Octopus | the m0vie blog

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 26 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Darren

It’s strange reading The Spirit Archives, Vol. 26. Not just because it’s a collection of absolutely everything (from stories to pin-ups to posters to sketches) rather than a set of comic strips. Also because of the scope of this final hardcover collection in DC’s Spirit Archives programme. While, with the exception of the last volume, each book collected six months of the weekly strip, this final book collects pretty-much everything Will Eisner did with the character from the time that the weekly strip ended through to his death in 2005. I’m a bit surprised that there’s only one book of this material, although it does allow the reader to flick through the decades following the end of the strip as if examining a family photo albums – watching the subtle changes as time marches on.

Despite the fact that he was cancelled, The Spirit never seemed to quite go away. There was a lot of work featuring the character by other writers and artists, but most of that isn’t collected here. Instead, this admittedly disjointed collection reads best as a sort of a documentary charting the on-going relationship between Will Eisner and arguably his most popular creation.

Still making waves…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: art, Business and Economy, CONTRACT WITH GOD, Dolan, Ebony, Eisner, Ellen, Ellen Dolan, Harvey Comics, james bond, Kitchen Sink Press, Metro Areas, new york, New York City, New York City Metro, Octopus, Religion and Spirituality, Spirit, Spirits, superhero, United States, Will Eisner | 3 Comments »

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 22 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Darren

There’s a sense that Eisner and his staff knew that the end was rapidly approaching. Narratively speaking, there’s a lot of different elements here that suggest – at least unconsciously – an effort to tidy up The Spirit so that it could be neatly folded up and put away. Eisner hadn’t completely abandoned his creation to its fate at this point, but it seemed like he was well aware that the strip might not continue forever. The Spirit Archive, Vol. 22 seems a bit more reflective than the editions that came before, acknowledging that the worm is slowly turning.

Gun to my head, I’d say the strip is in trouble…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, central city, China, Eisner, Eisner Award, Ellen, First Man, Octopus, Spirit, Spirit Archive, The Spirit Archives: Volume 12, Tibet, United States, Will Eisner, World, world war ii | Leave a comment »

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 16 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Darren

We’re more than half-way through Will Eisner’s tenure on The Spirit, and I find myself struggling, just a bit, to come up with something novel to say about it. After all, I’ve gone on and on (and on and on) about how Eisner has handled the weekly strip for the bones of about 10,000 words at this point. As much as I like to examine each six-month period on its own terms and merits, there comes a point where I have to concede that this is just one giant project, and a lot of what I can say about it I have already said. Sure, there are some new themes and ideas, and Eisner always enjoys putting a new slant on old concepts, but I can’t help but feel that this extended bunch of reviews and retrospectives will wind up tripping over each other. (I say that as if they haven’t already.)

With that in mind, just because I might have a bit less to say about The Spirit Archives, Vol. 16 doesn’t mean that it isn’t a great collection of stories. We are, after all, in the middle of the most celebrated part of Eisner’s run. This collection is pretty consistently smart, funny and moving. Just because this reviewer is struggling not to cover old ground doesn’t mean that Eisner is any less of a master.

A web of deceit…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Amsterdam, art, business, Derek Dooley, Eisner, fatalism, fiction, frank miller, james bond, Kentucky, Merry Andrew, Mikkeli, Octopus, Online Writing, Pecha Kucha, Recreation, Spirit, Spirits, The Spirit Archives: Volume 12, The Spirit: Femmes Fatale, Vanderbilt Commodores, Will Eisner, world war ii | Leave a comment »

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 15 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Darren

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 15, finds Will Eisner in the middle of a very strong run on his most iconic creation. While this collection of stories doesn’t necessarily do anything new or radical, it does offer an example of a master storyteller at the height of his powers, crafting entertaining and exciting pulpy adventures on a weekly basis. Indeed, this run of stories offers a fairly efficient cross-section of what the strip was capable of at its best, perhaps more than any of the volumes surrounding it. While it might not be the very best collection of Spirit stories written, it is a pretty handy introduction to the character and his world.

Doesn’t somebody want to be wanted?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: A Contract with God, Adam, Al Capp, Dolan, Ebony, Eisner, Gretel, Hansel & Gretel, Killer Mike, Lamp, Octopus, Raven, Spirit, The Spirit Archives: Volume 12, United States, Will Eisner | 2 Comments »

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 13 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Darren

With Eisner now back on the strip for over half-a-year, The Spirit is forging ahead into the middle part of its run. Many commentators and pundits would argue that the few years following Eisner’s return from military service were among the best in the strip’s history, and it’s hard to disagree. While Eisner took the time in his first six months to tidy up loose ends – killing the Squid, sending Satin home with a daughter – here we see the creator building up the world he has created. This collection includes the strips introducing (and a number of subsequent appearances from) both P’Gell and the Octopus, arguably two of the most important characters introduced into the strip following the Second World War. There’s also a sign that Eisner is branching out a bit, and pushing the strip out from the shadow of the Second World War. After all, a new era of prosperity and a Cold War were both just around the corner, very fertile ground for the creator to explore.