Today in Comics History, March 20, 1949, First Day of Spring: Hey, Vernal!

from The Spirit (Register and Tribune Syndicate, March 20, 1949), script by Will Eisner and Jules Feiffer, pencils and inks by Will Eisner, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History, June 18, 1940: Spite Marriage

Crooks are trying to pull a blackmail scheme on Commissioner Dolan by claiming he was married three years ago to one of their in-pocket molls! I know, I know...same thing happened to me when they said I had been married to Keira Knightley since I was 4.


from "June 18, 1940" in The Spirit (Register and Tribune Syndicate, January 31, 1943), script by Joe Millard (?), pencils by Lou Fine, inks by Alex Kotzky, letters by Martin DeMuth
I don't usually comment on the coloring, but I really like how the background gets hotter as Dolan stews here:


All's well that ends well. Say, can you testify where you were on June 18, 1940? Me, I was broadcasting on the BBC to German-occupied France, rallying the French Resistance to me in London. Oh wait, that was General Charles de Gaulle. I'm always makin' that mistake.

Today in Comics History, March 15, 1949: "Hooray! I'm dead! I don't have to file my taxes!"

from "Visitor" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, March 13, 1949), script by Will Eisner and Jules Feiffer, pencils and inks by Will Eisner, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History, February 12, 1949: Careers in crime determined by names given at birth

from "Visitor" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, February 13, 1949), script, pencils, and inks by Will Eisner; letters by Abe Kanegson; as reprinted in black-and-white in The Spirit [Magazine] (1974 series) #8 (Warren, June 1975)

Today in Comics History, December 27, 1947: Luckily this comic wasn't in Smell-O-Vision

from "Life Below" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, February 22, 1948), script and figure pencils and inks by Will Eisner, background pencils and inks by Jerry Grandenetti, letters by Abe Kanegson; as reprinted in black-and-white in The Spirit (1983 series) #28 (Kitchen Sink, February 1987)

Today in Comics History, December 26, 1947: Don't sleep in the subway, Spirit

from "Life Below" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, February 22, 1948), script and figure pencils and inks by Will Eisner, background pencils and inks by Jerry Grandenetti, letters by Abe Kanegson; as reprinted in black-and-white in The Spirit (1983 series) #28 (Kitchen Sink, February 1987)

Today in Comics History, November 8, 1941: The thing I love best about this is The Spirit's personalized stationery

from "[The Killer Ghost]," originally published in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, November 9, 1941); script, pencils, and inks by Will Eisner, colors by Joe Kubert; letters by Sam Rosen

Today in Comics History, September 16: Happy birthday, Lauren Bacall!

Born on this day in 1924: film and stage actor Lauren Bacall, Queen of my Heart (Golden Age Division). To Have and Have Not, Key Largo, The Big Sleep, How to Marry a Millionaire...I've taped 'em all off TCM!


from Girl in Dior graphic novel (April 2015); script, pencils and ink by Annie Goetzinger; translation by Joe Johnson; letters by Ortho

Today in Comics History, September 1: Happy birthday, Abe Kanegson!

Born on this day in 1921 (or September 6, sources vary): comics letterer Abe Kanegson, letterer in the Will Eisner Shop, which created the weekly Sunday adventures of The Spirit!


from The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, June 8, 1947), script, pencils, and inks by Will Eisner; background pencils and inks by Jerry Grandenetti, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History, April 15: Happy birthday, Jerry Grandenetti!

Born on this day in 1926: comic book artist, and advertising art exec Jerry Grandenetti! He was a member of the Eisner Studio; in the 1950s Grandenetti was penciling The Spirit as a ghost-artist, under Eisner's byline.

Before that, however, Eisner drew Grandenetti and letterer Abe Kanegson into the strip as the criminal trio Bellows, Dapperish, and Slippery Eall. The boys are back in town! I mean jail. (L-R in the panel: Grandenetti as Dapperish, Kanegson as Bellows, and Eisner as Slippery Eall.



from The Spirit (1980 series) #25 (Kitchen Sink, November 1986); reprinting "A River of Crime" (aka "Slippery Eall") from The Spirit (Register and Tribune Syndicate, November 30th, 1947); script, pencils, and inks by Will Eisner; additional inks by Jerry Grandenetti; letters by Abe Kanegson

Atlas April, Day 4: Charles Atlas has also invented an amazing shrinking technology. He calls them "Atlas particles."

Real Charles Atlas ad!:


Charles Atlas advertisement in DC Comics cover-dated July 1950
ad copyright ©1950 and 2022 Charles Atlas Ltd.
Parody Charles Atlas comic page:


from "Just One Word Made Me a Man" in The Spirit (Register and Tribune Syndicate, January 18, 1948); script, pencils, and inks by WillEisner, background pencils and inks by Jerry Grandenetti, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History, April 24, 1949: How can we miss you, Spirit, if you won't go away?

What must be obviously the early edition of The Spirit's hometown newspaper, The Central City Gazette, on the morning of April 24, 1949:


from Will Eisner's The Spirit (2015 series) #1 (Dynamite, July 2015), script by Matt Wagner, pencils and inks by Dan Schkade, colors by Brennan Wagner, letters by A Larger World Studios
Followed by, I guess, a later edition on the same day?


from Will Eisner's The Spirit (2015 series) #6 (Dynamite, December 2015), script by Matt Wagner, pencils and inks by Dan Schkade, colors by Brennan Wagner, letters by A Larger World Studios
Will Eisner's The Spirit: made of 100% boomerang.

Today in Comics History, April 1: The instructions for suggested use of ketchup are disregarded

from The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, March 30 (not 20), 1947), script by Will Eisner, pencils and inks by Will Eisner and Jerry Grandenetti, letters by Martin DeMuth

At 13th Dimension: 13 of the Greatest Spirit Title Pages!

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Will Eisner Week! My bestest pal John (he shares his pizza with me) has written about 13 of the greatest splash pages from The Spirit Section! Say, I wonder why John didn't include this one?:


Splash page from The Spirit Section (December 1, 1940), script; pencils, and inks by Will Eisner; colors by Joe Kubert
Whaddaya think she did to deserve that paddlin' from Denny Colt? I bet she broke a lamp and then fibbed that an otter had done it instead. That's the sort of thing that gets you spanked. Um, hypothetical example, of course.

Once again, that's Will Eisner Week at 13th Dimension! Put on your fedora and mask and make sure your logo is engraved into the architecture, and head on over there! Now that's the spirit!

Today in Comics History, January 1, 1950: Happy New Year, folks.

from "Fan Mail" in The Spirit Section (January 1, 1950), script and art by Will Eisner

Today in Comics History, November 13, 1945: The Spirit offers a scathing critique of the textiles industry

from "Fan Mail" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, January 1, 1950), script by Jules Feiffer, pencils and inks by Will Eisner, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History, October 2, 1949: The Spirit mixes up the words "barrage" and "garage"

from "Fan Mail" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, January 1, 1950), script by Jules Feiffer, pencils and inks by Will Eisner, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History, August 28, 1949: The Spirit makes a funny face and it freezes like that

from "Fan Mail" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, January 1, 1950); script, pencils, and inks by Will Eisner, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History, July 10, 1949: The Spirit reveals at least one of his invisible girlfriends

from "Fan Mail" in The Spirit Section (Register and Tribune Syndicate, January 1, 1950); script by Jules Feiffer, pencils and inks by Will Eisner, letters by Abe Kanegson

Today in Comics History: The Spirit never meets anyone named "Ann"

Panel from "Fan Mail" in The Spirit Section (January 1, 1950); script, pencils, and inks by Will Eisner, letters by Abe Kanegson