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This is the official lead-in to Darwyn Cooke's much hyped revival of Will Eisner's most famous character, The Spirit.
Is it any good?
Well...the story is better than Sonic the Hedgehog in the Image Universe, but not as good as The Punisher Meets Archie. *ahem*
The story is an odd stew. On the one hand it seems to be writer Jeph Loeb's attempt to cram every Bat-villain and recurring Spirit foe into one story.
On the other, it seems to be an attempt to get cute about how the Spirit always thought Batman was an "Urban Legend." Loeb seems to think this is a -very- funny joke. He repeats it every time Batman and the Spirit get a spare moment.
The plot is hazy, disconnected, and ultimately thinner than the comic it's printed on. Newcomers to the Spirit will be wondering who the Eisner characters are...why should they find it significant that Commisioner Gordon's new girlfriend is named P'Gell?
That said...Cooke's art is so gorgeous. This book is eyecandy for lovers of sleek, Art Deco-styled super-heroics.
Still...gorgeous art alone wasn't enough to make me buy it. Here's hoping Cooke's Spirit ongoing is more satisfying.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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I bought the comic, but haven't read it yet. I greatly enjoyed the Best of the Spirit collection that DC released about a year ago and have been looking forward to the title curious about how they were going to "update it." I can't imagine anyone buy Cooke being selected to draw this, so I'm excited to read it and for the new series. The Spirit is an odd character. He doesn't have any particular superpowers, and no great wealth to draw from like Bruce Wayne. No gadgets either. The "best of" collection also didn't demonstrate any great detective skills. Curious to see how he can be intergrated into the DCU. All he's got is the blue suit and raccoon mask. That said, the stories were fun and creatively told. The Spirit has a great rogues gallery, especially of mysterious and sexy femme fatales. (Except, I must add, that the original strips made me cringe with some of the racial stereotyping. For example, a recurring character is a black shoe shine boy who is drawn to look more like a monkey, and who speaks in a heavey accented "Yes sa" - "No Sa" type pidgen English.)
Posts: 407 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Loved it. I was surprised at first that it wasn't in current continuity, but I loved the art and the snappy writing. My favorite panel was of the costume party with the over weight couple dressed like the Green Lantern and Black Canary. Great Fun. I wonder if thenew series will be in current DC continuity or stand apart from the DCU.
Posts: 407 | Registered: Mar 2006
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