Keep Out

• Police Comics #45

163. 11 July 1943: Three Spirit QuWishes

• Police Comics #44

168. 15 August 1943: The Last Gang in Rotten Row

• Police Comics #55

Spirit Sections 169–185

Scripts by Manly Wade Wellman or Bill Woolfolk, Art by Quality Staff Artists, including Robin King and Joe Kubert.

170. 29 August 1943: Broadway Lily

• Police Comics #52

174. 26 September 1943: Murder on the Job

• Police Comics #53

177. 17 October 1943: The Magic Drums of the Shonokins

• Police Comics #46

178. 24 October 1943: Who Killed Gloria Drake?

• Police Comics #51

183. 28 November 1943: The Killer Nurse

• Police Comics #47

Spirit Sections 186–220

Scripts by Manly Wade Wellman or Bill Woolfolk or Jack Cole (only on those he penciled). Most pencils by Lou Fine, some by Jack Cole.

187. 26 December 1943: Cloak and Coffin

• Police Comics #49

219. 6 August 1944: The Metal Monsters

• Police Comics #60

220. 13 August 1944: Smooch & the Baby

• Police Comics #92

Spirit Sections 221–290

Scripts by Manly Wade Wellman or Bill Woolfolk, pencils by Lou Fine.

221. 20 August 1944: Miss Meda

• Police Comics #69

223. 3 September 1944: Tubbs and Burberry

• Police Comics #70

224. 10 September 1944: Jackie Boy

• Police Comics #57

226. 24 September 1944: The Case of the Headless Burglar

• Police Comics #58

227. 1 October 1944: Big Jake Gooley

• Police Comics #56

228. 8 October 1944: The Uncanny Cat aka The Case of the Uncanny Cat

• Police Comics #59

230. 22 October 1944: Kingololio

• Police Comics #63

232. 5 November 1944: The Case of the Will O’ Wisp Murders

• Police Comics #62

235. 26 November 1944: Upside Down House

• Police Comics #90

237. 10 December 1944: The Organ Grinder

• Police Comics #61

239. 24 December 1944: The Heirs of Dubbs Dombey

• Police Comics #64

241. 7 January 1945: The Tenacre Place

• Police Comics #88

245. 4 February 1945: The Glossop Heirs

• Police Comics #86

247. 18 February 1945: Barney the Beard

• Police Comics #73

248. 25 February 1945: This House Must Go

• Police Comics #65

249. 4 March 1945: The New Columbus

• Police Comics #67

253. 1 April 1945: Beautiful Andrew

• Police Comics #72

254. 8 April 1945: Amnesia No. 2

• Police Comics #76

255. 15 April 1945: Bond Bratton

• Police Comics #87

259. 13 May 1945: The Curse of the Kukri

• Police Comics #85

264. 17 June 1945: The Country Cousin

• Police Comics #68

266. 1 July 1945: The Amato Gang

• Police Comics #84

267. 8 July 1945: Elbows and Cheesecake

• Police Comics #82

268. 15 July 1945: The Millionth Customer

• Police Comics #66

270. 29 July 1945: Mr Grifty Goes Straight

• Police Comics #81

273. 19 August 1945: The Vickram Forgery

• Police Comics #77

274. 26 August 1945: Mobar’s Comet

• Police Comics #71

276. 9 September 1945: The Durand Gang

• Police Comics #79

280. 7 October 1945: Jason Ghor Is Innocent

• Police Comics #78

281. 14 October 1945: Jonas Dubrick’s Plan

• Police Comics #83

285. 11 November 1945: Triton and Josie

• Police Comics #75

287. 25 November 1945: Soapy Keeps It Clean

• Police Comics #80

290. 16 December 1945: Derry Mortlock

• Police Comics #74

Spirit Sections 291–349

Scripts and layouts by Will Eisner (with a few by Eisner and Klaus Nordling or Eisner and Marilyn Mercer), pencils by John Spranger (with some by Eisner and Spranger or Eisner alone).

303. 17 March 1946: Nylon Rose

• Police Comics #98

309. 28 April 1946: Dig a Hole

• Police Comics #100

323. 4 August 1946: Who Killed Cox Robin?

• Police Comics #97

325. 18 August 1946: Distinguished Men Prefer Borshtbelt’s Buttermilk

• Police Comics #99

326. 25 August 1946: Smuggler’s Cove

• Police Comics #95

327. 1 September 1946: Olga Bustle in ‘Outcast’

• Police Comics #94

334. 20 October 1946: Artemus Peap

• Police Comics #101

336. 3 November 1946: Beagle’s Second Chance

• Police Comics #96

353. 2 March 1947: A Granule of Time

• Police Comics #102

The Spirit series

The Spirit by Quality featured all reprints. Occasionally it printed non-Spirit stories, too. Some issues of Quality's The Spirit contained filler material including "Jonesy" and "Flatfoot Burns."

Cover of The Spirit #1 (1944);
art by Lou Fine.

The Spirit #1 (1944)

• 149. 4 April 1943: Evil Eye Manders aka The Eyes Have It
• 150. 11 April 1943: The Dollars of 1804 aka Wanted
• 151. 18 April 1943: The Grandfather Clock aka A Clock Stops
• 153. 2 May 1943: Yellow Eyes Janus aka Manhunt
• 154. 9 May 1943: Dr Plague
• 155. 16 May 1943: Policewoman Ellen aka Dressed To Kill
• 156. 23 May 1943: Tony Zacco aka Tony Zacco, Public Enemy No. 1

The Spirit #2 (1945)

• 165. 25 July 1943: The Spirit Did... aka Framed
• 176. 10 October 1943: Ellen Dolan, Murderess aka Reserved: One Electric Chair
• 179. 31 October 1943: Death in the Lion Cage aka Circus Daze
• 180. 7 November 1943: Fronie Pettigrew aka Brummagen vs. Pettigrew
• 182. 21 November 1943: On Guard! aka On Guard, Crime
• 186. 19 December 1943: Druce’s Time Bomb aka Death After Death

The Spirit #3 (1945)

• 145. 7 March 1943: Class Reunion
• 148. 28 March 1943: Andy Horgan aka Death Takes Its Toll
• 158. 6 June 1943: Terrible Terry Gill aka Wanted, One Child
• 166. 1 August 1943: The Maestro aka Music Hath Charms
• 171. 5 September 1943: The Art of Making Love Ardently aka An Old Beau Returns
• 173. 19 September 1943: Killer Sykes aka Stormy Weather

The Spirit #4 (Spring 1946)

• 164. 18 July 1943: The House of Darkness
• 169. 22 August 1943: On the Ferris Wheel
• 184. 5 December 1943: The Auction
• 222. 27 August 1944: The Children’s Welfare Ball
• 290. 16 December 1945: Derry Mortlock

The Spirit #5 (Summer 1946)

• 207. 14 May 1944: Fifi McCoy
• 210. 4 June 1944: Ebony’s Piano Lesson
• 213. 25 June 1944: Sad Eyes Sam’s Last Laught
• 225. 17 September 1944: Who Killed Cop Robin
• 240. 31 December 1944: The Mystery of the Death Angel

The Spirit #6 (Fall 1946)

• 190. 16 January 1944: Ebony’s Inheritance
• 192. 30 January 1944: Circumstantial Evidence
• 201. 2 April 1944: Who Killed Bob Sydell?
• 229. 15 October 1944: The Music Box
• 233. 12 November 1944: The Return of Danny Bibo

The Spirit #7 (Winter 1946)

• 211. 11 June 1944: The Cellini Dagger
• 216. 16 July 1944: The Treasure of the S.S. Jackson
• 218. 30 July 1944: The Case of the Kindly Dragon!
• 234. 19 November 1944: Cooter Creek
• 238. 17 December 1944: The Dancing Gang

The Spirit #8 (Spring 1947)

• 196. 27 February 1944: Who Killed Sam Wright?
• 197. 5 March 1944: The Charity Ball
• 208. 21 May 1944: Black Marx
• 220. 13 August 1944: Smooch & the Baby
• 235. 26 November 1944: Upside Down House

The Spirit #9 (Summer 1947)

• 198. 12 March 1944: Double Eagle
• 206. 7 May 1944: John Magby’s Last Will & Testament
• 212. 18 June 1944: The Odor of Geraniums
• 269. 22 July 1945: Caressa
• 283. 28 October 1945: Death, South American Style

The Spirit #10 (Fall 1947)

• 188. 2 January 1944: Killer Ketch
• 189. 9 January 1944: Mrs. Sorrel
• 199. 19 March 1944: Skelter & Crabb
• 256. 22 April 1945: Diamonds and Rats
• 275. 2 September 1945: Cookie

The Spirit #11 (Spring 1948)

