It’s great to see well-deserving comics getting adapted to films. The latest? Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s Beasts of Burden from Dark Horse.

The news comes today via The Hollywood Reporter who say Shrek and The Chronicles Of Narnia director, Andrew Adamson, will be the one to bring the comic to the big screen. “Adamson is producing what is intended to be a CG-animated feature adaptation with his Strange Weather Films partner Aron Warner along with Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Entertainment,” writes THR.

Dorkin and Thompson have both won Eisner Awards for their work on the story they created which revolves around a group of dogs and one cat who team up to save their owners and others after a supernatural event happens in the town of Burden Hill.

Besides what seems like a great choice for director, looks like they’ve got a good effects team on board for the film as well. According to THR, “Burden is being made by Reel FX, the company run by former Industrial Light and Magic senior executive Ed Jones and former Walden Media CEO Cary Granat, and that specializes in CG as well as live-action hybrid projects.”

“Dark Horse Entertainment’s Keith Goldberg is executive producing with Strange Weather’s Jeff Fierson co-producing” writes THR, “Reel FX’s head of feature development Jared Mass will oversee the project for the studio.”

Congrats to both Dorkin and Thompson! It’s very exciting news for them to be sure and I look forward to seeing this in theaters. What about you?

In a very cool graphic showcase, one YouTube user has taken a slew of Batman’s symbol designs through the years and morphed them from one to the next. Beware: U2′s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” from Batman Forever plays in the background.

User Antupainamku includes the details of each symbol which for some are film or television credits while others are specific comic book cover or interior designs. The first comes via Detective Comics 1942, “Batman with Robin, The Boy Wonder,” the last comes from “Superman & Batman vs Alien & Predator” from DC and Dark Horse in 2007. It’s far from complete of course but definitely cool to see a good chunk of them put together.

Dark Horse Comics president Mike Richardson has broken his – and the company’s – silence over the recent layoffs in an interview with Comics Alliance’s Laura Hudson, and explains the reasoning behind last week’s sad news:

We made some very hard choices and did the best we could over that. Rather than considering wage freezes and passing on more health care costs, I made a decision to do it a different way. One element of that cost-cutting was reducing our payroll and staff. On a personal level, it’s horrible. On a company level, it’s something you have to do from time to time.

He also addresses former employee Aaron Colter’s assertion that mismanagement and projects like Troubleshooter and Jim Shooter’s Gold Key books were to blame:

If you want to call [Troublemaker] a failure – it sold nearly 40,000 books, and for us that’s a pretty good number. On the dark side we could have sold 15,000. Who knows? We did not know. The 100,000 print run was to try and make sure we reached all of Janet [Evanovich, writer of the series of novels the book spins out of]‘s market, and that’s what it took so that’s what we contracted. We’re happy and we’re doing another one, and we’ll do it with more information. And inside the direct market, we had a nice sale there; it did better than we expected… [T]o blame that for layoffs is silly. It’s part of a larger program and we’re on our way. The article also pointed at the Doctor Solar and Magnus [Gold Key] books, saying the characters are basically old and worn-out. Well, I guess that’s the writer’s opinion. What would say about characters like Superman or Batman who were created 30 years before those [Gold Key] characters? Characters are as worn out as their creative teams… The problems we have with that series are more about the untimeliness of the books. If the books are continually late, superhero book sales will drop in the direct sales where these were intended. It’s a fact of life in the comics market. We’re aware of it, and we’ve talked to retailers. We have changes coming down the line. To blame the Shooter books for the layoffs is not right. It’s part of a larger deal where we’ve made quite a lot of money. So to pick one part of the deal and say that’s the reason for our layoffs is silly.

Lots of silly going on, apparently. Richardson goes on to say suggest that Dark Horse’s books are, on average, higher sellers than those of Image or IDW, and claims responsibility for Portland, OR being so popular with the comics community: “There was no comics community when I started Dark Horse and the comics community has grown out of Dark Horse’s presence. That’s just a fact.” Well, it’s certainly one reading of some facts… Go check out the entire interview, it makes for an interesting read.

