DC COMICS
WRITER/COVER: Darwyn Cooke
ARTISTS: Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone
The Spirit battles zombies. But these zombies are led by an evil, undead crimelord. This issue is the conclusion of a multi-part storyline and despite a lot of action and some close calls, it is a rather disappointing tale. Zombies are already getting overused in pop culture and watching a trend-setting hero like the Spirit, reduced to jumping on the bandwagon is almost saddening. The struggle against the zombies is chaotic but at the same time, does not really induce fear or unease as a good horror story should. The Spirit doesn't even come off as very smart in this issue and saves the day largely through luck and a deus-ex-machina secret weapon.
The art, while trying to make use of the limited page space, ends up looking crowded and cluttered. It is a pity that this is suppose to be a major story-arc for Will Eisner's creation. Perhaps this title should stay away from supernatural themes. Or at least, save them for the really impressive stories.
Two stars out of five.
