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Inspired by Darwyn Cooke’s new Spirit story last week, I dug out my old Spirit Casebook and found Will Eisner’s Christmas story from 1948.

Download the file here: http://media.libsyn.com/media/wednesdayshaul/Wednesdays_Haul_12_20_06.mp3

Scott,

Loved the show (as usual!).The addition of the retro Spirit story review was interesting and very entertaining. Your thoughts on the new Spirit comic were also well thought out and insightful. You made some good points. Overall, I think that it was good, even though I have reservations about it. You mentioned the lack of Eisneresque panel layouts, but the truth is, he often went with a standard three tiered layout. I must admit to liking his fancier pages, like the ones you mention in this story.

There’s a few pages for sale at: http://www.deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCH&Search=Eisner if you’re looking for a belated present for me! I’m particulary enamored of the “King Kwang” story if I my hinting isn’t too bold. :-p

Have a Merry Christmas sir, and hopefully we’ll get together Tuesday or Wednesday to record an episode of Comics Podcast Crossover.

Dang it, Bruce!  You’re making me do something which I don’t usually like to do and that’s responding to one of my own reviews.

I wrote the review to Spirit #1 before having the opportunity to go back and check out my old Spirit Casebook collection.  After the review was posted, I realized that, yes, Eisner actually sticks to the 3 tier layout more often than not so I was wrong there.  You happy now, Bruce?

Maybe a better way to express what struck me in the artwork was the lack of much experimentation with it.  Cooke pulled off a couple of neat panels but the layouts were actually oddly pedestrian.  Maybe I wanted to see something new, something different.  It seemed like anyone could have pulled off the layouts of Spirit #1.  I want to see Darwyn Cooke really do something special with the book.