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The Spirit by Darwyn Cooke with J. Bone (inker) and Dave Stewart (colours)
01/01/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Titan Books. 191 page graphic novel hardback. Price: £24.99 (UK), $24.99 (us), $29.99 (can). ISBN: 978-1-4012-1461-6. Buy The Spirit in the USA - or Buy The Spirit in the UK  check out website: www.titanbooks.com and www.dccomics.com
There's gong to be a lot of hype next year with a film coming out based on Will Eisner's 'The Spirit'. As such, one shouldn't be surprised that DC have let loose a re-imaging of the character to introduce him to new readers. Darwyn Cook both writes and pencils these six adventures. Coming from an animation background probably helped in setting scenes and not over-doing the pencil-work. Saying that, when things suddenly go too skimpy, I'm not sure who to blame, him or his finisher/inker J. Bone.
To capture the flavour of the Spirit, one has to understand the man who created him, Will Eisner and what he brought to the strip. The main title as part of opening page of the story, the ghettos and empty warehouses, the cemetery, the over-the-top villains and the Spirit himself, who doesn't take himself totally seriously. With such a checklist, it isn't difficult to see Cooke touched base with all of them. Probably the biggest faux pas he makes is showing the Spirit unmasked in a story which isn't his origin, although that is here as well in the third and fourth stories. Eisner went to great pains to avoid that.
So before we go any further, just who is the Spirit? Criminologist Dennis 'Denny' Colt of the Central City police department is nearly killed pursuing criminals but left in a death-like trance after plunging into a chemical vat. Revived, he dons a blue domino mask and becomes the Spirit to enable him to pursue criminals outside of the law but with the co-operation of the Police Commissioner Dolan. In the 1940s, when the series was conceived, all such actions would have been considered quite normal and there are parallels to many series since. Before anyone says Batman, the dark knight never had that close a relationship with James Gordon in his early years. Then again, Denny Colt had been dating Dolan's daughter, Ellen, so there was already an existing relationship.
In many respects although there was continuity with the Eisner strips, it didn't necessarily mean it could interfere reading them out of order. They were adventures with a lot of re-occurring villains with their own quirks that actually would have given Batman's rogues gallery and even that of Dick Tracy pause for thought. In many respects, the Spirit was played more as a detective with a mask.
As I said in the opening of this review, Cooke has caught the...er...spirit of the character if not always getting the art right. Then again, if you're getting hooked and picking up the other original Eisner volumes that are coming out you, then you'll see not only the differences but the difficulty. If anything, I would say the Spirit was a bit slimmer and lankier originally.
These adventures are definitely page-turners and a fast introduction to the Spirit's world. The reason I pointed out Batman is because there is a tale at the end co-starring him, Robin and the rogues gallery as they collide with the Spirit's world only in Hawaii than either of their home turfs. Cooke co-authors with Jeph Loeb and there is a weird balance of comedic elements from the Spirit with the more serious Batman. Interestingly, the villains blend in both ways for obvious reasons related to their outlandishness. Of all the tales, this was the one that I was most concerned with. Mostly cos a lot of the time such cross-overs are done as an equivalent of a fan desire to see what would happen. Oddly enough, this one actually worked quite well.
The Spirit is a great character and this book doesn't do too badly by him even when some topics are brought more up to date. It'll certainly give you a desire to dig deeper for the archives.
GF Willmetts
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