The Official DC Comics THE SPIRIT Thread

[Anubis]

Please, we don't wanna talk about that abortion on film.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

Alright Anubis, then what is your opinion of the original Eisner stuff, DC's books and what are your favorite stories?

 

[Anubis]

well, Racist as hell at first, got better later, Cooke's use of the term "MrSexyPants" was effin' awesome, annnnnd the one where that chick hallucinated and called him Mr.SexyPants.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

yeah I agree, Anubis... The way Eisner drew Ebony White & black people in general in the early days... it reminded me of a monkey.

Very racist, but I guess that was the times.

 

[Anubis]

Yup, those were the times.

 

[CConn]

You fellas notice how the sky is blue?

Wild times.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

It is just so sad that those comics from Eisner couldn't be adapted into a great film.

The Octopus didn't even have to be the villain. They could have had P'Gell, Mr. Carrion or Hussein Hussein (clever name).

I don't think we'll ever see another Spirit movie ever made now!

For what little good he has done, Frank Miller sure killed THE SPIRIT or at least his public image!

 

[IDrawDeadPeople]

To honor Bats N Hornets' description of all things concerning this thread:

Love the book. Cooke through now, although it did alter drastically upon Cooke's departure. I did still love a few of the arcs in Aragones' run, tho. The mummy caper stands out.

I will say, being a huge huge fan of Eisner's writing, that the single funniest thing I have EVER read in a comic -in terms of nailing characterization - was the comment in issue one about Ebony being Denny's Lawn Jockey and standing on his lawn, holding a lantern at night.

First Wave looks to be insanely good and I hope it lives up to its own potential.

Finally, the film. I have made a sharp about-face on this in the past year or so, since it came out.

I love the look of the film. I love most of the casting choices for the film. I recognize a great portion of the story and dialogue (of the protagonists only) to be taken directly from Eisner's work on the characters. I love the nods to other Eisner work (ie, the Dropsie Ave comment). I cannot say how much I appreciated Gabriel Macht's performance. Thanks to Santa & my wife, there is literally a framed autographed pic of the man as the Spirit inches from my monitor as I type this...


BUT...

This beautifully shot film is basically, to me, what would happen if Eisner's The Spirit got trapped in the middle of a whole bunch of Frank Miller villains. It's not so much The Spirit versus The Octopus as it is The Spirit versus Samuel L Jackson and his army of Frank Miller creations. Almost anything that happens onscreen from Jackson or the fat clones are literally an endless series of misfires and injustices to comedy more than they are to Eisner's ideas. Eggs and heads on feet and eggs and humourless ScarJo infatuations and eggs.

I have done a lot of soul searching on this film because it is probably the only Spirit film I will get in my lifetime. And, I am familiar enough with all of Eisner's many, many Spirit stories to know Miller made this film with us Spirit fans in mind. He really, really did. And the areas where there was a wealth of Eisner's artistry available to take from, such as Denny, Dolan, Lorelie, etc. - he did those characters justice.

But, the area where Miller chose to invent rather than follow the source material also happen, not coincidentally, to be the areas that viewers and reviewers pan the most.

All that to say this:

As a Spirit fan, it is, honestly 80% my favorite movie ever, and strangely 20% the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life.

It's a conundrum that makes my brain hurt.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

I just recieved the New Adventures Archives... I really recommend it. There's Eisner stuff, ALAN MOORE etc. A bit pricey, but SO WORTH IT!

 

[IDrawDeadPeople]

That's a great read. Worth the mammoth coin.

I finally got the last Spirit story I didn't own in its original form, which happened to be Eisner's last, Denny's team up with the Escapist. Never, ever, ever ceases to amaze me how well that man could draw that well in his 80s.

 

[CrimsonMist]

That's a great read. Worth the mammoth coin.

I finally got the last Spirit story I didn't own in its original form, which happened to be Eisner's last, Denny's team up with the Escapist. Never, ever, ever ceases to amaze me how well that man could draw that well in his 80s.

I have that as well. The Barnes & Noble by me has an annex of used books, including comics. I found it sandwiched between some Spider-Man books for 3 bucks. It's a fun read.

 

[fifthfiend]

Frank Miller's film was crap.

I liked the scene where The Spirit made out with Eva Mendes for like five straight minutes and then turned around and walked over to his girlfriend and went like "Naw baby, you're the only one, honest."

You would think Miller, being a fan himself, would have done justice to it.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

 

[NightBeetle]

THE SPIRIT #2
On sale MAY 19 * 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by MARK SCHULTZ
Co-feature written by HARLAN ELLISON
Art by MORITAT
Co-feature art by KYLE BAKER
Cover by LADRÖNN
In this second gripping issue, Angel Smerti is a lady who gets what she wants - and she wants The Spirit dead! The Spirit's first encounter with the Golden Tree crime organization will show him that the threat extends far beyond Central City! And in the co-feature, THE SPIRIT: BLACK & WHITE, modern fiction master Harlan Ellison teams with the brilliant Kyle Baker (WEDNESDAY COMICS) to bring an adventure right to the Spirit's backyard - Wildwood Cemetery!

 

[NightBeetle]

• Gotta call Moritat and thank him and Gabriel Bautista for the amazing SPIRIT #1 art job.
• Gotta call Bill Sienkiewicz to see the first phenomenal SPIRIT BLACK AND WHITE story.
• Gotta call Kyle Baker to see if he called Harlan Ellison about the second one. Wait, do I have that backward?
• Gotta make sure that everybody’s still jazzed about seeing “The Bat-Man” in FIRST WAVE and that he’s in it enough.
• Jeez! That means I gotta call Brian again!

