The Spirit Archives Volume Twenty-Seven!

Following on after DC's long run of The Spirit archive editions, Dark Horse Books in conjunction with longtime Kitchen Sink owner Denis Kitchen put out a twenty-seventh volume in the style of the DC books which gathered together the nine issues of The Spirit - The New Adventures. After many years of trying to talk Eisner into allowing other creators to play with The Spirit's universe, he at last convinced him of the idea in 1998. Some of the best comic men of the time took a dip in those Central City waters. 

The debut issue of The Spirit - The New Adventures features three tales by the super-star team of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, who also produced the cover. "The Most Important Meal" features Dr. Cobra who tells his origin story. "Force of Arms" offers up a possible clue to the identity of The Octopus. And the final story "Gossip and Gertrude Granch" tells us what really happened to Dr. Cobra's muscle-bound assistant. These stories all are connected in strange ways with that subtle Moore magic. 

The second issue offers up a cover by Will Eisner Mark Shultz. Under it is "The Return of Mink Stole" by Neil Gaiman and artist Eddie Campbell and combines a Spirit story with one torn from the realm of Quentin Tarrantino which propels a timid writer into a shady story of theft and more. "Sunday in the Part with St. George" by Jim Vance and artist Dan Burr has The Spirit race to the aid of a woman dangling from a flagpole where he meets an old enemy. "The Sphinx the Jinx in the Game of Life" by John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra features a hapless chap just released from jail but doomed by fate to return. 

The third issue features a striking cover by Brian Bolland. The first story "Last Night I Dreamed of Dr. Cobra" by writer Alan Moore and artist Daniel Torres is a strange affair set in a distant future in which Central City is the site of an archeological endeavor and in which strange discoveries are made. "Ellen's Stalker" by Mark Kneece and artist Bo Hampton features Ellen Dolan when she is at first saved then pursued by a man who imitates the look of The Spirit. 

The fourth issue sports another new cover by Will Eisner, this time with the assistance of William Stout. "The Samovar of Shooshnipoor" was written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by his partner on Astro City Brent Anderson. It features Sand Saref in a tale in which she tries yet again to manipulate The Spirit in a bid to gain riches. This issue also has a pin-up by Moebius of The Spirit looking a lot like Humphrey Bogart. "The Weapon by Michael Allred, Matt Brundage and Michael Avon Oeming has The Spirit fighting Nazis and their robot allies on the docks of Central City. "Dr. Broca Von Bitelman" by Mark Schultz and artist David Lloyd features Satin and a mad doctor and his deadly "Super-Beetles". 

The fifth issue features a cover by Paul Chadwick and John Nyberg and is a key scene from the issue-length story titled "Cursed Beauty" by the same team. This one deals with a gorgeous woman who leaves the scene of a murder naked save for a barely concealing overcoat. There are lots of twists and turns in this story which also showcases Ebony White in a key role. 

The sixth issue features a gritty cover by Tim Bradstreet. The first story titled "Swami Vashtibubu" was written by John Ostrander and drawn by Tom Mandrake, and has The Spirit go around in drag to knab a gang of fraudsters led by a murderous couple. "Baby Eichbergh" by Scott Hampton on both script (with assistance by Mark Kneece) and art tells of a terrible kidnapping which features a strange quartet of good Samaritans. 

The seventh issue features a cover by Peter Poplaski. Under it is a story titled "Golf Anyone?" in which Commissioner Dolan cajoles The Spirit onto the links for a game to relax him, but of course that only ends in the duo finding more crimes to solve. A long-missing cast member shows up unexpectedly. "The Pacifist" was written by Eddie Campbell and Marcus Moore and drawn by Campbell and Pete Mullins and tells the tale of a bullet with ambitions beyond that for which it created. "The Ghost of Tiger Traps" written by Jay Stephens and drawn by Paul Pope features a trio of boys including Sammy and P.S. Smith as they try to get to the bottom of a notorious gangster who seems to rise from his grave. 

In the final issue we get a cover by Mark Nelson. The story "Sweetheart" was written by Joe R. Lansdale and drawn by John Lucas. This issue-long adventure features a naked woman who refuses to stay dead and in the morgue despite repeated attempts. It's a ghoulish ending to a strange series which seemed to want to update The Spirit for a modern audience. 

In a later edition of this same volume put out by Dark Horse a story originally intended for the series by Gary Chaloner was added. In the meantime, Chaloner had adapted it in his John Law edition reversing the order of things with the epic Sand Saref tale from so long ago.  

There are lots of very good stories in this volume and I recommend it. But if you're looking for the same jolt you got from those classic Eisner tales, beware as the creators here go off the reservation as they should have done when given the okay. Eisner only limited them in two ways -- The Spirit could not be married nor could he be killed. As we've learned killing The Spirit is virtually impossible. It's been fantastic this past year reading these classic tales. I'll have wee bit more to say on this year-long odyssey later. 

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Monster Comics - King Kong!

Under this luscious Dave Stevens cover is a wild and wooly adaptation of King Kong by Don Simpson for the Fantagraphics Monster Comics label. The Stevens cover is considerably more on the classic model than Simpson's art, but that's not necessarily a criticism. 

It is lively and true to the source material. While it's seemingly an adaptation of the novel like the 1968 Gold Key adaptation, I see elements, especially in the later chapters where the film version comes into play. The escape from Skull Mountain in particular feels like it's from the movie and not the novel, though given the way the rights to Kong have been divided over the decades I understand why they wanted to say it was the novel.

Don Simpson is a favorite artist of mine. His artwork is muscular and vivid, a nice mix for the mighty Kong. Having said that, his King Kong is a wee bit too cartoonish for my tastes. More of a character than the Gold Key adaptation in which he's a big bluish ape, this Kong is a personality through and through. That's good, but the face sometimes seems a bit too funny for the right scary effect.

Another thing is the update of the characterizations. Denham is more of an ass in this one, and Driscoll calls him out several times in the story. Driscoll here is a more modern man, less noble but no less brave. Ann Darrow's plight is undermined a bit by her becoming aware of Driscoll's attempt at rescue much sooner, thus limiting her isolated time with Kong, and the horror that isolation instilled. 

Simpson is known for his babes, and he draws Ann here as one. She's sexy, but not as much the innocent as in the other versions I've seen. I have less empathy for the humans in this version and more for Kong, and perhaps that was Simpson's intent. His Kong might seem a bit goofy looking for some fans, but looking at the original film it's easy to see where Simpson derived his expressions. 

The NYC stuff is very good, and the ending is abrupt, but then so it is in the original. Actually, the pacing of this one hundred-and-thirty-five-page adaptation is hurt a bit by the way it's spread over six issues, one too many I'd reckon. The first chapter runs thirty-five pages and gets the action all the way to Skull Island and introduces Kong. Then we get four issues of the chase and escape in the jungle followed by a single issue dedicated to the New York events. This is a solid adaptation by an excellent talent. 

Still the outstanding covers for the series not only by Dave Stevens but also by Mark Schultz, Bill Stout, Ken Steacy, and Al Williamson are superb.

(Mark Schultz)

(William Stout)

(William Stout)

(Mark Schultz and Al Williamson)

(Ken Steacy)

This story has never been collected to my knowledge. If you want to read it, you have to hunt up the original issues. Collections weren't as frequent in the early 90's as they are today, but then one wonders why this has not been collected by someone in the intervening three decades. If the King Kong folks were unhappy with it, I've never run across that information. I'd love to know. 

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Februarius!

This month will spend a lot of time visiting some of the most fascinating territories in popular literature. We will be spending quite a bit of time on Skull Island, the remote and time-lost land where the "Eighth Wonder of the World" the mighty King Kong ruled with savage violence. In addition to other aspects, I'll focus on the additions made to the sprawling Kong saga by Joe DeVito and his co-writer Brad Strickland. These two operating from the base of the Lovelace novelization which rights are owned by Merrian Cooper's estate rewrote the original story and then proceeded to give us both a sequel and a prequel. That's been adapted and revised more than a few times over the last twenty years. I want to dig into these as well as other aspects of the first great giant monster. You only think you know what Skull Island was all about until you enter the "DeVitoverse". 

Then we switch from Skull Island to the Skull Cave as it's into the Deep Woods of Lee Falk's Ghost Who Walks. Expect the Phantom to stay with us both in comic book and novel formats. This month will see a peek at the comic when King Features took it over as well as when Charlton Comics picked up the venerable property.  

My strange and wonderful trip through the strange and wonderful land of OZ continues as well. I'm long overdue to read these charming classics from the beginning of the previous century. Dorothy Gale returns to OZ and meets the newly crowned Ozma of OZ. 

The Dojo will continue to tour the fascinating boroughs of Astro City, the remarkable comics world in which we meet new superheroes as well as those folks around them as understood by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, and Alex Ross. The MetroBook reprints are great ways to revisit these lush and highly personal stories. 

Then it's on to Metropolis U.S.A., that greatest imaginary American city in comics protected by the "Man of Steel". There's some action planned for later in the month for the "Son of Krypton". I've a hoard of Superman collections around here and it is high time I dug into some of them. 

All that and lots of other oddball places and Bronson Canyon as well. February is a short month, but a busy one all the same. You might think you cannot come back and see but you must. 

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A Rocketeer Diverse Hands Gallery!

From the very beginning the elegance and masterful design alongside the vivid nostalgia has made many artists eager to try their hand at The Rocketeer. The realism required means it's not for every talent out there. Here some delightful examples which first appeared in The Rocketeer Special Edition form Eclipse Comics which finished the first Rocketeer story. 

(Mike Kaluta)

(George Freeman)

(Murphy Anderson)

(William Stout)

(Bruce Jones)

(Gray Morrow)

(Russ Heath)

(Al Williamson)

(Doug Wildey)

(Dave Stevens)

It's been great fun to revisit once again The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens and others. The character has a delightful evergreen quality which allows me to savor it all over again every few years. I'm already looking forward to the next time I get to see Cliff discover an experimental rocket pack and take to the skies and the next time I get to glom my peepers on the ravishing Betty. Good stuff! 

Next month things get a bit darker for us all here at the Dojo. 

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Dojo Classics - Monster Kong!

This adaptation of King Kong by Don Simpson for the Fantagraphics Monster Comics label is lively and true to the source material. While it's seemingly an adaptation of the novel again, I see elements, especially in the later chapters where the film version comes into play. The escape from Skull Mountain in particular feels like its from the movie and not the novel, though given the way the rights to Kong have been divided over the decades I understand why they wanted to say it was the novel.

Don Simpson is a favorite artist of mine. His artwork is muscular and vivid, a nice mix for the mighty Kong. Having said that, his King Kong is a wee bit too cartoonish for my tastes. More of a character than the Gold Key adaptation in which he's a big bluish ape, this Kong is a personality through and through. That's good, but the face sometimes seems a bit too funny for the right scary effect.

Another thing is the update of the characterizations. Denham is more of an ass in this one, and Driscoll calls him out several times in the story. Driscoll here is a more modern man, less noble but no less brave. Ann Darrow's plight is undermined a bit by her becoming aware of Driscoll's attempt at rescue much sooner, thus limiting her isolated time with Kong, and the horror that instilled.

Simpson is known for his babes and he draws Ann here as one. She's sexy, but not as much the innocent as in the other versions I've seen. I have less empathy for the humans in this version and more for Kong, and perhaps that was Simpson's intent.

The NYC stuff is very good and the ending is abrupt, but then so it is in the original. This is a solid adaptation by an excellent talent. It's not his best work though, and that's a shame. Still the covers for the series by Dave Stevens, Mark Schultz, Bill Stout, Ken Steacey, and Al Williamson are superb.

Look for more "Eighth Wonder of the World" as the Halloween Countdown continues.

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