Superman Through the Ages! Forum

...after issue 12 and he had a few things to say about the direct market.

Story (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=122799)

Well, that didn't last long. To be honest, I'm not too bothered, because I didn't think this latest Spirit title amounted to much, presumably because of the editorial constraints Cooke mentions. I think he'll be better off with his own projects. I wish DC would try what the Spirit title a few years back did: have different writers and artists for each title.

Nice to see Cooke being so dismissive of Miller's Spirit film!

Oh well, 12 issues is longer than I expected him to make it.

I wouldn't even start buying a new series these days if I didn't think it'd end in a year's time.

Thats another $3 that stays in my pocket.

DC was the only to make DC's Spirit fly and Frank Miller can go #%$@ himself with his ultra-violence and gore.

To be honest I really do not see the point of The Spirit without Will Eisner. That's like someone taking over Peanuts after Schulz's death. It just didn't seem right. 

I agree.  The issues looked pretty and the creative team certainly has a great adventure comics pedigree, but I never made the leap to buying this series.  It's funny: in some ways, DC must see the Spirit as this high class, boutique version of the adventure comics they've done for years.  A sort of parallel earth superhero comic where the editor was also the creator and regular cartoonist for decades, meaning that it had to be better than or on par with the best from DC.  Now DC "has" the Spirit and it's not setting the world on fire, only selling as much as a mid-level, non-event series.  And the movie won't exactly make anyone want to buy an Archives Edition.

My favourite post-Eisner story was by Moore and Daniel Torres.

Even tho Eisner was always credited a lot of latter day stories were scripted and laid out by Jules Feiffer and other artists like Lou Fine drew the Sundays.   

That's a very accurate description, actually. You always feel you should be bringing it home in a stiff paper bag with string handles and "Comique" written on the side. This is somewhat heightened by Darwyn Cooke's elegant, often New Yorker cartoon-like style. But by and large, the series just never quite made it. I'm sure this isn't anything to do with Cooke's abilities: he's one of my favourite cartoonists around right now.

DC has already published their best version of The Spirit. It was called Grayshirt and run in the Tomorrow Stories magazine. You just can´t top Alan Moore. The movie will problably by a Sin City-style action blockbuster with lots of violence and nothing of Eisner brilliance.