Various news sites, including Comics Alliance, Comic Book Resources and The Beat are reporting that seven members of staff from publisher Dark Horse Comics have been laid off this afternoon, including editors Shawna Gore, Dave Land and Tim Erwin. CBR broke the news first, with The Beat and CA adding and confirming information as it came available. Of most interest, CA quotes occasional contributor Aaron Colter, who was fired by the publisher last month, as suggesting that the one-two punch of Borders’ bankruptcy and “toxic” licensed projects – The much-hyped Janet Evanovich Troublemaker graphic novels and Jim Shooter-written revival of Gold Key characters like Doctor Solar, Man of The Atom and Magnus, Robot Fighter are both mentioned – led to the company’s current financial trouble:

I have sat in several meetings going over numbers and plans for books like Troublemaker and have seen voices of dissent point out the obvious: that Dark Horse is spending too much money on projects that the majority of modern comic readers do not want to purchase… And the answer was always the same, get on board because this is the direction the train is heading.

Over at the Beat, Heidi quotes Shawna Gore from her Facebook page, sounding surprisingly not-depressed:

I’m indeed still going to Stumptown [Comics Fest, this weekend in Portland, OR]. I’m even still moderating the Axe Cop panel AND doing the horror comics panel! The events of the day may suck, but my attitude remains set on “awesome.”

Dark Horse have confirmed the number of employees laid off, but is refusing to comment beyond that beyond saying that more layoffs are not expected. What this means for the company’s output – with three editors gone, will their books be reassigned or canceled? – remains to be seen. Developing, as they say.

It Came From the NYPL

Grandville
Written & Illustrated by Bryan Talbot
Published by Dark Horse

Bryan Talbot’s one of my favorite cartoonists. Even if Alice in Sunderland wasn’t one of the five greatest comics of all time, the mind-bending Luther Arkwright books or the hippie-dippie fun of Chester Hackenbush would place Talbot high on my personal favorites list.  Grandville, his steampunk, “scientific-romance thriller” from 2009, didn’t really grab my attention, however. I wanted to read it; it’s Talbot after all, but the genre elements didn’t really appeal to me. That steampunk thing just isn’t my bag. So I kept checking the library and finally (and I mean finally, I’ve been checking regularly), the library got it in stock and I borrowed it.

It’s pretty much the perfect library book. Grandville‘s fun, a whole lot of it. Anthropomorphized animals, a stylized steampunk Europe setting, fast action, a few good plot twists and plenty of danger make it a worthwhile thriller. Talbot’s always been a terrific artist, and his expanding mastery of modern coloring only enhances the speed and tension of his line work during the book’s many chase sequences, fistfights and gun battles.

The plot’s not exactly wholly original – and it’s an entirely plot-driven book – but Talbot adds a few wrinkles to keep it interesting. In short, Grandville‘s the perfect library book – a rock-solid adventure by a favorite cartoonist, but one that I probably won’t want to revisit frequently. If steampunk-based, government-murder conspiracy thrillers are your thing, this book’s among the best of its ilk. And even if it’s not, Grandville‘s a really well crafted comic and recommended. If you’re lucky, you can find it in your local library and find out for yourself if it’s a keeper or a borrower – either way, it’s worth the time.

It Came From the NYPL

American Splendor: Unsung Hero: The Story of Robert McNeill
Written by Harvey Pekar
Illustrated by David Collier
Published by Dark Horse Comics

This book is one of Pekar’s lesser known, but more affecting, efforts. Robert McNeil enlisted in the U.S. Marines in 1969 at the age of seventeen, and only one birthday later was shipped off for a year-long tour of duty in Vietnam.  In Unsung Hero, Pekar shares McNeil’s story with us, from a brief walkthrough of his childhood and scholastic career, into basic training, and ultimately through his military duty during which he won Navy Commendation Medal with Combat.