Link

 

[Watson]

^That is a thing of beauty

 

[Sawyer]

I really wish DC would come out with a sort of The Spirit Chronicles series of collections like they have for Superman, Batman, GL, etc. I've really wanted to read the Eisner stuff, but I dont have the money to shell out 50 bucks a book for God knows how many volumes... Please, please, please DC.

 

[Temple Fugate]

the spirit tv movie from the seventies was fun



the entire thing is on youtube. Worth watching. P'gell is the main antag.

 

[CrimsonMist]

I really wish DC would come out with a sort of The Spirit Chronicles series of collections like they have for Superman, Batman, GL, etc. I've really wanted to read the Eisner stuff, but I dont have the money to shell out 50 bucks a book for God knows how many volumes... Please, please, please DC.

I'd snatch those up in an instant. You can get the Hardcovers for anywhere between 25 and 30 bucks on Amazon.com, but if i could get paperback versions for 15 bucks, i'd be on top of that like you wouldn't believe.

For now, those 2 paperbacks, "The Best Of..." and "Femme Fatales" are as good as any to start. DC also released a 1 shot of Eisner's stuff that reprinted some of the stories that Miller used for the film which is worth tracking down. Aside from that, i'd suggest scouring back issue bins for the Warren Magazine reprints and the Kitchen Sink reprints. That's how I've amassed my Spirit collection.

 

[CrawlingDevil]

I think I'm going to have to watch that Spirit made-for-tv movie. Something tells me it'll be better than that heap that Frank Miller churned out a little while back.

Thanks for posting it!

 

[NightBeetle]

New Spirit #1 Variant Cover

Some things you probably know: The Spirit returns in a new ongoing series next month from writer Mark Schultz and artist Moritat. We showed off a page of the first SPIRIT: BLACK AND WHITE co-feature by Dennis O’Neil and Bill Sienkiewicz just last week.
Did you also know that Mark Schultz is not only writing the issue, but also contributing a variant cover? It’s possible. But I know it hasn’t been seen yet, so here it is:

 

[IDrawDeadPeople]

That is a beauty. Taking Denny Colt and using him to remind me of the greatness that was Cadillacs & Dinosaurs is a very good thing. The only issue I have with that variant is that, in spite of me not even being a fan of Ladronn... his cover is one of my favorite Spirit images ever. What a good problem to have for a first issue.

 

[NightBeetle]

THE SPIRIT #4
On sale JULY 21
40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by DAVID HINE
Co-feature written by MARV WOLFMAN
Art by MORITAT
Co-feature art by PHIL WINSLADE
Cover by LADRÖNN
New series writer David Hine comes aboard for the first chapter of “Frostbite!” The ultimate high has arrived on the corners of Central City, and the ghouls who deal it aren’t interested in cutting the all-controlling Octopus in on the action! It doesn’t take long for hot blood to hit the icy city streets!
And in the co-feature, THE SPIRIT: BLACK & WHITE, Marv Wolfman and Phil Winslade show us what happens in Central City when the lights go out – every last one of them! It’s a citywide blackout in black and white!

 

[fifthfiend]

Setting aside my non-negotiable demand that all comics ever be drawn by Denny O'Neil, those are some pretty nice covers.

 

[CrimsonMist]

Anyone else pick up issue 1? I managed to get the last copy of the Mark Schultz variant. It's a pretty good read, not too fast and not too slow.

The O'Neil/Sienkiewicz story was really lack luster. O'Neil's story wasn't very engaging, and as a huge fan of Sienkiewicz, I had no idea what the hell was going on.

 

[IDrawDeadPeople]

I read it cover to cover twice, and I really liked the main story. I went into it with high expectations... not just as a longtime Spirit fan, but as a huge admirer of Cadillacs & Dinosaurs. I agree with the above; the pace was right, and it had a decent balance of grit and pure joy.

I'm really suspicious of the whole First Wave approach to Dolan's respectability, but I suspect/hope it's going in a direction of redemption, leaving the character closer to Eisner's vision. Same goes for the "in it for the reward money/Han Solo with a red tie" scenario that has been so prevelant in both the First Wave issues featuring Denny. Again, I'm reserving judgment and hoping it's a character device, where the public perception of his motives isn't his actual motivation. In the very earliest Spirit comics, as well as in the earliest daily strips, Dolan, out of pure concern for Denny asks how he'll survive living in Wildwood, and Denny makes the passing reply that he will accept the rewards for cases... but he never pursued the reward, per se. His monlogue and subsequent dialogue with the 2 goons in the truck in First Wave 1, as well as Ellen's rebuke of him as a money chaser in this issue have me curious about where this trait is going in this universe.

I liked the assassin. Total Eisner. I really liked the overall scope of the Octopus' "reach" and I am a big fan of how the monologuing has been handled, thus far.

One thing that I believe deserves mention is that I think I maybe sorta possibly like the way they handled Ebony/Imani. Maybe. It was a great introductory approach at the very least, and I'm left anticipating exactly where that particular characterization will go in this new series.

Also in total agreement with the above post. I am an admirer of Sienkiewicz's art style... but the back up was migraine-inducing. I have no idea what happened in that story and the dialogue did little to help steer it. I actually like black and white comics more than color, and I especially love when the Spirit has been black and white (major fan of the daily strips)... but, I honestly went through the story, trying to 'color' it in my mind to seperate lines... it was a losing effort. I liked what I could see but it was a hard, hard read.

Lastly, can't say enough about both covers. Good start to my favorite book version 7.0.


(Did I count that right? Quality, Fiction House, Harvey, Warren, Kitchen Sink, DC, DC First Wave...?)

Regardless... excellent relaunch...