Why I’m not the biggest fan of
Darwyn Cooke’s version of The Spirit
Posted by Greg Burgas, Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 12:05 PM
Of course, the latest issue was very good, so maybe this will be a moot point soon, but still.
I have not been the biggest fan of DC’s latest incarnation of Will Eisner’s seminal creation, despite the fact that it’s being written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, who is an immense talent. This has led people to comment that I am an idiot, have no taste, prefer having sex with goats rather than humans, worship at the altar of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, and vote Republican. Who knew one little comic book could engender such passion? However, despite my dissatisfaction with the comic, I could never really pinpoint why I didn’t take it home, slip under the covers of my bed, and do to it what I apparently do to goats, which is what fans of the book seemingly do. It just seemed like the first five issues were lacking the verve that Cooke has brought to other books he’s done and what I heard the original stories were like. So I went out and bought The Best of The Spirit trade paperback, which is now available at fine bookstores everywhere. And lo, I was not unlike Paul on the road to Damascus – mine eyes were opened, and I understood all the mysteries of the universe. Well, maybe not the mysteries of the universe, but certainly the mysteries of the Spirit. You’ll forgive me if many of you already knew these mysteries, but I’m going to inspect them to show why I have not been as jazzed with Cooke’s version as, apparently, I ought to be if I want to call myself a comics nerd and an American.
