Spirit, The #5

Spirit, The #5
Released by: Dynamite Entertainment
Released on: November 25th, 2015.
Written by: Matt Wagner
Illustrated by: Dan Schkade
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Picking up where the last issue left off, we find Strunk and White captured and bound, about to be lowered into a pit of molten steel at the hands of… The Octopus! Meanwhile, The Spirit is poking around their office, now convinced that Dolan wasn't lying about Strunk and White setting up shop and trying to make a go of their detective agency. He goes through their notes figuring that they're on his trail but not sure where they might look for him next.

A clue leads The Spirit to Bert's, a crummy dive bar where some illegal gambling is going on. Here he finds Limey Chance and Ringer Magee fresh with the spoils of their latest con/victory. When they see who it is, they run as fast as they can - after all, everyone knows The Spirit is dead - but not surprisingly even when they head into the sewers to hide The Spirit is able to find them. He asks them about their old boss, The Octopus, and if they've seen any pint sized would be detectives poking around lately. It turns out they have and armed with the knowledge he needs, The Spirit lets them go and heads back out into the streets.

Meanwhile Ellen Dolan learns that her former flame is back from the dead, much to the dismay of her father who insists she keep this quiet. She does, but The Spirit himself is out there making a bit of a racket of his own when he shakes down some thugs, then Lacey Verboten, the Rybandt Street Gang and then eventually some lawyers. Always with the lawyers, these crooks. The Spirit shows up at the office of Chadwick Swineheart, Attorney At Law, and here he finally finds out what The Octopus is up to and where he might find him… but will he get there before Strunk and White become chrome plated fondue?

This Matt Wagner cat, he spins a pretty good yarn, doesn't he? Taking the pulp style storytelling techniques he employed in a more adult manner in his recent Grendel Vs. The Shadow crossover for Dark Horse but giving it a bit more of a kid-friendly slant, he writes this era really well. The dialogue is snappy and appropriately pulpy while the situations and characters lend themselves quite nicely to the cliffhanger endings that keep things going. If this first storyline has been a bit of a 'rogues gallery' showcase, so be it, it's also been a whole lot of fun and a really nice, accurately Eisner-esque, resurrection for everyone's favorite masked crimefighter.

Dan Schkade's artwork continues to impress. He's definitely of the Eisner school of panel layout and he uses those techniques really nicely here. Lots of great shadowy layouts, a bit of pop/deco styling in the backgrounds and of course, a great splash page with the series' logo worked into it to kick this (and every) issue off. Add to that great use of color courtesy of Brennan Wagner and yet another killer cover from Eric Powell and it's easy to see why this latest take on The Spirit turns out to be such a fun read.