Broken Frontier

P’Gell is back in town and the Spirit thinks he knows what she is up to but leopards can sometimes change their spots... although the Spirit doesn’t know that.

With only his second issue, writer and artist Darwyn Cooke sets out to put his own stamp on Will Eisner’s famous characters. There are some changes here to the Dolan household but, more importantly, the spotlight shines on one of the many femmes that have nearly proven fatal to the Spirit over the years. This time Cooke creates some hidden depths and a surprising secret history for P’Gell.

P’Gell is well known for her love ‘em and leave ‘em scams and the Spirit is determined to foil her attempts on the latest mark – the prince of a Middle Eastern country. This prince, however, has a nasty reputation and the Spirit fears P’Gell may have bitten off more than she can chew this time. The knight errant Spirit wants to save P’Gell from herself but the lady in question has other plans in mind... ones the Spirit cannot fathom.

While Cooke may have presented a rather straight adventure in the first issue of this new series, here he begins to let go and start adding some of his own new additions to these familiar characters. P’Gell began as a femme fatale type and a gold digger, determined to make a soft landing when times got hard... no matter who she had to land on to do it but Cooke gives the character a new, secret history – one with more than a hint of tragedy to it. Although, along the way Cooke is careful to add humor, action, and a couple of traditional scenes of the Spirit getting the tar whomped out of him. This is really where Cooke’s true writing talent shines through – in how deftly he blends the comedic, tragic, and bare knuckle action together all in one story, complete in a single issue.

When it comes to art, Cooke’s style is equally versatile. There is an amazing level of detail and the cartoony look works terrific with the humor. Surprisingly, though, that lightheartedness contrasts nicely with the dramatic moments, enhancing the sense of pathos. The facial expressions here also help carry the story brilliantly.

The logo on the upper right hand corner of the cover promises "Action, Mystery, Adventure" and Cooke delivers on all three. This issue proved, yet again, that in the hands of the right author, a done-in-one story can be complete and well rounded. If you pick up this issue of The Spirit you won’t go away hungry.