Review: Will Eisner's The Spirit Returns by Matt Wagner, Dan Schkade, and Brennan Wagner

Will Eisner is rightly held in high esteem for his pioneering work in the comics field from his early days as co-founder of the Eisner & Iger shop, the creation and first publication of The Spirit in 1940, and his work creating graphic novels in later years. In his afterword to the collected edition of Dynamite Entertainment's Will Eisner's The Spirit Returns, Paul Levitz says, "Stepping up to the drawing board of Will Eisner takes, well, chutzpah." Evidently, Matt Wagner agrees. He admits in his foreword that he turned down the invitation to write The Spirit -- twice!

I first encountered The Spirit through The Spirit Jam that was published in Kitchen Sink's The Spirit #30 during my senior year of high school. To this day The Spirit Jam is one of my favorite Spirit stories simply because it is a fun story created by some of the era's top writers and artists, including Will Eisner himself who contributed a framing sequence. Beginning in the late 1990s -- and with varying degrees of success (in my opinion) -- Will Eisner allowed other creators to play in his Spirit sandbox. The creative team of Matt Wagner, Dan Schkade, and Brennan Wagner aimed high and succeed in making The Spirit Returns a fitting tribute to celebrate the character's 75th anniversary in addition to it being a fun and exciting read.

The secret of the M. Wagner/Schkade/B. Wagner team's success is that they didn't set out to re-create The Spirit for the 2010s, nor did they painstakingly adhere to the 7- and 8-page story format Eisner used for The Spirit Sections in the 1940s. At the same time there are glimpses in both story and art that show a fondness for both Eisner and The Spirit.

The whole gang is back, including Commissioner Dolan, his daughter Ellen, Ebony White, Sammy Strunk, Lt. Klink. Several of The Spirit's more popular villains and femmes fatale have cameos, but writer Matt Wagner creates new nemeses for The Spirit in the form on Mikado Vaas and Sachet Spice.

Eisner crafted his Spirit stories in such a way that The Spirit could -- and often did -- play a supporting role, allowing others to take the lead. My favorite character in the original Spirit stories is Ebony White. While I understand the reasoning for Eisner removing Ebony from the strip in the 1940s (he did return), I always marveled at Ebony's brilliance in playing the innocent, the sage, the Greek chorus, or any other role in which Eisner placed him.

In The Spirit Returns, Wagner pairs Ebony with Sammy Strunk, who became The Spirit's assistant after Ebony was written out of the strip. At the beginning of the story, The Spirit has been missing for two years. Ebony and Sammy have joined forces as private investigators, and it is their digging into the mystery of The Spirit's disappearance that intersects with the hero's return to Central City.

Dan Schkade's art is reminiscent of Eisner's 1940s-era work without aping it line for line. His Ellen Dolan, specifically, has touches of the elegance that Eisner and others gave her in the 1940s and the looser style used in later years. Brennan Wagner's color choices, using a sepia tone-inspired palette that come off as bold and muted simultaneously, help in conveying the mood for the story. Though I am a purist when it comes to The Spirit, preferring to keep the coloring as originally used, I could be tempted to buy a "remastered" collection of Spirit stories if they were recolored by Brennan Wagner.

Dynamite has yet to announce a second story arc starring The Spirit, though the indicia indicates this is Volume 1. I would certainly welcome more, especially if written, drawn, and colored by the M. Wagner/Schkade/B. Wagner team. Maybe a Strunk and White, Private Investigators series (with The Spirit keeping an out eye for them, of course)?

The collected edition features a foreword by Matt Wagner, an afterword by Paul Levitz, sketches, designs, and thumbnails by Dan Schkade, and all the covers created for the series. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 Stars

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Comics of the Week: Doctor Fate #8 (DC Comics), Titans Hunt #4 (DC Comics), Will Eisner's The Spirit #7 (Dynamite Entertainment)

I couldn't decide on just one comic this week. The third week of the month is the week when I seem to have more "favorites" released, so I'm just going to go with the flow. I'll even make them short.

Doctor Fate #8 -- by Paul Levitz and guest artist Ibrahim Moustafa -- continues the adventures of the reluctant superhero. This title, which flies so low under the radar that I see very few reviews, has become my favorite of DC's current ongoing titles.

Levitz has been allowed to weave together the individual strands of Khalid Nassour, his parents, girlfriend, and educational goals, Nabu, and the Egyptian gods into a wonderful tapestry of story that leaves me eager to read the next issue. (And he's creating a world where Doctor Fate appears to be the only superhero. There's been no sign of Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman yet. I'm kinda hoping they don't show up unless Levitz starts building his own Justice Society of America.)

Moustafa, who fills in for regular artist Sonny Liew, doesn't copy Liew's artistic style but uses his own style to add to the mythos being created in this title. The coloring by Lee Loughridge is spectacular as always and a proves to be as perfect a fit for Moustafa as for regular artist Liew.

With DC Comics now talking about a "Rebirth" this summer, I hope that this title is allowed to continue and finds an audience. Not since Neil Gaiman's Sandman or Brian Azzarello's recent run on Wonder Woman have I felt like there's a saga in the making.

Rating: 5 Stars

I don't know how I managed to go so long without reading anything by Dan Abnett. It could only be because he must have been writing a title I had no interest in, or maybe I've just forgotten how good he is. All I know is I became a fan of his with Convergence: Justice Society of America and I'm loving the whole "gang's getting back together" vibe of Titans Hunt.

The fourth issue of the series follows Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, Roy Harper, Garth, Lilith, Mal, Gnarrk (I have a problem calling him Caveboy), Hawk, and Dove as they continue to fight the feeling that there are hidden memories, wanting to know who's messing with them but knowing that they're being summoned together for a reason. Having been a fan of the Titans since 1972's Teen Titans #42, it's good to see some silver/bronze age goodness return to DC. Abnett manages to capture the essence of the characters as they were then and combine it with how they are published now and make it work. If only the story would pick up the pace just a bit.

Rating 4 1/2 stars

Last year I sat down and celebrated the Spirit's 75th anniversary and read the entirety of his adventures (thanks to the fantastic Archive Editions and other collections from DC and Dark Horse Comics). I even read the First Wave Spirit series. (That makes it sound like it was a bad series; it wasn't, it was just a little less fun that what I expect from a story featuring Will Eisner's best known creation.) As part of the 75th anniversary, Dynamite Entertainment introduced a new Spirit series by Matt Wagner, Dan Schkade, and Brennan Wagner.

Will Eisner's The Spirit #7 continues Matt Wagner's tale of The Spirit's return to Central City after being held captive for two years. Though on the trail of the mysterious Mikado Vaas, The Spirit is given some time alone with Ellen Dolan and discovers that her feelings for him haven't changed. Ebony White and Sammy Strunk continue to steal the scene whenever they're on the page. (I'd support a Strunk and White miniseries. How about it, Dynamite?)

Dan Schkade's art is reminiscent of Eisner's later, looser artwork from the 1960s until his death. There is no mistaking that Schkade has taken the time to figure out how each character should look. Ellen is still the beautiful girl next door and Commissioner Dolan still has the tufts of hair that stick out and Officer Klink has that jawline that is instantly recognizable. The only place where Schkade veers from Eisner is in the height of Ebony and Sammy, but it's all good as they now look like they can handle the danger in which they sometimes find themselves.

Brennan Wagner's colors complement Schkade's art and provide a sense of film noir for the series. As with Lee Loughridge, who I mention in the Doctor Fate review, above, there is a sense of perfection as the art and color come together.

Rating: 5 Stars


Three reviews -- though not as short as I planned. Check 'em out, I think you'll like 'em!