Will Eisner's legendary golden age hero, The Spirit, is getting new life at Dynamite Comics
On the cusp of the San Diego Comic-Con, Dynamite Comics dropped a bombshell announcement. Dynamite has acquired the rights to publish new comics based on Will Eisner's legendary hero, The Spirit. Dynamite are the latest in a line of publishers who have put out new comics based on Eisner's work over the years, the most recent being DC Comics, who may have had the best results with Darwyn Cooke's take on the character.
"Bringing The Spirit to Dynamite is a dream come true," said Dynamite Entertainment publisher and CEO Nick Barrucci. "Actually, that's not a strong enough sentiment. It's a lifelong dream come true."
Dynamite have made quite a name for themselves as publishers of comics based on pulp characters like Doc Savage, The Shadow, and others. The Spirit should feel right at home with other mask-and-fedora types. The problem, of course, is getting the talent on board that can do the character justice. But Dynamite have had some impressive results in recent years, matching talent like Mark Waid and Matt Wagner with characters like Green Hornet and the Shadow, while Jeff Parker and Doc Shaner's Flash Gordon series may be the best that character has looked in comics in fifty years.
The Spirit, written and drawn by Will Eisner, first appeared in 1940 as part of a newspaper comics supplement. The thing is, The Spirit wasn't a "comic strip," rather, these were short stories in comic form that stretched over the course of 8 pages. Better drawn and with a more pronounced sense of humor than many of his four-color contemporaries, Eisner's Spiritwork is an absolute must-read for any fan of comics or superheroes.
No word yet on whether or not this means Dynamite will also begin reprinting Eisner's original work, as well, or if they'll just be producing new material. Hopefully they will. DC produced many volumes of Spirit Archives, but many of those are tough to find and command premium prices on the secondary market. We expect more details to emerge at SDCC.
Source: Comic Book Resources
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