Will
Eisner is a legend in the art of Comic Books. The most prestigious
award a comic book creator can achieve is an Eisner-award. The man
who revolutionized the sequential art style of comic books in the
1940s will forever be remembered as long as comic books are in
existence, he is on the level of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel when
talking of comic books. With this is mind it is only fitting that
Will Eisner’s greatest character be brought back to mainstream
comics for a sixth volume, The Spirit. Taking the reigns of Spirit
is the perfect man for the job, silver age connoisseur Darwyn Cooke.
Darwyn Cooke is a master storyteller especially when dealing with
classic characters. His style of art reflects not only Bruce Timm,
but a distinct style that can be manipulated to ad a timeless feel or
a feel of a specific time period. The
Batman/Spirit is a
fantastic one-shot that is both fun and seriously entertaining.
With
so many new ideas coming and going in comic books it seems that
revisiting a classic would seem inappropriate and old, a feeling of
“been there, done that.” However, Darwyn Cooke doesn’t just
give us the classic Spirit, he modernizes the Spirit and gives him
the same timeless feel like is shared by the likes of Captain
America, Superman or Batman. Rather than get a period piece, this
latest vision of the Spirit is set in modern times and it is probably
one of the single best comic book issues I’ve read in the past
year. Darwyn Cooke captures the humor behind the character, he
captures the tone of the story, its fun and its entertaining all the
while being serious. TV reporter Ginger Coffee (great name!) is
abducted on air moments before she interviews an informant that will
no doubt put away crime lord Amos “The Pill” Weinstock. Hot on
her trail is the Spirit who makes his first appearance in his new
series cutting through the cushion of a back car seat. He proceeds
to rescue Ginger Coffee, and in probably one of the most annoyingly
entertaining scenes I have ever read in a comic book, Ginger Coffee
tries to interview The Spirit while they try to escape through the
sewers. Her cell-phone is open and the chase is being broadcast on
national television thus leading the Pill and his goons right to The
Spirit. In classic style, the Spirit makes his escape when his
sidekick, Ebony White pulls up in a taxi cab. The banter back and
forth between Coffee and The Spirit is amazing and done wonderfully
enough to the point where you start to feel bad for the Spirit for
having to go through this. His only request to Miss Coffee is that
she keep his involvement on the down-low. He doesn’t want a huge
public profile and he simply asks she don’t speak of his
involvement. So instead she twists the story and gives her viewers
the idea that she was the true hero of the escape! Brilliant! This
title is fun, fast and energetic and it has a timeless feel that
makes it true to Eisner’s vision.
Darwyn
Cooke’s art is beyond perfect for this series. He captures the
tone of the book perfectly, a mix of noir and humor, classic and
modern rolled into one. His artwork is very distinct, a “comic”
version of Bruce Timm’s style but very distinct in its own right.
I could not imagine anyone more perfect to give a rebirth to one of
comicdom’s most fantastic characters. Even if you don’t read
comics, you should grab this book for a great story.
10/10