• 194. 13 February 1944: Man O’ War
• 195. 20 February 1944: In the Moorish Section of Central City
• 204. 23 April 1944: Rogoff
• 236. 3 December 1944: Thirteen O’Clock
• 258. 6 May 1945: Cousin Dora’s Little Egbert

The Spirit #12 (Summer 1948)

• 265. 24 June 1945: The Whitlock Diamond Caper
• 272. 12 August 1945: Eye, Feets and Lock
• 279. 30 September 1945: The Case of the Missing Undertaker
• 282. 21 October 1945: Nitro
• 286. 18 November 1945: Skelvin’s School For Actors

The Spirit #13 (Autumn 1948)

• 261. 27 May 1945: Mr. Exter
• 262. 3 June 1945: Red Scandon
• 278. 23 September 1945: Mr Martin’s Pistols
• 284. 4 November 1945: Vaudeville Vinnie
• 289. 9 December 1945: The Strange Case of the Two $5.00 Bills

The Spirit #14 (Winter 1948)

• 250. 11 March 1945: The Masked Magician
• 251. 18 March 1945: Prominent Executives Vanish
• 252. 25 March 1945: Belle La Trivet
• 271. 5 August 1945: The Kuttup Shop
• 288. 2 December 1945: The Alibi Factory

The Spirit #15 (Spring 1949)

• 232. 5 November 1944: The Case of the Will O’ Wisp Murders
• 263. 10 June 1945: Rosilind Ripsley
• 277. 16 September 1945: Madame Larna’s Crystal Ball

The Spirit #16 (July 1949)

• 224. 10 September 1944: Jackie Boy
• 226. 24 September 1944: The Case of the Headless Burglar
• 228. 8 October 1944: The Uncanny Cat aka The Case of the Uncanny Cat

The Spirit #17 (September 1949)

• 219. 6 August 1944: The Metal Monsters
• 227. 1 October 1944: Big Jake Gooley
• 237. 10 December 1944: The Organ Grinder

The Spirit #18 (November 1949)

• 294. 13 January 1946: Dolan’s ‘Origin of The Spirit’ aka Who?
• 295. 20 January 1946: Hildie and Satin aka Satin Returns
• 316. 16 June 1946: The Bucket of Blood (refried in 599)

The Spirit #19 (January 1950)

• 304. 24 March 1946: The Last Trolley aka The Man Who Killed The Spirit
• 308. 21 April 1946: Introducing Mr Carrion aka The Case of the Balky Buzzard
• 312. 19 May 1946: Carrion’s Rock

The Spirit #20 (April 1950)

• 296. 27 January 1946: The Siberian Dagger
• 313. 26 May 1946: Magnifying Glasses
• 328. 8 September 1946: The Vortex

The Spirit #21 (June 1950)

• 315. 9 June 1946: Pool’s Toadstool Facial Cream aka Love Comes to The Spirit
• 317. 23 June 1946: The Rubber Band aka The Grumley Murder aka The Spirit vs. The Rubber Mind
• 332. 6 October 1946: Meet P’Gell aka P’Gell of Paris

The Spirit #22 (August 1950)

• 319. 7 July 1946: Dulcet Tone
• 320. 14 July 1946: Cargo Octopus aka The Postage Stamp
• 321. 21 July 1946: The Legend aka A Legend

Further Reading

Warren's The Spirit Magazine #8
(1975); art by Will Eisner and Ken Kelley. 

To read beyond the original Quality Comics reprints, you could seek out Warren's 16-issue magazine series (1974–76) which was edited with the help of Will Eisner himself. It reprints a good many of the postwar stories including many key tales. Decent copies of those will run you $10 and up, but I was lucky and scored a huge run of them for a song on ebay. These had all been "stripped" (the cover titles clipped off).

Warren's Spirit magazines were edited by Will Eisner, and even featured a couple of new stories and fun tidbits by him. These issues sometimes reprinted stories in thematic groups, like the "femme fatale" issue.

If you become a fanatic, you can always graduate to buying DC Comics' hardcovers, The Spirit Archives, which reprint the Spirit's the entire run.

The Spirit Section's swan song was also reprinted in a book, The Outer Space Spirit: 1952.

And the Eisner Companion covers the character in detail, with an "A to Z" mini-encyclopedia of the series.

Will Eisner's The Spirit (Dyanmite Entertainment)

This week Dynamite Entertainment debuted the next chapter in the saga of the Spirit — almost literally. The series by Matt Wagner and Dan Schkade begins at a time when the main character has been missing for two years.

