DC Comics - First Wave #4 - Frostbite! - Chapter One

Written by DAVID HINE • Co-feature written by MARV WOLFMAN • Art by MORITAT Co-feature art by PHIL WINSLADE • Cover by LADRÖNN

New series writer David Hine comes aboard for the first chapter of "Frostbite!" The ultimate high has arrived on the corners of Central City, and the ghouls who deal it aren't interested in cutting the all-controlling Octopus in on the action! It doesn't take long for hot blood to hit the icy city streets!

And in the co-feature, THE SPIRIT: BLACK & WHITE, Marv Wolfman and Phil Winslade show us what happens in Central City when the lights go out – every last one of them! It's a citywide blackout in black and white!

Good beginning to a new story about a drug-ring pushing a new "product" that's killing off the clientele too fast. Ellen Dolan comes out very aggressive and fearless against the drug dealers of Frost. Getting a glimpse of a different side of her. Commissioner Dolan seems to be letting certain things go on behind-the-scenes to keep the criminals and crime balanced. He knows what is going on with the big crime bosses in Central City and just let's some of them happen to keep control of other parts of it. He isn't working with them but he tries to control some of the going-ons to an extent. The Spirit delivers a couple good beatings here and there, but mostly just does investigating in this one.

Of note in this issue is the introduction to Ebony White for the first time in the First Wave universe of The Spirit. We're introduced to an extremely hard-nosed and strong-willed Ebony White. A lot different than the Ebony White of Will Eisner's time. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention - Ebony White is a girl in this series! She works with the little kids that help The Spirit out getting information on the streets and who sing it to him in song form.

The "Black & White" story for this issue, which is entitled "Connected," reminds me a lot of the old Will Eisner stories. It's got that noir feel to it (probably because of the black and white) and is a "you reap what you sow" type of story. I found myself giggling at the end. This was an eight page story.

This was Issue #4 of First Wave's The Spirit. Still not quite understanding the difference between regular DC and the First Wave tag.    

American Sunday Weekly Comic Book Section - The Black Queen

The Black Queen is a court attorney who apparently is well-known for getting criminals released and their charges dropped. She gets her partner-in-crime and boyfriend Slot Gorgan out of jail to keep running a gang because he's the only guy she's ever met that can kill somebody in cold blood so easily. Unfortunatley for them, The Spirit is in the room and overhears the whole conversation, telling them that he wants some of their stolen money to help support a free lunch program at a school that needs funds. Through a lot of fights and daredevil stunts, The Spirit re-holds the Slot's trial at his Wildwood Cemetery hideout so he can prove Gorgan is a murderer and frame him to get money out of the killer. This is a pretty action-packed entry in The Spirit comics.

Things of note in this story:

1. The Spirit hires Ebony White as his exclusive cabby and chauffeur.

2. Ebony White also helps The Spirit keep an eye on his "guests" at gunpoint in his Wildwood Cemetery hideout.

3. This is the first time that we see the inside of The Spirit's Wildwood cemetery lair.

4. The Spirit uses one of his disguises to sit in on the re-held Slot Gorgan murder trial. He is disguised as an old man in a white wig and mustache and glasses who uses a cane.

American Sunday Weekly Comic Book Section - The Return of Dr. Cobra

The Spirit once again comes up against the evil Dr. Cobra after Ellen Dolan and her fiancee help him escape from the mental ward. That's really all there is to the second story published for The Spirit. It's still entertaining and nice fast and exciting read.

This story has the first time The Spirit catches a ride with Ebony White in his cab. It seems that The Spirit hangs out in the trees and catches a ride with any cab that drives by Wildwood Cemetery because "taxis don't often pass through Wildwood Cemetery." It just so happens that Commissioner Dolan's daughter, Ellen, and her fiancee are in the taxi. They're heading to see her father and visit the mental ward.

In her first appearance in The Spirit comics, Ellen is portrayed as a bookish student of psychology who is engaged to a complete nerd by the name of Homer Creap. She has her hair up in a bun with a hat on and wears big round librarian glasses. Definitely not the Ellen that we'll come to see in the future of the series.

Also of note is that this is the first issue that The Spirit wears his mask. Also, Dr. Cobra has super-human strength and it is never explained how he got it.

The end is pretty humurous, with The Spirit taking off Ellen's glasses and pulling her hair down to reveal a blond bombshell. He then kisses her and leaves out the window. She tells Homer that she needs "a little more time to think over [their] engagement."

"The Return of Dr. Cobra" was published on June 9th, 1940.

American Sunday Weekly Comic Book Section - The Origin of The Spirit

The first story for The Spirit was published on June 2nd, 1940. It was entitled "The Origin of The Spirit" and was 7 pages long. The story was one of three complete comic stories in the Weekly Comic Book section of the American Sunday newspaper.

The story was fairly basic, with the intent of introducing the character of The Spirit and how he came to be. Basically, criminologist and private detective Denny Colt takes on the task of catching the evil Dr. Cobra, who is making some sort of chemical that renders people in a state of suspended animation and appear to be dead. Upon finding Dr. Cobra, Denny Colt gets into a brawl with his henchman and falls in a puddle of the liquid chemical and is buried alive when he appears to be dead. He awakens and digs himself out of his grave and takes on the identity of The Spirit, only revealing his true self to Commissioner Dolan and seeking to capture Dr. Cobra and bring him to justice to collect the reward money. That way, he can make a living underground capturing villains and continue to keep his identity a secret and fight crime as The Spirit.

Some interesting things to note in this first story are:

1. The Spirit does not wear a mask and does his best to stay in the shadows to conceal his true identity.

2. Ebony White appears as a taxi driver for the first time in one panel of the comic. He says one thing - "Y-Y-Yas Suh!" - and appears with brown skin, big white eyes, and big red lips. This begins years and years of accusations that Will Eisner is prejudice and the character is a racist stereotype.

3. The Spirit hands out little tombstones with messages on them as his calling card.

What is this blog all about?

I love The Batman. I love The Spirit. I thought it would be fun to read both the comic book series from the beginning of these characters' runs. From The Spirit's first appearance in the papers to The Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics. Each day, I'll do commentary on a story switching from one day to the next between The Batman and The Spirit. We're going to start with the first appearance of The Batman in Detective Comics number 27, which came out in 1939. Hope you enjoy this. If you do, please "Follow" us and tell your friends about the website. I look forward to hearing from you.