Pekar narrates the book from McNeil’s perspective, as if the reader is sitting down and listening to McNeil tell his tale. Occasional panels of McNeil as he appeared when the book saw print, 2003, enforce the casual sit-down nature of the writing. McNeil’s tale is very powerful, focusing on the conflicts between his own self-preservation and his desire to not fail his comrades. Threads of drug use and McNeil’s role in a collective of black soldiers weave through the saga, adding palpable humanity.

The artwork, sketchy but effective, enforces the narrative, but rarely adds much depth to it. The text, McNeil’s memories and insights, could almost stand alone. David Collier, however, does enhance the humanity of each moment with his impressionistic style and focus on capturing the emotional experience of McNeil.

Harvey Pekar may no longer be with us, but he’s left behind a deep body of writing, many of which we may have overlooked. I had missed out on American Splendor: Unsung Hero: The Story of Robert McNeil, and fortunately, the library helped me fill in that oversight. Hopefully your library can help you discover works by your favorite authors that you haven’t read.

Fans of the short-lived space western Firefly have been eager to see more of their favorite characters since the show was canceled back in 2002. They got their wish with Joss Whedon’s feature film Serenity and again with a series of comic books from Dark Horse. But with the recent news that the lone season of Firefly will once again be airing on cable television, the fever has re-ignited. Fans are now petitioning for Firefly’s star Nathan Fillion to purchase the rights to the series so that it may go back into production. And they’re willing to foot the bill.

According to Entertainment Weekly, fans have created a website and a Facebook page dedicated to the cause. “Help Nathan Buy Firefly” may sound like a ridiculous venture but crazier things have happened. I mean, we did see a feature film made out of this extremely short-live television series after all.

When the news of Firefly coming back to cable was announced, Fillion told EW, “If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet.”

Well, that’s all he needed to say. The movement went into immediate action with Fillion’s colleagues even getting in on the fun. From EW:

Jose Molina, a producer on Syfy’s Haven, former Castle producer and author of two Firefly episodes tweeted Friday regarding Fillion’s comment: “For what it’s worth, I’ve told him I’d drop what I was doing and follow.”

Then Jane Espenson, writer of a Firefly episode, a producer on Battlestar Galactica and co-creator of Warehouse 13, replied to Molina: “I’m there, if needed.”

EW also points out, Fillion wouldn’t need nearly the amount of money he mentioned to purchase the rights seeing as how the Terminator franchise recently went for only $30 million and that had a far more successful past.

Now of course, none of this means the people who own the rights currently, 20th Century Fox, have any intention of selling them. And the fans aren’t asking anyone to put up money just yet (so be wary if someone does ask you). But you can’t take the sky from a Firefly fan.

B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH—GODS #2 (of 3)

Mike Mignola (W), John Arcudi (W), Guy Davis (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Ryan Sook (Cover)

On sale Feb 9
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries

Monsters overrunning the American southwest, a volcano in Houston burning in the night, and a group of outcasts with a prophetic leader; prove to be great threats to a struggling bureau.

• Introducing a pivotal new character!

• Learn the origin of the Hyperborean shaman!

Hit the jump for the preview!

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Yes, April Solicitations just came out, but darnit, we can’t wait a whole month when something like this hits our inbox. So, here are the covers and solicitation info for two brutal barbaric comics from Dark Horse coming in May! Hit the jump for the pretty.

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Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition
Written & Illustrated by Stan Sakai
Published by Fantagraphics

If you’ve been reading my musings for a while now, you’ll know this: Usagi Yojimbo is my favorite comic book of all time.  Ever since it was announced, I’ve been jonesing for Fantagraphics’ Usagi Yojimob: The Special Edition – a two-volume, slipcased hardcover collection of the first seven Usagi trade paperbacks. Nearly 1200 pages of Stan Sakai story-and-art goodness, with an extensive color art gallery (the first time I’ve seen most of those early covers in color), sketches and short-story odds-n’-ends. So my saintly wife gave me this striking tome for Christmas. Yes, I am a hell of a lucky guy.

