.gif)
Ellen Dolan (comics)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Ellen Dolan is a fictional character
from the comic book The Spirit
, by writer-artist Will Eisner. She first appeared in The Spirit in March 1944. Ellen is the daughter of Commissioner Dolan.
literally bumped into her and her fiance, Homer Creep, whilst sharing a taxi which is being driven by Ebony White. In this story Ellen was still in college while the two went to visit her father, Commissioner Dolan. She asked her father if she could look through the mental ward to see some actual cases in preparation for an upcoming Psychology exam she had.
As she and Homer were looking at the different patients, Dr Cobra (who was recently apprehended thanks to The Spirit) got their attention. He claimed to be a great scientist and the police were always arresting him just as he was about to complete a major experiment. He asked them to have pity and help him escape. The naive Ellen agreed to help him, not realizing what a danger he actually was. Dr. Cobra had some men waiting for him outside and they quickly made way to one of his hideouts.
When the Commissioner realized his daughter was missing, he put his men on the case to search for her. The Spirit was listening in and agreed to help search for her. Forcing a thug to tell them where Dr. Cobra's hideout was, the Spirit was able to defeat Dr. Cobra again and save Ellen and Homer.
The Commissioner invited the Spirit to a dinner in honor of Ellen's announcement of becoming engaged to Homer. The Spirit decided to give her a gift. He gave her a make-over (which simply involved removing her glasses and loosening her hair). Homer was amazed at her hidden beauty. The Spirit then claimed his reward for saving Ellen, a reward that consisted of a passionate kiss. That kiss was enough to make Ellen reconsider her engagement.
As Ellen's character developed, she soon became fixated with winning the heart of the Spirit. She would cause situations that required the Spirit to save her in order to attract his attention.
From becoming someone who is prone to fainting when confronted with murder or monsters, Ellen becomes more inquisitive - and it is more likely that she will be the one doing the punching rather than being knocked out herself! She became more forthright and it was not atypical for her to tie up the Spirit or have a downright blazing argument with him if it would help her. And despite the Spirit's hesitations to commit, their relationship developed into a strong one over the years. On many occasions while lapsing into unconsciousness he would mutter "Ellen... " much to her delight and the annoyance of her competition.
However, up until 1950 Ellen's role was as a supporting character, she rarely got the chance to have a story to herself, unlike her father and the Spirit's assistants, who very often would get a story to themselves. But, with the November 12, 1950 section, Ellen finds herself becoming a candidate for mayor of Central City.
After appearing in successful interviews on television and radio for her candidacy, The Spirit is furious and demands that she withdraws - of course this prompts Ellen to put even more effort into becoming mayor, with such comments as, "Most men practice equality like a little boy practicing on the piano, one hour a day and then forget all about it!" The Spirit goes off to support her nearest rival, Mike Poltax (a rather apt name!) on the Prosperity Party ticket, but it looks unlikely that Poltax will win. To help matters, Poltax arranges for Ellen to be kidnapped, but the Spirit finds out and calls the police before he is himself shot. Recovering in a hospital with Ellen by his bedside, The Spirit learns that Ellen has won by a landslide and is now mayor! It made no difference to their relationship, and Ellen did quite well at the job.
The feature film The Spirit
, written and directed by comic book
writer/artist Frank Miller
, was released by Lionsgate on December 25, 2008.
Sarah Paulson
is cast as Dr. Ellen Dolan, a top surgeon and the Police Commissioner's daughter. She is the only girl around tough enough to keep The Spirit
healthy and alive. The romantic undercurrent between Ellen and the Spirit is strong in the movie, but frequently tested due to the adoration that many women feel for the Spirit. In the film, Ellen was romantically involved with Denny Colt prior to his death, and still believes that he is deceased.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the comic book The Spirit
The Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
, by writer-artist Will Eisner. She first appeared in The Spirit in March 1944. Ellen is the daughter of Commissioner Dolan.
Origin
Ellen Dolan first appeared in the second Spirit tale, dated June 9, 1940. The SpiritThe Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
literally bumped into her and her fiance, Homer Creep, whilst sharing a taxi which is being driven by Ebony White. In this story Ellen was still in college while the two went to visit her father, Commissioner Dolan. She asked her father if she could look through the mental ward to see some actual cases in preparation for an upcoming Psychology exam she had.
As she and Homer were looking at the different patients, Dr Cobra (who was recently apprehended thanks to The Spirit) got their attention. He claimed to be a great scientist and the police were always arresting him just as he was about to complete a major experiment. He asked them to have pity and help him escape. The naive Ellen agreed to help him, not realizing what a danger he actually was. Dr. Cobra had some men waiting for him outside and they quickly made way to one of his hideouts.
When the Commissioner realized his daughter was missing, he put his men on the case to search for her. The Spirit was listening in and agreed to help search for her. Forcing a thug to tell them where Dr. Cobra's hideout was, the Spirit was able to defeat Dr. Cobra again and save Ellen and Homer.
As Ellen's character developed, she soon became fixated with winning the heart of the Spirit. She would cause situations that required the Spirit to save her in order to attract his attention.
From becoming someone who is prone to fainting when confronted with murder or monsters, Ellen becomes more inquisitive - and it is more likely that she will be the one doing the punching rather than being knocked out herself! She became more forthright and it was not atypical for her to tie up the Spirit or have a downright blazing argument with him if it would help her. And despite the Spirit's hesitations to commit, their relationship developed into a strong one over the years. On many occasions while lapsing into unconsciousness he would mutter "Ellen... " much to her delight and the annoyance of her competition.
However, up until 1950 Ellen's role was as a supporting character, she rarely got the chance to have a story to herself, unlike her father and the Spirit's assistants, who very often would get a story to themselves. But, with the November 12, 1950 section, Ellen finds herself becoming a candidate for mayor of Central City.
After appearing in successful interviews on television and radio for her candidacy, The Spirit is furious and demands that she withdraws - of course this prompts Ellen to put even more effort into becoming mayor, with such comments as, "Most men practice equality like a little boy practicing on the piano, one hour a day and then forget all about it!" The Spirit goes off to support her nearest rival, Mike Poltax (a rather apt name!) on the Prosperity Party ticket, but it looks unlikely that Poltax will win. To help matters, Poltax arranges for Ellen to be kidnapped, but the Spirit finds out and calls the police before he is himself shot. Recovering in a hospital with Ellen by his bedside, The Spirit learns that Ellen has won by a landslide and is now mayor! It made no difference to their relationship, and Ellen did quite well at the job.
In other media
The Spirit (film)
The Spirit is a 2008 American superhero noir film, written and directed by Frank Miller and starring Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Jaime King, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is based on the newspaper comic strip The Spirit by Will Eisner...
, written and directed by comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer/artist Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
, was released by Lionsgate on December 25, 2008.
Sarah Paulson
Sarah Paulson
-Career:She was a series regular on the cult television show American Gothic and the WB series Jack & Jill , playing the character "Elisa Cronkite"...
is cast as Dr. Ellen Dolan, a top surgeon and the Police Commissioner's daughter. She is the only girl around tough enough to keep The Spirit
The Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
healthy and alive. The romantic undercurrent between Ellen and the Spirit is strong in the movie, but frequently tested due to the adoration that many women feel for the Spirit. In the film, Ellen was romantically involved with Denny Colt prior to his death, and still believes that he is deceased.