Cartoonist Will Eisner, the creator of 'The Spirit,' has died at 87. His publisher, Denis Kitchen, announced yesterday that Eisner died on Monday from complications of a quadruple heart bypass in December. He had been hospitalized at Florida Lakes Hospital in Lauderdale Lakes since the surgery.

Eisner began drawing comics in the 1930s and was considered an innovator in that he was the first to focus on more serious issues. He was the first artist to draw panels where the characters did not speak, but instead used facial features to express their feelings.

Eisner was the creator of 'The Spirit,' a weekly insert that featured three different comics. Circulation for this supplement reached five million and was included in 20 Sunday papers across the country. The comic featured a big city coroner who was charged with protecting the city, which was fashioned after New York.

Eisner served in World War II after having been drafted. One of his assignments in the Army was to create a character that would help mechanics repair vehicles in the field. From that assignment, 'Joe Dope' was born.

In 1978, Eisner created a novel, A Contract With God, which was inspired by his experiences as a child in Brooklyn.