Among the highlights of The Special Edition is the ease of witnessing Sakai’s growth as a writer, artist and storyteller. While the illustration in the earliest chapters is already solid, Sakai’s linework grows visibly more assured and looser, giving the pages a liveliness not seen in many comics. Similarly, the layouts evolve to capture the quiet elegance of the Japanese countryside, the gut-turned terror of Jei (comics’ best villain) or the kinetic ballet of a samurai duel in pitch-perfect fashion.

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The Goon is well known for fighting all sorts of ghastly creatures – zombies, hags, giant squid – but one enemy has finally stopped him in his tracks. Sparkly vampires.

Now being sold at Hot Topic, Eric Powell’s beloved character from Dark Horse has made the jump to apparel in this limited edition t-shirt. Part of their “Dark Horse does vampires right!” campaign, something tells me Goon’s shock won’t last long and he’ll put those Twilight vampires to work.

I have no doubt who’d win that fight but can The Goon beat the Twilight vamps at the box office? The TBA release is completely computer animated with the voices of Clancy Brown as The Goon and Paul Giamatti as Franky. Powell is writing the script, David Fincher is producing and  Jeff Fowler and Tim Miller will direct.

Brody’s Ghost v. 1
Written & Illustrated by Mark Crilley
Published by Dark Horse

Mark Crilley’s already created one of my all-time favorite series, the upbeat, hilarious and relentless imaginative Akiko, and his follow-up, Miki Falls, reinvented his art style and added emotional heft, yet retained the creative world-building of its predecessor.  Crilley returned a few months ago with a new series, Brody’s Ghost, a six-book serial about a young man who is approached by a ghost. This ghost, a young woman named Talia, needs Brody’s help to accomplish a task so she can get into heaven – except callously indifferent Brody’s trapped in a funk after a bad break-up.

So Brody’s Ghost is a supernatural adventure, with emotional overtones and redemption themes.  The art’s terrific – detailed and nuanced, with strong designs and a compelling world design; the mysteries of Talia’s death and afterworld travails hang over the entire book like a massive eclipse, yet Brody’s struggle to rediscover his own worth remains the emotional core through the first book.

Of course, it’s a six book cycle, so Brody’s Ghost v. 1 feels somewhat slight, concerned more with laying groundwork for Brody and Talia’s partnership, and establishing the baseline high concept for the series. As a result, the first book isn’t entirely satisfying, but it is intriguing, leaving plenty of room for readers’ imaginations to run amok with possibilities for the remaining five books. Mark Crilley’s previous work suggests he’ll keep me guessing through the series’ run, and despite a slightly slow start, I’m hopeful that the foundation laid in Brody’s Ghost v. 1 will lead to greater things in the future.

Grendel: Behold the Devil
Written & Illustrated by Matt Wagner
Lettered by Tom Orzechowski
Published by Dark Horse Comics

The latest book in Matt Wagner’s Grendel series is something of a homecoming. Wagner has revisited the series’ original protagonist Hunter Rose several times, notably in the Black, White and Red miniseries (and the Red, White and Black sequel), but in those instances, Wagner collaborated with other illustrators on short stories, each illuminating a tiny corner of Hunter Rose’s world and the Grendel milieu.

In Behold the Devil, Wagner takes up the art chores himself, drawing Hunter for the first time in a long while.  He’s also telling a long-form story – this book first serialized in eight chapters – that promises to give readers a meatier look into Hunter Rose’s character.

On one hand, the book is smartly written and very well drawn.  Wagner’s a master comic artist, witnessed in his iconic character designs and startling layouts. His ability to capture chaos or the balletic ebb and flow of a beautifully choreographed fight sequence is nearly unparalleled. Few artists can capture a dramatic beat as powerfully as Wagner, and fewer still can add strong character acting to the mix.

As for the story – taken on its own, Behold the Devil is compelling, a layered mystery, with plenty to keep readers guessing and strong character beats.  On the other hand, few of the character beats haven’t been covered in previous Grendel stories.  Behold the Devil is for hardcore Grendel fans (like me) who enjoy seeing Wagner’s talents on display or for neophyte Grendel readers.  For casual Grendel readers, there’s not necessarily much new here.  Behold the Devil’s still a good story, but I think I’d like to see Wagner creating something from whole cloth rather than revisiting Hunter at this point.

Nexus Archives v.11
Written by Mike Baron
Pencilled by Mark Heike, John K. Snyder III, Luke McDonnell & Hugh Haynes
Inked by Heike, Jay Geldhof, Jeff Albrecht, Tom Baxa, John Robinson & Arne Starr
Colored by Les Dorscheid
Lettered by Clem Robins & Kevin Cunningham
Original covers by Heike; Snyder III & Geldhof; Angel Medina, Bob Dvorak & Ian Tetrault; Dorscheid; Haynes & Baxa; and Paul Sonju & Steven Butler
Published by Dark Horse

The intolerance of the Elvonic religious order reaches fever pitch in the eleventh volume of the Nexus Archives, which collects issues sixty-six through seventy-three of Baron and Rude’s Nexus.  Even back in 1990, devotional zealotry fascinated Baron, and the issues of how such an order can fit into a peace-minded, democratic society are at the forefront in this selection of stories.

Stan’s slide into insanity, prodded by the persecutions of the Elvonics and his own considerable ego, reaches the greased-up, ninety-degree slope portion of the ride, and even in collected form, the cliffhanger at the end of v.11 should leave regular Nexus readers breathless.

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Nexus Archives v.10
Written by Mike Baron
Illustrated by Steve Rude, Steve Huston, Greg Guler, Mark McKenna, Tom Baxa, Tony Akins & Hilary Barta
Colored by Les Dorscheid
Lettered by Clem Robins
Published by Dark Horse

Judah the Hammer backups
Written by Roger Salick, Ian Carney & Peter David
Illustrated by Steve Epting, Phil Hester, Mark McKenna, Paul Fricke, ChuckWojtkiewicz, Tom Baxa, Brandon Peterson & Steve Huston
Colored by Les Dorscheid
Lettered by Jim Massara, David C. Weiss, Diane Valentino & Huston

Just three issues of Steve Rude artwork in this Archive, as Greg Guler and Tony Akins handle the other five chapters.  Graphically, it’s a clear step backwards; neither of the replacement artists provides the quirky background details or stylized action that fleshes out and defines the world of Nexus.  Granted, at least Rude’s still present.  The ensuing Archive won’t have that going for it.

Fortunately, even without Steve Rude’s illustrative prowess, Mike Baron’s scripts keep this series compelling. Let’s establish a little background first though: in the future, Horatio Hellpop is Nexus, the cosmic executioner, tasked by the alien Merk to assassinate humanity’s worst mass murderers.  After Horatio quit, disgusted by the Merk’s whims and the consequences of his assignments, Professor Stan Korivitsky approached the Merk to become the new Nexus.

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Usagi Yojimbo v.24: Return of the Black Soul
Written & Illustrated by Stan Sakai
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Whenever I buy a new comic, that book is automatically added to the bottom of my towering to-read pile and must wait its turn until it finally reaches the light of day and finds itself exposed to my withering glare.  (This method does not apply to review copies sent to me, as I try to finish those in something somewhat resembling a timely manner.)  Thus, the recurrence of stupendously late reviews by me: you’re witnessing the book that I bought six months after it dropped and didn’t read for another eight months after that finally digging its way to the surface.  One comic book series, however, is always excepted to this arduous months-long waiting process, because honestly, I just can’t wait to read it.  And that series is Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo.

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Well, this is odd: according to a sentence in Dark Horse Comics senior managing editor Scott Allie’s comments in the “Horsepower” column in the back of this week’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Riley one-shot, Angel comics are returning to the publisher in 2011. IDW has had the rights to Angel since 2005.

