The Spirit Comes To Dynamite

Dynamite Entertainment announced that Will Eisner’s iconic hero, The Spirit, has a new home thanks to a licensing agreement with the Eisner estate.  The Spirit, a murdered cop named Denny Colt who was mysteriously brought back to life to fight crime, joins the publisher’s stable of noir-influenced iconic heroes and bestselling titles.

“We are thrilled that Will Eisner’s The Spirit has found a new home with Dynamite Entertainment,” state Nancy and Carl Gropper of the Eisner estate in a joint announcement.  “At Dynamite, The Spirit will be joining many iconic heroes including Flash Gordon, The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, and others. Will Eisner created The Spirit in 1940 as a syndicated seven-page newspaper supplement, where The Spirit fought the villains of Central City weekly until 1952.  We’re hoping to see Dynamite’s new comics ofThe Spirit surpass the circulation of the Will Eisner’s original series.”

Originally published in 1939 by Quality Comics, The Spirit has long been admired for the ingenuity of its creator, Will Eisner.  Eisner’s amazing artistic skill and groundbreaking storytelling techniques in the weekly Sunday strips helped pave the way for modern comic books. His career spanned over seventy years, and he is largely considered as the inventor of the “graphic novel.” In addition to The Spirit, his most celebrated works include A Contract with God and Last Day in Vietnam. The industry’s highest accolade, the prestigious Eisner Award, is named in his honor, and awarded annually at San Diego Comic-Con International.

“Bringing The Spirit to Dynamite is a dream come true.  Actually, that’s not a strong enough sentiment.  It’s a lifelong dream come true,” says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. “The Spirit is one of comicdom’s greatest characters, and has stood the test of time for nearly 75 years.  Will is one of the greats, and his influence as a storyteller is incredible.  I’ve loved all of Will’s work from The Spirit to his graphic novels from A Contract with God to The Dreamer, and his entire body of work.  This is a huge responsibility that we’ve undertaken as there have been some great creators involved in The Spiritthroughout the seven decades of his career. I’m honored that Carl and Nancy feel that we are up to the task, and have entrusted us to publish The Spirit, especially beginning at such a landmark year – his 75th Anniversary.  I believe that, with our proven track record for high-quality pulp comics by incredible talents (like Matt Wagner, Garth Ennis, and Kevin Smith), the addition of The Spirit to our line of classic adventure titles is a major win for longtime fans of Will Eisner’s original crime fighter.  I cannot emphasize enough how important publishing The Spirit is to us.”