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The Spirit
The Spirit, Vol. 2
Follows the efforts of Denny Colt, a private detective who survived death to continue his fight against crime as The Spirit, as he fights Octagon, a network of criminals, and other villains with help from such characters as P'Gell, who wants revenge on her husband's murderer, and CIA agent Silk Satin.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published October 23, 2009
About the author
Darwyn Cooke
252 books370 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 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 3, 2021
This volume had some really high highs but for the most part it was just more mediocre than the last volume. I still love the art and think Cooke's cartoonish style is wonderfully fitting for Spirit but some of the stories just ran out of steam. The continuing story was interesting and ended in a very epic way though. The last issue, retelling the Sand Saref saga was just incredible and maybe the best part of the whole run. It had the strongest emotions and some really good panels that conveyed a lot of meanings.
The two anthology specials in this were also fun and I enjoyed seeing different creative teams work on the characters.
The two anthology specials in this were also fun and I enjoyed seeing different creative teams work on the characters.
January 30, 2017
Second time reading this book. Love the Spirit and love Cooke. Since Cooke passed away I have been wanting to reread this series. Also the cover for the hardback was a poor choice, it got torn quickly.
March 11, 2026
the Spirit is just like me fr
August 17, 2025
I’ve never read The Spirit before, so it seems odd that I started at Vol 2. I had no problem entering the collection of stories. They are a mix of old-school machismo and male gaze comics, but set in modern times, which was a little off-putting at times. The Spirit is a man all the ladies love, good or bad, but he is a relationship with Ellen, so he always rebuffs their advances, which is different from his literary counterpart, James Bond.
The Spirit is a vigilante crime fighter who wears a suit and tie but also a mask. He was created by comic legend Will Eisner.
The collection reminded me of crime-solving shows from the past. They are often fun but sometimes a little tedious in their crime-solving. They remind me why those shows died to the forensics analysis of shows like CSI.
The drawings on the page have always been a standout for any Darwyn Cooke book, though, and this is no different. He has a style so uniquely his own, a style set in the 1960s. The style is what clicked for me in his Parker books, and the clean lines and retro art are what do it for me here. As a fun little thought adventure, I wonder what it would be like if Darwin Cooke wrote any retro-futuristic comics and what he would do with that aesthetic challenge. He has always preferred and mostly written crime books.
Some of the most interesting stories are the ones by other artists in this collection, however. The final story, The Cold Depths of the Icicle Heart, by Gail Simone, uses the lack of any dialogue (except two words) to tell a quick story of crime-fighting gone wrong in the middle of winter. Then there is Synchronicity, which pays tribute to Will Eisner’s The Building. It tells the story of tenants in a building who all have specific problems that are solved by the appearance of a crook being chased by The Spirit. Then there is art style is distinct from Darwyn yet very retro, and the panels are done very well. The story is told from the POV of a young and sexy grad student who lives in the building with her grandfather. The way her body drapes over panels or the way her arm curves across them are really nice touches, but I wonder if it is too much of a relic for modern audiences.
The Spirit is a vigilante crime fighter who wears a suit and tie but also a mask. He was created by comic legend Will Eisner.
The collection reminded me of crime-solving shows from the past. They are often fun but sometimes a little tedious in their crime-solving. They remind me why those shows died to the forensics analysis of shows like CSI.
The drawings on the page have always been a standout for any Darwyn Cooke book, though, and this is no different. He has a style so uniquely his own, a style set in the 1960s. The style is what clicked for me in his Parker books, and the clean lines and retro art are what do it for me here. As a fun little thought adventure, I wonder what it would be like if Darwin Cooke wrote any retro-futuristic comics and what he would do with that aesthetic challenge. He has always preferred and mostly written crime books.
Some of the most interesting stories are the ones by other artists in this collection, however. The final story, The Cold Depths of the Icicle Heart, by Gail Simone, uses the lack of any dialogue (except two words) to tell a quick story of crime-fighting gone wrong in the middle of winter. Then there is Synchronicity, which pays tribute to Will Eisner’s The Building. It tells the story of tenants in a building who all have specific problems that are solved by the appearance of a crook being chased by The Spirit. Then there is art style is distinct from Darwyn yet very retro, and the panels are done very well. The story is told from the POV of a young and sexy grad student who lives in the building with her grandfather. The way her body drapes over panels or the way her arm curves across them are really nice touches, but I wonder if it is too much of a relic for modern audiences.
June 8, 2021
This is the second volume of DC’s attempt to revive the Will Eisner’s classic - and I mean classic as in having been created in the Golden Age of the 1940s -character The Spirit. It collects issues 7 - 13. Unfortunately, the other 19 issues of this series was never collected into graphic novel form. But they are all available from My Comic Shop for a relatively cheap price - less than cover price.
I think D.C. paid a lot for the rights to this character because I remember them pushing this comic hard, as well as an abortive attempt at an alternative universe called Firstwave. This was put out, I believe in connection with that absolutely awful 2008 film, The Spirit, which proves once and for all Frank Miller can’t direct. This comic is heads-and-shoulders above the film however, with Denny Colt returning from the dead - wink wink - to fight crime as the domino masked hero, The Spirit.
A certain percentage of critics have hated on this series, claiming that it was not as good as the original. I have to stop them there. In my opinion, and I have read the bulk of Eisner’s work, these stories are just as good as the originals. Granted, most of the characters are recycled from Eisner’s work, so it is still dependent on the creator’s ingenuity. In fact the story, Sand Serif - originally created for Eisner’s aborted character John Law, then rewritten for The Spirit - simply retells the same story, only with new art.
And the art here is phenomenal. How could it not be with talents like the late Darwin Cooke, Kyle Baker, Eduardo Risso, and Chris Sprouse, among others, working on the stories? They succeed in retaining the action and tension of the original series, as well as putting their original stamps on classic material. Well worth a look.
I think D.C. paid a lot for the rights to this character because I remember them pushing this comic hard, as well as an abortive attempt at an alternative universe called Firstwave. This was put out, I believe in connection with that absolutely awful 2008 film, The Spirit, which proves once and for all Frank Miller can’t direct. This comic is heads-and-shoulders above the film however, with Denny Colt returning from the dead - wink wink - to fight crime as the domino masked hero, The Spirit.
A certain percentage of critics have hated on this series, claiming that it was not as good as the original. I have to stop them there. In my opinion, and I have read the bulk of Eisner’s work, these stories are just as good as the originals. Granted, most of the characters are recycled from Eisner’s work, so it is still dependent on the creator’s ingenuity. In fact the story, Sand Serif - originally created for Eisner’s aborted character John Law, then rewritten for The Spirit - simply retells the same story, only with new art.
And the art here is phenomenal. How could it not be with talents like the late Darwin Cooke, Kyle Baker, Eduardo Risso, and Chris Sprouse, among others, working on the stories? They succeed in retaining the action and tension of the original series, as well as putting their original stamps on classic material. Well worth a look.
August 30, 2020
I absolutely loved Darwyn Cooke's first volume of The Spirit. This one I just didn't feel as much. Cooke's art was still incredible, but the narrative didn't feel as coherent, engaging, or as fun as the first volume. It's still better than average, but what brings it down even more for me are the non-Cooke stories interspersed within the main narrative. I thought they really threw the pacing off and they didn't really add much to the world Cooke was playing in. That isn't saying that the other stories were bad or shouldn't be included; but maybe if they were all placed at the end like "bonus material", it might have flowed better. 3.5, rounded up to 4.
March 29, 2018
One of my softball teammates, being a Cooke fan, passed this to me, and I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the first collection. The overall tone was very bleak and violent, a far cry from the often humorous and upbeat qualities of Eisner's strips. I did enjoy Cooke's take on Sand Saref a lot. The satire of the media issue, while I agreed with its sentiments, was too heavy-handed though. Good art throughout.
It was good, but I stand by my original assessment, there's really no need for a Spirit other than Eisner's.
It was good, but I stand by my original assessment, there's really no need for a Spirit other than Eisner's.
October 7, 2022
If this book was so many pages that were sequential uninterrupted The Spirit by Darwyn Cooke it would be an easy 4 stars maybe threatening 5. Unfortunately, it isn't that. The best long story in here is inexplicably broken in two with an unrelated story interrupting it. For whatever reason the book starts with a slew of stories that aren't by Cooke. This two-volume set is an unfortunate treatment of Cooke's work on this character, which itself, whole and sequenced properly, would make an excellent single book! These are out of print now so maybe they will --ah dare to dream.
April 1, 2020
3.5. For anyone who doesn't know, the Spirit was the two-fisted superhero created by Will Eisner. Here, other creators (primarily Cooke) take on the legendary hero in various stories. At least some of them rework Eisner originals (the story of the Spirit's lost love, Sand Serif); I don't know if they all do.
The best of these are worthy successors to the classic originals. A few, though, are poor enough to knock this down to 3.5.
The best of these are worthy successors to the classic originals. A few, though, are poor enough to knock this down to 3.5.
July 20, 2022
Not as great as volume 1, but I made my way through it all the same. Art by Darwyn Cooke is still my favorite!
Character-wise, I'm really not sure how Spirit gets away with being such a lady's man while he has a fiance... :-/
Story-wise, this volume had a lot of one-offs. I didn't love the "main stories" with Satin, or the TV personality assassinations, or Sand, but I did like the one short zombie story with Ellen and Argo, (though it was sad).
Character-wise, I'm really not sure how Spirit gets away with being such a lady's man while he has a fiance... :-/
Story-wise, this volume had a lot of one-offs. I didn't love the "main stories" with Satin, or the TV personality assassinations, or Sand, but I did like the one short zombie story with Ellen and Argo, (though it was sad).
May 14, 2017
still as good as will eisner !!!!
November 3, 2021
Stories are on par with the first volume, and like that one, Cooke's art is a perfect fit. 2 of the 7 issues are short stories done by other writers and artists.
October 6, 2022
The El Morte arc was pretty cool but the rest was not anything really worth remembering.
June 19, 2023
Again, I will read anything that Darwyn Cooke worked on, it is just wonderful art to look at.
September 28, 2024
Cooke’s art is fantastic, but I don’t care at all for the Haitian Voodoo Zombie storyline: not the type of storytelling that I’m looking for at all.
February 2, 2026
A fine ending to an alright run. By the end I feel like we’ve fully lost the thread on the true “spirit” of Eisners original.
June 3, 2026
Sometimes the stories do get a bit too convoluted to wrap up satisfyingly in one...
March 10, 2017
Darwyn Cooke is one of the best writers/artists of The Spirit outside of Eisner himself.
June 16, 2016
Slightly mixed review. There are multiple stories in here and some of them are not done by Cooke at all. A couple of those were decent, at least one was terrible. Of the ones that Cooke did, he wrote and did the initial art for it, while Jeff Bone did the finishes. You can see a slight difference, and it feels slightly more cartoony but you can still see Cooke's hand in it.
As for the stories, they were much better. Issues 2 and 3 continue stories from the first volume and are pretty good. Issue 4 is some commentary on all of the political talk show/news hosts on TV. It's very clear who each character is referencing. His opinion isn't really subtle but it's wrapped in a mystery for the Spirit to solve. Issue 5 wraps up a storyline from Volume 1 and other issues in this volume. Issue 6 was probably my favorite because it's more of what I expected: a story where the Spirit narrates so we can understand his thoughts and motivations and he flashes back to his past to show the background of a new character. It all ties together really well and you get the feeling Cooke was just hitting his stride here.
Overall, it's an ok read with V2 being a slightly better experience when it comes to Cooke's stories. I've never read the original Eisner stuff some I'm not sure what "feel" you get when reading those. Cooke's takes place in the modern world with computers and cell phones but he dresses like he's in the 50's and 60's. He has no powers, and is a moderate detective. He isn't always the lead in the story, sometimes he's just a second player so I'm not sure how you are always supposed to root for him. For me, it's more about Cooke's art with his covers being my favorite part of these books.
As for the stories, they were much better. Issues 2 and 3 continue stories from the first volume and are pretty good. Issue 4 is some commentary on all of the political talk show/news hosts on TV. It's very clear who each character is referencing. His opinion isn't really subtle but it's wrapped in a mystery for the Spirit to solve. Issue 5 wraps up a storyline from Volume 1 and other issues in this volume. Issue 6 was probably my favorite because it's more of what I expected: a story where the Spirit narrates so we can understand his thoughts and motivations and he flashes back to his past to show the background of a new character. It all ties together really well and you get the feeling Cooke was just hitting his stride here.
Overall, it's an ok read with V2 being a slightly better experience when it comes to Cooke's stories. I've never read the original Eisner stuff some I'm not sure what "feel" you get when reading those. Cooke's takes place in the modern world with computers and cell phones but he dresses like he's in the 50's and 60's. He has no powers, and is a moderate detective. He isn't always the lead in the story, sometimes he's just a second player so I'm not sure how you are always supposed to root for him. For me, it's more about Cooke's art with his covers being my favorite part of these books.
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July 27, 2012More of Cooke's take on the Spirit, but a little less satisfying to me. The title pages aren't so inventive; some of the stories seem less fun; and two of the issues are broken up into stories by other artists/writers, with mixed results. For instance, Jimmy Palmiotti and Jordi Bernet's "Synchronicity" is a cute story with a nicely matching cartoony style; while Kyle Baker's "Hard Cell" is a muddy, sex-crazed noir that doesn't really work for me. That said, the last story is the brilliantly (nearly) wordless "The Cold Depths of the Icicle Heart" by Gail Simone (story), Phil Hester and Ande Parks (art).
If my library had the next volume, I might get it, but I don't feel compelled to at the moment.
If my library had the next volume, I might get it, but I don't feel compelled to at the moment.
October 27, 2015
I have reread this collection of The Spirit, which collects 7 single issues, and I think I liked it as much as the first time I read it.
Most of the stories are good and fairly simple, exception being the El Morte 2-parter and Sand Saref issue, which are excellent.
The art looks wonderful, except for some of the shorter stories, that featured different creative teams, that just did not fit the mood of the rest of the collection.
Overall, a fun and a quick read, with a few really excellent stories.
Most of the stories are good and fairly simple, exception being the El Morte 2-parter and Sand Saref issue, which are excellent.
The art looks wonderful, except for some of the shorter stories, that featured different creative teams, that just did not fit the mood of the rest of the collection.
Overall, a fun and a quick read, with a few really excellent stories.
April 19, 2015
I like el morte and the link back to the spirit's 'birth'. I liked that the girls all got another layer of development, although i'm not sure if things were 'kept light' or just unnecessary with the frequent insta-smooches between our erstwhile hero and the dames. Even without the gap issues and the fill in artists (who weren't bad by any means) this one just eked out 12 issues. I still will read a bit more of my archive editions, but it did get to feeling like degrassi 2.0 in a story sense, as much as i will always heart the art.
November 12, 2009
Darwyn Cooke is one of the few contemporary artist-writers that really "gets" The Spirit and presents a satisfying modern spin of creator Will Eisner's sensibilities. This volume has some fine work by other artists (Chris Sprouse, Eduardo Risso, Kyle Baker), but it's Cooke that really understands the character. New characters like newscaster Ginger Coffee and villains such as El Morte could have been conceived by Eisner himself.
December 8, 2015
Though I didn't actually read the book, I just read the individual issues that are in this collection and those were some of the best reads I've had in years. The true crime was that DC didn't beg Cooke to continue. Of course if he had we may not have gotten his excellent Parker adaptations.
August 19, 2011
Light comic fun. The best stories were the two-parter about Alvarro Mortez (El Morte) and the story about Sand Saref. I read a collection of original Spirit stories by Will Eisner a while ago, so it was fun to read the characters I knew in tales told with more modern story telling techniques.
November 9, 2012
There were some really good art in this second set of The Spirit's most recent iteration. But there was also some so-so, a little too cartoony art, too. Eisner's art, and that of his collaborators, was almost always amazing, almost cinematic. The art in these stories were inconsistent.
October 16, 2008
i like the cooke style. the sand saref tale at the end should have ended the book, like it did his run.
March 17, 2009
The first book was amusing and assorted, this appears to be more of the same.
January 24, 2010
There seems to be less Cooke in this ensemble book. It's good, but not as good as the first 6 issues.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews