This was excellent. When folks say, "they don't make them like this anymore," they mean work like Eisner's. The man was way ahead of his time, and it is evident in this sampling of his series The Spirit. In brief, this is the story of a common man who becomes a crime fighter. He has no special superpowers or fancy tights. What he does have is integrity, tenacity, and good detective skills. Working with that, Eisner gives us a bit of everything. We get noir; we get detective and police stories; we get surreal tales and even an episode or two that might fit in a Twilight Zone episode or an O'Henry story. There is some humor as well. In other words, this comic is literary, and it explores various genres and conventions. And he does it in a few panels (each story is about 7 pages worth). Eisner also experiments with the art and the layouts. Odds are good that this small selection will make you consider buying the hardcover compilations. I know I am thinking about it. If nothing else, you can see where a lot of comics and graphic novel writers and artists got a lot of their influence from. It started here. I definitely recommend this one.
