The Spirit

Will Eisner's The Spirit was a very influential comic book that first appeared in the early 1940's. The story follows Denny Colt who changed into the Spirit, a vigilante crime fighter. Eisner's style is unmistakable. His use of the panel makes the characters come to life with emotion. I was most impressed with how Eisner can show movement in single panels. The lettering of the comic was also very distinct. In the first issue it was very straight and long; it reminded me of the New Yorker magazine's type face. However, in the Lorelei Rox, the lettering changed to a more conventional comic book type. I like how the first letter of the speech bubbles are block letters like the title on the title page. I also really like the cover art that Eisner did. He made very use of space and the title lettering always fit really well with the story.
I think that Eisner does a nice job of mixing camera angles to keep the comic's appearance interesting and engaging. He uses the environment to his advantage not leaving it blank but giving subtle details that you might not notice at first, but set a mood for the scene. For instance, when Spirit goes to see Dolan at the police station in Lorelei Rox, the dark theme is maintained throughout. He uses the storm outside to echo not only Spirit's menacing darkness, but also Dolan's shock and surprise at seeing him. The crash of the thunder highlights Dolan's realization that Spirit has walked into his office after a presuably long absense.
I also enjoyed how he does not only employ rectangular panels. He uses all different kinds of shapes to emphasize the actions that are going on. It also keeps the comic more interesting because you never really know what to expect next. Perhaps my favorite example of this was in the first Spirit comic when Dr. Cobra is introduced on page 22 as just a floating head inbetween two panels. Not only do you get a close up of his face to see his anger, but it also is a nice break from the panels.