The Spirit #21 (DC Comics 2007-09)

   In hopes of bringing down a local gang, the Spirit impersonates their leader under the guise that he has recently been released from jail. But when Chief Dolan's daughter Ellen is kidnapped and taken as a hostage, by the gang the Central City Police are forced to release the actual baddie. What transpires when there is now two bosses and a ton of oddly polite bikers is a comedy of errors that only writers Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier could craft.

    I still prefer Darwyn Cooke's run on this series. I felt that he, with his classic noir style, seemed to channel Will Einser's original take on the Spirit really well. But the duo of Aragones and Evanier are a very close second. The plot was so screwball I thought I was reading a comic book adaptation of a Howard Hawks film. It was tons of fun.

   The art was quite good as well, but it surprised the heck out of me. I was convinced that the art was by writer Aragones. It had that quality of his non-Mad Magazine works such as 'Sergio Aragones Destroys the DC Universe.' Instead, this book was crafted by a Paul Smith. I'm not familiar with his work, but it was quite good and paired well with the Spirit and his zany cast of characters.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.