Thanks for choosing the Christmas Spirit, Panther. I've responded to them in chronological order, starting with the 1940 entry.
So the Spirit believes that the Christmas Spirit fights crime and evil? (1) It's interesting that a Jewish writer would espouse such a theory, though it may just be an example of Eisner knowing his audience. My beloved late wife was Jewish and she couldn't wait to move out from her parents so she could have an Xmas tree in the holiday season like "everyone else." Her Uncle also sat shiva for her when she married me. It's complicated stuff.
(2) It does raise questions about the Spirit's origin - I wouldn't espouse the theory that he was a Christ-like figure though he did "rise again" with a power of self regeneration that suggests he may have become literally immortal. (3) More revealing is the fact that he dug himself free from his own grave, meaning his body was never embalmed, strongly suggesting Denny Colt was Jewish.
As with much Eisner art there's a lot of fairly fussy detail and a good few distance shots, I note that Simple Simon bears a close resemblance to Mr Dusk (though I can't say who came first!) The crux of the story is that even the most black-hearted villains can have a soft and sentimental side that will prompt them to act against their worst intentions (though I wouldn't recommend trying this theory out on The Red Skull or Dr Doom! Maybe you'd have more success with Magneto, who is also, coincidentally, Jewish?)
Whatever one's beliefs, Eisner's Spirit stories so often possess a sense of warmth and humanity (okay, and whimsy!) that shine through and set the character apart from the host of costumed do-gooders inhabiting the "funny papers." (4) In spite of Eisner's collection of racially stereotyped sidekicks like Ebony, I'm still convinced they were intended to be somehow more inclusive than divisive, though maybe I can only say that because I'm white. I invite opposing opinions.
I'm more worried about how things turned out for the caged kangaroo!
On Lady Luck, I'm not familiar enough with Agatha Christie to appreciate the parody, and I'm not familiar enough with Chuck Mazoujian's art to say for certain whether or not Eisner did the layouts, though I have my suspicions. I enjoyed the strip much more when it was in the hands of Klaus Nordling, but this is still good.
Most disturbing is Mr Mystic. This is NOT a tale full of Xmas spirit, humour, and whimsy. This is a tale of the frightful misunderstandings that can blight human relationships, and which the Shadowman is plainly only too happy to take advantage of. Has Elena really loved and courted death all her life? Or is she just so mad with her human beau that she'll set all else aside to hurt him? Will Penny let her true feelings for Mr Mystic be known in later episodes, and will he be able to accept them? Or, like a Cornell Woolrich novel, will everything turn to crap before our eyes? These four short pages are pumped full of incredibly strong and conflicting emotions which are anything but Christmassy, and more power to Powell for unleashing them upon us. It's heartbreakingly sad, but it affects me far more than all the Santas and Xmas trees you could shake a stick at. Maybe that's just me.
I'll take a look at the next one another night.
K1ngcat
(1) It is not surprising, in the slightest, to me that a young aspiring Jewish author, in a large majority Christian country, would write towards the vast majority of his potential audience. And, as an American, he would not choose to ignore such a revered part of his nation's cultural tradition. In addition to that, all Jews, with the cultural memory of a couple thousand years of persecution and restrictive living in religious Christian and Moslem countries, want their newly adopted secular-leaning nations to be as secular as possible in all aspects, to avoid ever again ending up trapped in a situation where prejudice and intolerance, for any minority, reigns. A good example of this is seen in the fact that most of the most famous and popular American secular Christmas songs have been written by Jews (many of them devout in their Jewish beliefs). Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, and many other Tin Pan Alley songwriters, etc. They were not converts to Christianity, or Jews who had a Christmas tree in their homes. They were Jews who wanted Christmas to become a more secular, National holiday, concentrating on good feelings towards all Mankind, and things that ALL Americans, Christians or not, could share, rather than Christians being separate from non-Christians in their celebration, and concentrating on things they were taught in Church, which unfortunately included that The Sin of The killing of Christ will be on the heads of The Jews forever. The unfair treatment of minorities is also a reason why much larger percentage of Jewish citizens (than the average citizen in USA, or Canada, or even The UK, for that matter) choose to enter the field of law (lawyers and judges) to help make as sure as possible that there will be equal protection under the laws for all citizens (and even non-citizen residents). It is very clear from the body of Eisner's work that justice and fairness were very important to him and his outlook on life.
(2) I agree. I doubt that Eisner intended for The Spirit to be a Christlike figure. I think he simply intended him to be a man dedicated to fighting against injustice and the resulting actions coming from ill will.The self regeneration probably just represents an awakening "spirit" in him, when he decided that if he wanted The World to be as good as possible for people, with no injustice (or, realistically, as little as possible), he'd have to take it on himself, to do the most he could do to help that cause.
(3) Suggesting denny Colt had been raised Jewish because he had not been embalmed leads me to ask the following question: "In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and protestant Christian traditions, do ALL believers have to be embalmed?" I don't know very much about Christian religious rites and traditions.
(4) I agree 100% with you on this. I don't believe Eisner was trying to poke fun at Ebony for being a so-called Black person. I think he was trying to be inclusive by making a person of African heritage (African-American) his sidekick. And he made him funny-looking for the general comedy effect - not specifically to denigrate him. He could have denigrated other African American characters, not associated with The Spirit, if that were his purpose. I think that the fact that he looks like a stereotyped Black character, that happened to have been invented by people to belittle Africans is just a coincidence of osmosis and the drawing style of the times. I don't think Eisner had the slightest intention to denigrate Ebony. It's a case of doing what everyone else is doing, because you've seen it all your life, and without thinking about it, you internalise the "feeling" "THAT is the way it is done". Like picking up a swearing word or phrase from another language or culture without thinking about what it means literally (i.e. involuntarily blurting out the words, "Jesus Christ!" when you are upset or shocked, when you've lived in Christian countries all (or most of) your life, and are Jewish or Moslem, or certainly not Christian in any way). People say what they hear, and draw what they see. Eisner's work shows he was dedicated to fairness for everyone, not just to an elite group, or the majority of people but not some inferior ones.
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Topic: Reading Group # 286 - 2022-23 Christmas 2nd Installment (Read 2850 times)