The Spirit, in flashback origin story. From Will Eisner's
the Spirit #1 (2015); art by Dan Schkade. 

The splash page is the front page of the Central City Gazette. Its story, "Who Killed the Spirit?" beares a 1940s date (the last digit obscured), and sits two years after the hero's last appearance. (This clearly places this series chronologically in the middle of Eisner's original run, which lasted all the way to 1952.)

While the Spirit remains missing throughout the setup, there are several flashbacks, one being a retelling of his origin by Commissioner Dolan. His daughter, Ellen Dolan has since become a councilwoman.

The Spirit's trusty aides, Ebony White and Sammy have since teamed up to form their own private investigation service, Strunk and White. (Sammy did not originally appear until 1949.) When trouble calls, the two hop into Ebony's trademark cab and rush to help.

Left: Ellen with Archie and her father, Commissioner Dolan. Right: Sammy and Ebony.

New characters include Councilman Weatherby Palmer, the mayor's pick for Dolan's replacement as police commissioner. Councilwoman Dolan keeps in tow a new pencil-necked suitor/assistant, Archie. Archie closely resembles her original beau, Homer. Ebony and Sammy rely on Ebony's cousin, a great hulk of a man named Francis, aka Boulder.

Schkade's art is great, in line with the ... spirit ... of the original series, and is playful in a way that most super-hero comics no longer allow. Matt Wagner has loads of experience with this genre, having recently penned The Shadow: Year One, an excellent, gritty rendering of the classic pre-comics pulp character. As in The Shadow, Wagner searches for and retains the essentials and knows when to begin his departure.

The only mild disappointment is that the Spirit himself is but a ghost in the tale. Maybe that's a poetic start. It's also refreshing to see his supporting cast in their "what if?" moments, and to be left hanging a bit until next time.

Want to brush up on your Spirit? 

Read "The Spirit Quality Index"

New Things Quality

A few things to note…

Women of the DC Universe:
Phantom Lady Bust

1. Quality Collectibles!

I started a page at Cosmic Teams devoted to collectibles based on Quality characters. See it here!

2. Kid Eternity news!

There's a new interview at Comic Book Resources with Jeff Lemire, who is penning the return of Kid Eternity! Lemire gives up some surprising tidbits concerning the nature of the DCnU, saying:

"As far as I know, and I might be corrected on this, the "National Comics" titles are out of continuity because I know that there is a Madame Xanadu one and it has nothing to do with the New 52 Madame Xanadu. So no, I don't make any reference to any other DC Universe character. It is a self-contained, totally out-of-continuity take on the character. We just kept the original name and stuff."

 Also, he'd originally wanted to include Eternity in his Justice League Dark title.

I'm sensing a theme...
Classic Photography #1 (Autumn 1956)

3. Arnold Magazines!

I've been quietly adding to this section, which focuses at length on Arnold Publications, the offshoot of Quality Comics by Busy Arnold that limped along when the comics ended, from 1956-1958. I daresay it's the most complete list yet, although I'm still missing a few cover scans.

The rarest of all are the pulp digests, which never appear on ebay. I found two on Amazon.

I'll publicize it more when I've written it more fully, but it already contains lots of notable scans from the issues I've acquired:

• Introduction
• The Sweats
• The Pin-Ups
• The Digests

The Spirit: First Appearance on ebay

The origin splash page, from 2 June 1940.
Art and story by Will Eisner.
This scan from the Spirit Archives.

I just know you've got $4,500 lying around that you're not telling me about. Buy it now!

The first edition of The Spirit Section has been available on ebay for a number of weeks now, won't you give it a home?

Indeed this hard copy is probably very rare. I couldn't even find another one of these at Heritage Auctions. Jim Halperin at Heritage was a great help to me when I was researching the book. In writing the Companion, my access to The Spirit Section was limited. Unlike the other Quality books, which are well represented at the Digital Comics Museum, the Spirit selection is very spotty. Sure, you can find lots of reprints of the Spirit, but this made chronicling Lady Luck and especially Mr. Mystic more difficult than other heroes. I feel I accomplished the task, though, cobbling up enough of the originals, plus reprints from editions by Kitchen Sink Press and others. Because The Spirit Section was inserted into newspapers, it was probably thrown out with the newspapers a lot. That said, there are always editions available on ebay for under $40.