Chris Mautner recently chatted with comic creator Darwyn Cooke, of Spirit and New Frontier fame, for the Harrisburg Patriot-News. Over on his blog, Chris has posted the “uncutted” version of the interview.
Cooke talks about the fine line he’s walking by doing a new Spirit comic:
Q: How has the reception been on the series so far?
A: You know, it’s the kind of thing where I’m going to get a mixed response no matter what I do. Fortunately, the real key here was to try to attract new people to the character. Those people coming to it fresh seem to be incredibly positive about it. Most of the negative stuff I hear, it’s from people who have a very fixed idea of what this strip should be and whether it should be done at all.
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I enjoyed the first issue, and I think Will Eisner would’ve approved. Purists of course will have objections. It’s a new generation of readers, and the Ebony White character has been handled well. I liked “Selina’s Big Score”, and Darwyn has a good feel crime noir.
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Thanks for the link. Great interview.
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:58 pm
You know, I’d much rather Cooke do his own thing than yet another old character, but The Spirit, writing wise, is a marked improvement over all his previous efforts to date.
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:03 pm
I think it’s been very good so far. I have read many of the classic Eisner strips and I feel like Cooke captures their, um, spirit very nicely. Is the book *necessary*? Well, no. But if it revives interest in one of the great comic characters, then more power to him.
November 1st, 2007 at 12:43 pm
I just love the classics!