The Spirit Archives, Vol. 22

According to historian Paul Buhle, in his forward to this volume of The Spirit Archives, the stories here occur during the early throes of Will Eisner's fallow period. Eisner was seeing the writing on the wall in regards to how comic books and their crafters were being demonized by the public and notable child psychiatrists. Having been creating Spirit comics for over a decade, Eisner was getting the wanderlust, desiring a change. Thus if the adventures of the Spirit, Commissioner Dolan and company seems a bit like a cup of weak coffee, you'll understand.

But like with other masters of the comic arts, (any arts actually), the worst that Will Eisner has to offer is loads better than some of the worst artists and their so-called masterpieces!

The French black widow P'Gell appears in several stories, seeking fortune and fame, along with another husband to take to the proverbial cleaners. The Octopus, arguably the Spirit's primary arch enemy returns from the dead. Although, since nobody knows what he really looks like, thanks to his ability to wear countless masks all at the same time, could this Octopus actually be an impostor? (That's my theory at least.)There's also a rather unique criminal named Mr. Carrion who along with his pet bird Julia, is creepy fun with his evil schemes mixed with a touch of heartfelt sympathy for others.

The Spirit's girlfriend Ellen Dolan is now Central City's Mayor at this point. I remember in a previous volume that she ran for office. I just didn't recall that she had won. Being such an important figure now, Ellen has very little time to pine over her crime fighting boyfriend who's yet to walk her down the alter. Doesn't she realize that as Mayor, she can skip ceremony and declare herself married to the Spirit?!

Also, returning from a rather long hiatus is former sidekick of the Spirit, Ebony White. He'll pop up in perhaps the best story of the whole volume, a capper to a multi-part adventure that sees Spirit stranded in Asia and having to hoof it through the Himalayas to the nearest port back Stateside. Ebony might be a controversial character in comics. But he's also one of the most sincere and genuine characters ever crafted.

Another great volume. Maybe not Eisner's best. But I got a kick out of it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Batman/ The Spirit One-Shot (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The Batman/The Spirit one-shot team-up titled 'Crime Convention' won the 2007 Eisner Award for the 'Best Single Issue/One-Shot'. Written by Jeph Loeb, this madcap adventure is the first ever pairing of the Dark Knight and 'the real only middle-class crimefighter.'

The story has Gotham City's Commissioner Gordon and Central City's Commissioner Dolan heading to Hawaii for a convention of police and law enforcement officers. On his way to the airport, Dolan is swooned by a fiery redhead named Ivy while Jim Gordon is being accompanied by his new girlfriend; a sultry brunette by the name of P'Gell!

The villains of the Batman and the Spirit have joined forces to make the convention an explosive event that nobody will ever forget! Everyone from the Cossack to Killer Croc have converged on America's 50th state to have some fun, get some sun and hit at the heart of their arch-enemies. Thankfully, Batman and the Spirit are en route to Hawaii. But are they too late?

The star of this book is artist Darwyn Cooke. Introducing the Spirit to the DC Universe, Cooke would later go on to be written and illustrator for the first 14 issues of DC's Spirit ongoing. A student of the golden and silver ages of comics, Cooke combined classic artwork with modernized poses and Kirby-esque framing. As a result of his efforts on both this one-shot and the Spirit monthly, Cook earned the 2007 Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding artist.

Dave Stewart won the 2007 Eisner as best colorist for this special. 

A Late Freeze, The Preposterous Adventures of IronHide Tom, Skyscrapers of the Midwest #3 and They Found The Car were the other nominees for this category. 

Batman and the Spirit would team again, along with Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze in the 2010 miniseries First Wave.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #9 (Best Single Issue or Serialized Story to Win Eisner Award) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.