The Spirit #17 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: You ever get the feeling some people can only see the world in black and white?

The Review: As much history and acclaim lies behind The Spirit, it really doesn’t have much of a mythos.  You have the core cast, of course, and the faceless Octopus as Spirit’s possibly eternal archnemesis, and a handful of recurring characters, but unlike any other major comic-book figure out there, the Spirit has few defining storylines and even less continuity.  Most writers and artists use the series more as a vehicle to stretch their storytelling chops than to tell a substantial story.

In “Strange Bedfellows,” Howard Chaykin gives us the oldest plot in pulp, the “Whodunnit?”  Unfortunately, since he shares the issue with two other features, he has scale back his plot and character development to the point where you never really get invested in either.  Half the fun of these mysteries is having the detective make deductive connections from the facts you somehow miss, but Chaykin goes for the strategy of having the Spirit pull conclusions out of thin air, almost making them up as he goes along: “Wearing your husband’s shoes with Sandra on your shoulders, to leave those heavy size-twelve footprints…using a recording of Brian raging at you to sell his suicide…”  Brian Bolland offers strong character figures and detailed settings, but doesn’t use the black-and-white constraints to his advantage, making it look like very nice inks the colorist forgot to fill in.

Paul Levitz delivers one that feels like it barely moves beyond the conception stage.  “Lottery” revolves around Brenner, a newsman whose doormat personality makes him sympathetic, but no less shallow in depth.  As for Ivan, the conman who preys on the hapless newsie, his brilliant plan is to replace the state-approved lottery board on Brenner’s stand with his own, a blatant substitution that makes you wonder why frequent visitor the Spirit doesn’t catch on sooner.  It’s also baffling why Brenner doesn’t just ask the Spirit, whom he considers the only man who respects him, to help him out.  So you’re not inclined to feel all that moved by the unfortunate, but hardly tragic by any means, ending.  Dolan has a point: “Fools who play these games deserve to lose, anyway.”  Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez provides enjoyable, lively versions of our characters, but needs more inking; it all looks so pale you’ll find it difficult to stare at it for too long.