The Spirit Picture Disk

In 1987 Ordinary Records, a division of Kitchen Sink Press released "The Spirit Picture Disk." Produced by John a.k.a. "Chris" Christensen it was the first concept record based entirely on a classic comic book character, Will Eisner’s "The Spirit." Artwork by Will Eisner was actually pressed into the vinyl of the record. It was an incredible package. The audio was assembled using dialogue from an old long-forgotten 1948 television show of "The Spirit" that even Will doesn’t remember. With new compositions by Christensen added to the dialogue the record played somewhat like an old radio show. The many talented guests on the record included Bill Mumy, Artie Barnes, Mike Kieffer and Blackbyrd McKnight.

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Unfortunately, there are no copies of "The Spirit Picture Disk" to be had, except for copies sold by private collectors for big bucks. Since Will Eisner is now one of the last of the fathers of comic books, collectibles associated with his name are being snapped up at increasingly high prices. Kitchen Sink Press, Will’s publisher of many years, ceased to exist recently and now DC comics have acquired the rights to re-issue old Spirit stories and new product.

It is pretty apparent that "The Spirit Picture Disk" will never be re-manufactured in any form.While we don’t have copies of the original "Spirit Picture Disk," we do have copies of a limited amount of black vinyl records that were manufactured specifically for college radio airplay. The bad news is that there is no Eisner artwork of any kind accompanying the record. In fact, there is no artwork of any kind accompanying the record. The good news is that the sonic reproduction on the back vinyl is superior to the original picture disk! That is because the pressing of the picture into the vinyl actually increases the surface noise of the record. Consequently, these sound much better than the official release of "The Spirit Picture Disk."

The original run of black vinyl promos was 100 copies. There is approximately 30 left. The drag is that there is no packaging. But then again, "There ain’t no more."

Black Vinyl Only

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