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Darwyn Cooke's The Complete Spirit Connoisseur Edition
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
332 pages, Hardcover
First published February 21, 2026
24 people want to read
About the author
Darwyn Cooke
248 books360 followersDarwyn Cooke was an Eisner Award winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier and Will Eisner's The Spirit.
In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.
In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.
He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year.
DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.
The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.
In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman).
The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in "The New Frontier" in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.
Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".
In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC com
In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.
In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.
He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year.
DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.
The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.
In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman).
The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in "The New Frontier" in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.
Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".
In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 5, 2026
When I first discovered Darwyn Cooke's DC-published run on Will Eisner's The Spirit as a teenager I was in instantly in love. I had the original two hardcover volumes DC published and I flipped through them ENDLESSLY. I've noted before how huge an influence Cooke has been on me but this series in particular captured my imagination like nothing else. This was essentially a classic noir detective starring in a superhero comic. It couldn't be more up my alley. I held off on rereading them for years because I always hoped someone would rerelease the series in a single volume format despite the nebulous status of the rights to the character.
Learning after all these years that DC asked him to write and draw this series and that he tried to get J. Bone to completely take over art duty halfway through, it seems to me Cooke's heart wasn't in this series the way it was for some of his other more major classic projects. It's still Cooke so it's still very high quality (I've always adored the double splash title pages) but it feels less like a passion project and more like a gig. A gig he took seriously and worked hard on, but a gig nonetheless. I never really loved the zombie invasion this evolves into by the end and the emphasis on "modern day" elements and storytelling feel kinda dated now but there was still plenty I remembered and adored and I felt like I was returning home to some of these stories.
This series seems to have become more of a footnote in Darwyn Cooke's incredible career. This "Connoisseur Edition" is appropriately named because I'm not sure if it's worth it's $100 price tag for anyone other than the Darwyn Cooke completist. It doesn't feel like it carries the same prestige as my beloved Parker Martini Editions do but I'm no less thrilled that it exists anyway.
Learning after all these years that DC asked him to write and draw this series and that he tried to get J. Bone to completely take over art duty halfway through, it seems to me Cooke's heart wasn't in this series the way it was for some of his other more major classic projects. It's still Cooke so it's still very high quality (I've always adored the double splash title pages) but it feels less like a passion project and more like a gig. A gig he took seriously and worked hard on, but a gig nonetheless. I never really loved the zombie invasion this evolves into by the end and the emphasis on "modern day" elements and storytelling feel kinda dated now but there was still plenty I remembered and adored and I felt like I was returning home to some of these stories.
This series seems to have become more of a footnote in Darwyn Cooke's incredible career. This "Connoisseur Edition" is appropriately named because I'm not sure if it's worth it's $100 price tag for anyone other than the Darwyn Cooke completist. It doesn't feel like it carries the same prestige as my beloved Parker Martini Editions do but I'm no less thrilled that it exists anyway.
March 10, 2026
Darwyn Cooke's take on The Spirit feels of its time and classical all at once. Cooke's dynamic and retro cartooning is a match made in heaven for Eisner's pulpy sensibilities.
While not all of the stories completely hit for me, overall, Cooke blends an adventurous spirit (no pun intended) with comical satire and commentary of early-mid 2000s America, while not skimming on heart and genuine emotional beats.
Yet another timeless chapter in the bibliography of one of the all-time great storytellers.
While not all of the stories completely hit for me, overall, Cooke blends an adventurous spirit (no pun intended) with comical satire and commentary of early-mid 2000s America, while not skimming on heart and genuine emotional beats.
Yet another timeless chapter in the bibliography of one of the all-time great storytellers.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
this is not actually a pre-publication review, I received this through standard channels but it is the first week it was available.
this is a near flawless book, a perfect noir thriller with laughs and drama and pathos and gorgeous art blown up to perfect size.
this is a near flawless book, a perfect noir thriller with laughs and drama and pathos and gorgeous art blown up to perfect size.
Review of advance copy
This is a gorgeous ass book. The stories are pretty good but visually, this is a masterpiece. It's not quite on the same level as Darwyn Cooke's Parker books but it's way up there.
March 11, 2026
Spectacular book. Just incredible how Darwyn Cooke's mind worked.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews