The Spirit #13 (2008)

The Spirit #13 (February, 2008)

"One Hundred!"

"Family Treasure"

"The Cold Depths of the Icicle Heart"

Writers - Glen David Gold, Denny O'Neil & Gail Simone

Pencillers - Eduardo Risso, Ty Templeton & Phil Hester

Inker - Ande Parks

Colorists - Alex Sinclair & Jim Charalampidis

Letterer - Jared K. Fletcher

Assistant Editor - Kristy Quinn

Editors - Ben Abernathy, Scott Peterson

Cover Price: $2.99

Hey, it's the shortest day of the year... right?  So, howsabout we take a look at three short stories to really get us into the holiday Spirit.  See what I did there?  How's that for a stretch!

Full disclosure before we begin.  I might be killing my "comics historian" cred here, but I know next to... er, make that absolutely nothing about The Spirit.  Other than he was created by Will Eisner.  I always thought he looked cool... but growing up in the 90's, the only way (that I knew of) where I could read his stories would've been to cough up fifty-bones for an Archive Edition.  That just wasn't going to happen.

So, with that said... we'll try and get through best we can.  My apologies ahead of time if I miss any obvious connections or references.

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Our first story opens on Halloween (well, that's not the Holiday I had in mind) with a gaggle of goons (called the Argonauts) all dressed as The Spirit.  In between some... fairly annoying dialogue (including a gag about Emily Blunt which refused to end), we learn that they have stolen one-hundred blue azure diamonds.  They plan to cut through the zoo as they cross Central City (probably not that Central City).  While there, they visit a monkey cage... which facilitates another Emily Blunt joke... and also allows one of their number to break rank.  Ya see, one of these Spirits was actually... The Spirit!

A fight takes place in this tangle of trench coats... and in the struggle, the bag of diamonds falls into the tiger cage!

We rejoin The Spirit (should I refer to him as just "Spirit" or is it always "The Spirit"?) as he meets with Commissioner Dolan.  He's advised that there's only one person capable of of nabbing the diamonds, and it's a girl grown woman named Felicia Stripe.

And so, we join the pair back at the zoo.  Felicia greets the Tiger, Vida... and laments the fact that there are only ninety-eight of them left in the world.  Suddenly a Spirit-dressed Argonaut arrives to confuse the proceedings... in the struggle, the tiger becomes agitated... and is ultimately shot.

Back at the office, Spirit and Dolan discuss what just went down.  Spirit looks at the gun that shot the tiger... and learns, the hard way, that it wasn't loaded with bullets... but a sleep agent.

Turns out Ms. Stripe just kayoed the big cat to take her back to her own wildlife preserve.  One year later... we see that, thanks to her, there are now 100 tigers.

Our second story opens with an old woman being dragged into a car by a nogoodnik.  Luckily, The Spirit was in the vicinity... and pops in for a rapid rescue.  Spirit recognizes her as Sonia... an immigrant from East Klovonia that Dolan had told him about.  Apparently she's looking for a buried family treasure in the "Rowdy Forest".

She and the Spirit hop into his car and head out to search.  Along the way, The Spirit realizes that she might just be talking about the Wildwood Cemetery... get it?  Rowdy Forest... Wild Wood.  A half-hour later, they arrive... and our man proceeds to dig.  While he works, a pair of baddies arrive.

The Spirit uses some shovel-fu to make short work of them.

With the geeks out of the way, the Spirit continues to dig... until he finds the buried treasure... a photograph of Sonia's Aunt.

The Spirit notices that while the photograph is quite old... the frame looks brand new.  He pulls the photo out... revealing a bearer bond (with plenty of zeroes) hidden behind it!  Sonia nabs the loot and rushes away.

We wrap up some time later with the revelation that the riches have gone to Sonia's head.

Our third and final story opens with "Ice" McQueen shaking down a local man who looks a bit like Alfred Pennyworth for "protection money".  The Spirit witnesses this go down, and attempts to intervene... only to have his lights knocked out by a blackjack.  This story uses a pretty neat "dialogue" gimmick... we'll talk more about it below.

"Ice" ponders her next move... and decides it might behoove her crew to dispose of The Spirit in the nearby frozen lake.  And so, they tie a cinder block to his body and hurl his unconscious body from a bridge.

Luckily, the shock of cold is enough to wake our man up... and he pulls himself from the slushy drink.  Not so lucky, he's forgotten who or where he is!

He's eventually taken in and given clothes by some hobos... and almost remembers who he is.  He's got all the letters, just doesn't know the order.  What happens next isn't entirely clear.  There's a man (maybe Dolan?) crying at the bridge... who is approached by a police officer... who goes to beat him with his billy club... I think.  I dunno... either way, The Spirit is there to save the day.

Another hobo fills The Spirit in on what's gone down... and suddenly "Ice" McQueen and her gang strike again.  Our man is able to win this round... and in so doing, remember who he is.

We wrap up with... The Spirit giving a hobo his hat... "Ice" behind bars... the bad cop being reamed out... and the Spirit lounging by the warmth of his fireplace.  I guess that's as "Christmassy" as we're going to get this time around.

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Well... some "Holiday Special", eh?  I guess "Holiday" is vague enough to get away with not having a single Christmas story included, right?  I mean... it's not like we'd have any hint from the cover as to what might be inside... right?

Anyhoo...

What we do have here is three fun stories.  As mentioned, I have no frame of reference for anything Spirit-related.  I don't know his backstory... hell, I don't even know his real name (if he even has one!).  That said, I enjoyed this... for the most part.

Before going into detail... I wanna give it up for the art.  All three stories look fantastic.  I feel like this is the kind of style you want for a character/world such as this.  Really... excellent stuff!

Now... let's start with the first story.  Never-ending Emily Blunt gag notwithstanding, this was pretty neat.  Though, there is this odd dissonance here.  The Spirit talks very much like a detective in a pot-boiler mystery... talking about "the two types of girls" out there... however, this story takes place during the present day.  Was this fella frozen in ice like Captain America?  I dunno... is he a relic from the 1940's thrust into the present?

The play on the "100" was pretty clever.  The whole time you assume that the title is referring to the azure diamonds... when really, it was about the endangered tigers.  Thought that was a cool twist.

The second story was a cute little affair.  Nice balance of humor and action... we get to see the Spirit doing some of the more unglamorous aspects of his work.  Digging up graves is probably not on anybody's short-list of fun things to do.  At the end, it was all a gag... the poor immigrant woman turns into a hawty socialite.  Silly fun.

The final story... well... I really wanted to like it.  I think the gimmick employed was a great one... very creative work using symbols and "hieroglyphs" in lieu of actual dialogue.  My only problem was... I couldn't follow the damn thing!

It started out straightforward enough... however, gets muddled (at least for me) during the climax.  Maybe if I had a better familiarity with the cast it would help... I just don't get why an officer would attack the man on the bridge.  Also... I couldn't keep the hobos straight... how many were there?  Was it the same guy all along?  What about the dude from the beginning who looked like Alfred?  Why was he running up with a shovel toward the end?  Dunno... maybe I'm just too dense.  That's always a possibility.

Overall... if you're looking for a good Christmas story... I'm sorry, but you're not going to find it here.  If you wanna have a little bit of noirish fun, however... give this a look.  I think I'll keep an eye out for Spirit books of this vintage should I come across 'em in the cheap-o bins.  It doesn't look like this one's available digitally... I'm pretty sure DC no longer has the rights to the character.  Shouldn't be too hard to track down, though...

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Interesting Ads:

On the Eighth Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I give to you The Spirit #13, Justice League Unlimited #28, Shade the Changing Man (vol.2) #19, Action Comics #762!  Young Justice #40, Superman: The Man of Steel #109, Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special, and a Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #2 Review.

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Justice League Unlimited #28 (2007)

Justice League Unlimited #28 (February, 2007)
"Season's Beatings Justice League!"
Writer - Mike McAvennie
Penciller - Sanford Greene
Inker - Nathan Massengill
Colorist - Heroic Age
Letterer - John J. Hill
Editor - Michael Wright

On this, the Seventh Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, we're going to get a bit animated!

I know the last time we chatted up a book based on an animated series I mentioned that I'm not the biggest fan of the animated "style" in comics.  I'm cool with it on TV, but really don't think it works in the books.  Let's see if this Holiday issue changes my tune!

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We open with the Flash being knocked into a Christmas Tree by... Santa Claus?!  Well, no... it's actually just Clayface in a Santa suit.  Batman runs in... because that's what he does, and slings a 'rang at the baddie.  What we don't immediately realize is that the Atom hitched a ride on the 'rang and was carrying a freezing compound which turned Clayface into an oddly-shaped Popsicle.

With Clayface out of the way, Batman turns his attentions toward... well, Wally.  He lays into him for failing to secure the perimeter.  He's got a really good reason though... ya see, he had a hot tip on a store that has Playtendo 720 in stock!  Batman boots Wally off monitor duty and tasks him with tracking down one of Clayface's "little helpers" who had gotten away.

And so, Wally shuffles off... dissing the Bat with every step.  As luck would have it... he just so happens to wander into the path of a Stranger.  A Phantom Stranger, even (as if the cover didn't spoil it!)  The Stranger tries to explain to the Flash why Batman is the way that he is... and when that doesn't quite work, he decides to show him!

Their first stop is Christmas a few years earlier in Smallville.  Superman and Batman had a bet... which Batman lost... which means he spends Christmas with the Kents!  It's about as awkward as you might imagine.

Later that evening, Clark and Batman (still in costume) begin to trim the tree.  Clark shows off his collection of superhero ornaments... which includes one of the Gray Ghost.  Folks might remember the Gray Ghost as the sorta amalgamated "pulp" character from that episode of Batman: The Animated Series... he was voiced by Adam West.

Suddenly, Batman gets a distress call from Gotham City... and has to take his leave.  The Phantom Stranger informs Wally that there was no trouble... it was just Bruce's way of gittin' while the gittin' was good.  He was too uncomfortable to remain in this "greeting card" version of Christmas... more on that, well... right now.

Next stop for Wally and the Stranger is Wayne Manor... the first Christmas following the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne.  Young Bruce is anything but excited to open his gifts... but Alfred manages to convince him.

Young Bruce opens his presents... and isn't impressed in the slightest.  That is, until he opens one containing a Gray Ghost action figure and Flyer!

He immediately gets down to playing... soaring the flyer through the living room... running about, having fun.  That is... until he notices the portrait of his parents on the wall.  At that point he stops playing... and even apologizes!  Ya see, it was the first time he ever took his eyes off the prize of avenging his folks... and it kinda shook him.

Wally tells the Stranger that he's seen enough... and is dropped back into the present.  As luck would have it, right outside a toy store... that is being robbed by that rogue elf!

The Flash zips in and kayos the baddie in no-time flat.

The toy shop owner thanks the Flash... leading Wally to ask for a favor.  We rejoin him on board the Satellite... where he apologizes to Batman... and gives him a Christmas gift.  You know where this is going, right?

Batman smiles... and tells Wally that his gift (a Playtendo 720!) is under the tree waiting for him.

--

Well, this was a really nice story!  I didn't even mind the art style!

This feels like something that would've made a really nice Christmas episode of the animated series... and for all I know, it was!  I never really got into the 'toons... though, I'd be tempted to check this episode out should it actually be a thing.

When I first started reading, and saw Batman immediately step in to save the day... I gotta admit, I groaned.  That's one of the unfortunate constants between the cartoons and the comics, Batman is always the coolest, smartest, toughest guy in the room.  So, when the Stranger showed up and took us back to the past, I was very much relieved!

Sure, it's still a very Bat-centric story... but it's one that shines a light on his vulnerability and weakness.  His faking a trouble-call to skip out on a Kent family Christmas is pretty uncharacteristic.  I was happy to see it there... as it humanizes him, and definitely shows that there is a room somewhere on the planet where he's not the coolest occupant!

The Christmas morning scene at Wayne Manor... well, it worked and it didn't.  I think it was a bit heavy-handed... and seeing a very tiny Bruce Wayne already driven toward vengeance was a bit weird.  I think I always glossed over these early years... and automatically "jumped" Bruce to adolescence, and his world tour of training.  Never really considered how he'd act while still a child.  Maybe I just assumed more "catatonic" than "cynical".  Dunno.

The Gray Ghost bits were neat.  That was one of the episodes I remember watching from the original run of Batman: The Animated Series... and it's one I remember fondly.  I think it resonated with a lot of fans... almost to the point where I'd list it as "cheap heat".  Not that it's over-used or anything... but to me, it feels like it's inclusion is just to tug on our nostalgia.  That's not a bad thing... it's just a thing that is.  And hell, I've never dodged the possibility that I'm just projecting!

The art here was a fine blend of animated style and western comic style.  Looking at it (very) quickly reminded me of Scott Kolins' work... which is a good thing.

Overall... I'd definitely recommend checking this one out... this feels like a good one to revisit every holiday season.  It's available digitally... for only 99-cents!

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(Sorta like the) Letters Page:

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Interesting Ads:

On the Seventh Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I give to you Justice League Unlimited #28, Shade the Changing Man (vol.2) #19, Action Comics #762!  Young Justice #40, Superman: The Man of Steel #109, Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special, and a Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #2 Review.

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Shade the Changing Man (vol.2) #19 (1992)

Shade the Changing Man (vol.2) #19 (January, 1992)
"Bethlehem U.S.A."
Writer - Peter Milligan
Penciller - Chris Bachalo
Inker - Mark Pennington
Colorist - Daniel Vozzo
Letterer - Todd Klein
Assistant Editor - Alisa Kwitney
Editor - Karen Berger
Cover Price:$1.75

It's been a little while since I read any Shade the Changing Man.  I actually meant to give this run a scan-through when I started covering Young Animal's Shade the Changing Girl for Weird Science DC Comics... but, if you're a fellow blog-caster, you know how most of our "Reading Projects" go.

I think I got as far as piling them up on my nightstand.  Which, to be fair... is further along than I usually get!

Anyhoo... today we're going to take a look at a darker Christmas story.  Let's get to it!

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We open with a hung-over Shade writing a letter to Kathy about how he had spent his first Earth Christmas.  He was in a town called Bethlehem, Kansas... which, yeah, is kinda on the nose, but we'll allow it.  Anyhoo, he was imbibing at a local watering hole when he was approached by a strange and excited man named Dave.  Dave is in search of a "New Messiah"... and claims that on Christmas this new Messiah will reveal himself.

Before moving forward with ol' Dave, Shade reminisces about how Christmas was spent home on Meta.  It was a day of reverence for the dead... a day in which the bones of loved ones would be dug up and displayed in the home... adorned with flowers, tinsel, and other shiny pretty stuff.  Not completely unlike our own Christmas trees I suppose.  In a cute bit, Shade laments that "The Day of Bones" on Meta has become too commercial over the years.

Okay, let's rejoin Dave.  Shade and Dave are walking down the street... and our main man is having a bit of an adverse reaction to all the liquor he'd downed.  It apparently went "straight to the Madness Vest"... and so, Shade manifests a strange ramshackle Santa Claus.

Well, this is all Dave needs to see to know that he's met the New Messiah.  Shade ain't buying it, but he's too drunk to really argue.  Dave proudly begins calling himself "Dave the Baptist", and leads our man into an alley... where he proceeds to kayo him with the butt-end of his pistol.

Shade stirs back to consciousness, only to find himself bound in a room beside a Santa Claus, a pastor, and a young woman.

The pastor speaks up... and winds up paying the price.  Dave blows the poor fellas brains out.

He tells Shade that now that he's found the New Messiah... he's going to kill him!  Dave hates Christmas... because it's unfair to the lonely.  Not only Christmas... but any religious celebration... from any organized religion!  Well, at least he's even-handed in his hatred?

And so, he tapes up all the windows in the room, and prepares to transform it into a makeshift gas-chamber using a cyanide pellet.  He claims that he will spring his deathtrap... then amuse himself with all sorts of terrible murder and havoc... by the time he returns, the New Messiah will be dead, at which point Dave can blow his own brains out.  Merry merry, everybody!

Dave flicks the pill into a pail... and the room begins to fill with a green gas.  At this point, Shade is visited upon by... well, Rac Shade.  It's a bit wonky if this is your first exposure to the character... but he's kind of a body-hopper.  Fans of the recent Shade the Changing Girl series will know all about that.  Anyhoo... Rac hops into the "drivers seat" to break his bindings.

He grabs Santa's coat... and covers the pluming pail long enough to get it outside and smother it in the snow.  The day is saved... too bad about the pastor, though.

We rejoin Dave as he is unloading his gun into a loaded Church.  Luckily, Shade is right on his tail... and he smashes him with a Madness-construct fist.

Dave high-tails it outside, but finds himself surrounded by the police.  So, he does what any lunatic might do... he throws a grenade at a giant decorated tree... which falls on him, killing him.

We wrap up with Shade finishing his missive to Kathy... and it gets a bit, I dunno... "deep".  He asks Kathy how we would even know if the Messiah returned... perhaps he (or she) walks among us even today.  He quotes Kafka... which I'm sure tickled several of the high school students who were reading this... and we fade out.

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This was really very good!

Sure, it was a bit precious in places... but also, just really good!  It was scary, and dark... and the juxtaposition with a festive Christmas scene really gave it an uncomfortable... and "wrong" feeling.

Dave might be a bit of a cliche in his misanthropy and disdain for "organized religion", however... he's definitely the kinda guy you can see existing in the real world, just dialed up to eleven.  He's the kinda person we like to pretend doesn't exist.

The way in which we meet Dave is kinda chilling as well... he comes across as a nice, if not a bit strange, fella.  For all we know, he's just bending the ear of the dude with the weird accent at the bar.  We've all been there, right?  Well, maybe it's just me.  Either way, I'd completely forgotten how this story went... so, when Shade was pistol-whipped and abducted, I was actually surprised!

Dave's ruthlessness was keyed up during the hostage scene.  Learning that he was planning to kill himself after fulfilling his destiny really added urgency to the proceedings.  He's truly a man with nothing to lose... which, obviously, makes him even more dangerous.  And, ya know... insane.

The writing does perhaps veer into the purple... but it's pre-Vertigo Vertigo, so it's par for the course.  And it's also... like I said, just so damn good!  It's nothing compared to the letters page though... those are positively dripping with chin-stroking pretentiousness.  Buuuut... it's a pre-Vertigo Vertigo letters column, so it's par for the course.

The art is... amazing.  Chris Bachalo is one of my all-time favorite artists, and his work here is absolutely super.  One of my favorite pieces of comics ephemera in my collection is a promotional Vertigo announcement freebie from 1992/1993 that is signed by Mr. Bachalo.  I'd show it off here if it wasn't still amid my many unpacked boxes.

Overall... I'd recommend Shade the Changing Man as a whole to anybody!  I feel like, of the initial... five or so "Mature" DC titles that made the jump to Vertigo, Shade often gets the short shrift when it comes to "play".  If you come across it... definitely give it a look.  This issue (and series) is available digitally.

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Precious Letters Page:

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Interesting Ads:

On the Sixth Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I give to you Shade the Changing Man (vol.2) #19, Action Comics #762!  Young Justice #40, Superman: The Man of Steel #109, Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special, and a Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #2 Review.

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