Here’s exactly what was written in the note:

“What’s next for the Whedon clan and Dark Horse? How about a Dollhouse comic written by Jed and Maurissa, who wrote key episode of the show, and the return of the Angel series to Dark Horse in late 2011, in tandem with our Buffy Season 9 relaunch?”

That’s pretty big news to announce within the text of an in-house promotional page at the back of a comic, something pretty easy for a reader to skip over. On IDW’s official forums, chief creative officer and editor-in-chief Chris Ryall wrote, “We’ll be addressing this soon, so please bear with us. Thanks, for your patience and your support. Back soon.”

Picture of the column and potential Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 spoilers after the jump.

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Not everyone can go to Comic-Con International in San Diego — it sells out earlier and earlier each year, after all. As first hinted at last week, Dark Horse Comics is making life a little brighter for the unlucky masses not attending the massive pop culture conglomeration.

Today, Dark Horse gave fans the scoop behind their #NotAtComicCon promotion (named so after the Twitter hashtag used by folks, you guessed it, not at Comic-Con) — they’re working with 55 comic book stores across the country to bring a little bit of the Comic-Con flavor to those stuck at home.

Taking place on Saturday, July 24 (Saturday traditionally being the biggest day at Comic-Con), stores will offer “free drinks” (soft, we’re guessing), and more than $200 worth of Dark Horse-provided prizes. They’re also making an announcement through the stores sometime between noon and 2 p.m. Pacific time that day, before it becomes public information at Comic-Con — one could guess that might have something to do with The Guild panel taking place at 2 p.m. at Comic-Con that day.

Five stores — Atomic Comics in Mesa, Arizona; Graham Crackers in Naperville, Illinois; Midtown Comics Time Square in New York City; Lone Star Comics in Arlington, Texas and Comics Dungeon in Seattle, Washington — are “premiere locations,” a list of remaining 50 participating stores after the jump, full lowdown from Dark Horse here. (more…)

(Apologies right up front for using the term “blogosphere.”)

There’s nothing more “new journalism” or “Web 2.0″ than a blog post about a blog, so here’s one: Dark Horse Comics now has an official company blog, posting official news from the publisher, à la DC’s The Source. The blog actually started a month ago, somewhat quietly, but it looks like they’re now looking to really give it a push. A recently distributed announcement from the publisher says that the blog will “slowly replace” their traditional e-mail press release list.

Highlights thus far on the blog, sporadically updated at this point, include an interview with Patton Oswalt about his recently released Serenity: Float Out one-shot, comments on the upcoming Doctor Solar #1 series and a personal tribute to Usagi Yojimbo by Dark Horse production artist Ryan Hill.

Dark Horse made news here on Newsarama earlier today, in Chris Arrant’s interview with editor Scott Allie on Dark Horse Presents leaving MySpace, and what the future holds for the enduring anthology title.

Will Eisner’s The Spirit: The New Adventures Archive

Written & Illustrated by Will Eisner, Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Angus McKie, Neil Gaiman, Eddie Campbell, Steve Oliff, Tracey H. Munsey, Chris Shadoian, Jim Vance, Dan Burr, Ray Fehrenbach, John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, Tracey Anderson, Daniel Torres, Mark Kneece, Bo Hampton, Ashley Underwood, Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Will Blyberg, Alex Sinclair, John Roschell, Moebius, Michael Allred, Matt Brundage, Michael Avon Oeming, Laura Allred, Mark Schultz, David Lloyd, Paul Chadwick, John Nyberg, Bill Spicer, John Ostrander, Tom Mandrake, Dave Lanphear, Scott Hampton, Dennis P. Eichhorn, Gene Fama, Rick Altergott, Marcus Moore, Pete Mullins, Mick Evans, Jay Stephens, Paul Pope, Joe R. Landale, John Lucas, Lee Loughridge, Brian Bolland, William Stout, Tim Bradstreet, Grant Goleash, Peter Poplaski, Tom Martin

Published by Dark Horse

Okay, I’m not entirely clear why it is that DC publishes the current Spirit series and the twenty-six volume Archive editions of Will Eisner’s seminal Spirit strips, but Dark Horse publishes the Archive edition of Kitchen Sink Publishing’s 8-issue 1998 series Will Eisner’s The Spirit: The New Adventures.  And frankly, I’m still of the opinion that the world doesn’t really need a non-Eisner Spirit, as the character was never more than a cipher for Eisner’s astonishing creative whims.

But the book exists, and it’s a good one.  Dark Horse did a nice job designing the book to match DC’s editions, making an effective companion piece (and props to DC for allow Dark Horse to copy their design work). In case you’re unaware of The Spirit, in 1940, cartoonist Will Eisner was contracted to create a comic book supplement to run with Sunday newspapers.  Pressured by the syndicate to create a masked hero, Eisner gave readers an eight-page adventure of a presumed-killed police officer who returns wearing a fedora, domino mask and gloves to protect his beloved Central City from criminals and Axis spies.  The Spirit himself was rarely developed, often serving as tool for Eisner to explore the creative possibilities of the comic book form.  Noir and slapstick, science-fiction and the humdrum, Eisner crossed any boundary in his pursuit of a great story, and his design-intensive splash pages and creative page layouts remain among the most influential illustrations in comic book history.

After Eisner folded The Spirit section in 1952 to focus on other business ventures (including using comics as training and educational tools for the U.S. military), the character continued as a fan favorite among discerning fans.  Many reprint projects were begun over the years, climaxing in DC Comics’ recently concluded twenty-six volume Archive series that compiled the entire twelve year Eisner run, in addition to the brief daily strip (the only Archive I don’t have) and Eisner’s handful of post-1952 shorts and covers.  However, it wasn’t until the mid-1990s when Eisner (by this point back in the comics field as the author of many rightly acclaimed graphic novels dealing with themes of family, immigration and city living, among other subjects) agreed to let other creators have a turn at spinning tales featuring his famed hero.

The result was 1998’s Will Eisner’s The Spirit: The New Adventures from Kitchen Sink Publishing.  Eight issues later, Kitchen Sink collapsed in the midst of the industry’s late-90s struggles, cutting the experiment short.  The eight issues published featured two issue-length epics (Paul Chadwick in #5, and Joe Lansdale and Mark Nelson’s #8) and six issues of tales mirroring Eisner’s eight-pagers.  The debut issue featured three short stories by the Watchmen creative tandem, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Qualitatively, New Adventures likely made Eisner proud.  Nearly every story has a strong hook and good art, a crackling script.  On some level, as I suggested above, The New Adventures is far from required reading.  As good as Darwyn Cooke et. al.’s more recent Spirit series at DC Comics was, the Spirit is not a character who needs further development or offers up unexplored avenues.  Eisner treated him as tabula rasa, pursuing flights of absolute whimsy about a man who can fly one week, then perhaps following with a terse parable about the dangers of blind patriotism the next.  It wasn’t even uncommon for the Spirit himself to make only a cameo in his own strip!  On that level, creators don’t need the Spirit; they need simply pursue their creative impulses in a manner that would make Eisner proud.

But since they did use the Spirit, at least most of them used him effectively.  Moore and Gibbons, in their trio of interconnected tales, suggest two possible origins for Eisner’s ultimate antagonist, The Octopus, both dovetailed neatly into the Spirit’s own origin, before wrapping up with a humorous lark that echoes Eisner’s own flights of fancy.  Paul Chadwick dives deep into Eisner’s oft-maligned sidekick Ebony and his connection to his racial community.  Neil Gaiman and Eddie Campbell are among those who use the character as a cipher in an Eisnerian sense.  Even the least of the New Adventures revisit classic Spirit femme fatales effectively if not always memorably, and that’s not really a bad thing.

Will Eisner’s The Spirit is a must-read comic book.  Will Eisner’s The Spirit: The New Adventures is an entertaining nod to the master.  If you’ve read the former and want to see impressive creators pay homage to the masterly work done, read the New Adventures.  If you haven’t read the original, please do so right away.