Review: Darwyn Cooke's Spirit

Darwyn Cooke's got enviable talent--he's one of the best cartoonists working in comics today and I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't feel a bit sorry for him.

But I pity him, nevertheless, because he's now at work trying to fill amongst the biggest shoes in comic book history: Those of Will Eisner, in an ongoing monthly title featuring Eisner's seminal character The Spirit.

Sure, Cooke will tell you he's not trying to emulate or match Eisner's work. But the comparisons are inevitable.

It's true that plenty of other people have worked on the Spirit over the years. Eisner didn't even touch the strip for a few years during World War II, when it was ghosted by Lou Fine, Jack Cole and others. And The Spirit: The New Adventures title of the late 1980s saw all sorts of comics pros trying their hand on the character. But Cooke is the first cartoonist to take the job on solo--scripting and penciling an ongoing monthly Spirit comic.

Reportedly, Cooke was invited by Eisner himself to do the Spirit, shortly before the cartoonist's death. And if there had to be a new Spirit comic, I can't think of a better person for the job. He's no Eisner--nobody is--but Cooke is an inventive, fluid artist who can tell a good yarn in pictures. And, on the basis of a one-shot Spirit/Batman comic and the first issue of the new Spirit series proper, Cooke's stint on the character should be a treat.

Admittedly, the Batman crossover had some problems. Firstly, it didn't really do much to introduce us into the Spirit's mileau and failed to really capture his character. Also, Jeph Loeb's script lacked serious luster. His captions were dull and dashed off, lacking any style or drama. And Cooke's art suffered from a few storytelling hangups that caused me to lose track of what was happening a few times.

For example, the transition where Batman first appears was abrupt--taking place in a single, small, caption-less panel that failed to tell us the scene of action was shifting from the Spirit's point of view. And the Octopus' and the Joker's purple pin-stripe costumes were too similar to my eyes, and I couldn't tell who was who a few times. But, overall, it sure was pretty to look at. I loved the first splash, where the Spirit logo is depicted as huge, tumbling letters from a sign. And all the characters--the Spirit, Batman, Dolan, Commissioner Gordon, Barbara Gordon, Ellen, P'Gell, Penguin, the Joker, Carrion, etc. , look fabulous.

Much better is Spirit #1, which sees Cooke handling the full script and pencils, accompanied by J. Bone on inks and the wonderful Dave Stewart on colors. These guys could do random, nonsensical panels and the result would still be the best illustrated book published by DC or Marvel these days.

The bonus here, though, is that the issue actually tells an entertaining story. It's a done-in-one, which is suiting given that Eisner's classic Spirit tales were all told in just 7 or 8 pages. I believe Cooke plans to do all his issues as stand-alones and I hope that's the case. It's nice to see a regular-sized comic that can tell a single, well-paced story like this one.

Plot-wise, it's not a terribly sophisticated yarn--just a romp about the Spirit and a kidnapped girl reporter he rescues from an icky new villain, the Pill. But it's funny with lots of action and it flows smoothly--no glitches that take you out of the story, ala the Batman crossover. Cooke does a nice job of gently ushering the Spirit into the 21st century, taking a satirical jab at 24-hour news networks along the way. It's the type of thing Eisner was a master at: Mixing noir action, screwball comedy and subtle social commentary into one nice little package.

Cooke's major triumph, though, is giving us a new take on Eisner's ever-problematic Ebony White.

Eisner introduced Ebony back in the 40s and came to deeply regret the racially stereotyped way he wrote and drew the character. Eisner eventually smartened Ebony up and wrote a number of excellent stories spotlighting him. But he still looked and spoke much the same. Ultimately, Ebony was a product of much less englightened times.

The easy thing for Cooke to do would've been simply to ignore Ebony completely and not use the character. Instead, he's updated Ebony for our times. He's smart, funny and a great foil for the revived Spirit.

Truthfully, I'd buy pretty much anything Cooke drew. He's that good. There's lots of stuff I'd love to see him do--an ongoing Challengers of the Unknown title, for example, or an original series or graphic novel featuring his own characters. But, despite any reservations I and other longtime Spirit fans might have had, I think he's going to do a wonderful job with this series.

I'm still having a hard time believing it's a monthly. Reading a comic this good every 30 days is going to be a treat.

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