Spirit World #1 – Alyssa Wong, Writer; Haining, Artist; Sebastian Cheng, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: This May, DC will be launching three series to celebrate Asian-American and Pacific-Islander Heritage Month—The Vigil, City Boy, and this one—a high-octane supernatural adventure starring non-binary spirit-guide swordsmaster Xanthe. We first met Xanthe in a Lazarus Planet backup, where they encountered John Constantine and Cassandra Cain in a battle against undead spirits. They won the day, but Cass got caught by a particularly powerful spirit and was swept into the Spirit World. No word on how Stephanie Brown is doing now that she’s unsupervised by the more reliable Batgirl, but Constantine and Xanthe have been devoting all their time to finding a way to open the gate and get back to her—when they’re not bickering. Xanthe is a lot of fun as a character, ostensibly an antihero but with a clear goal and a connection to the supernatural in a way that escapes even Constantine.
While they’re dealing with a deranged necromancer, Cass is in the Spirit World, being chased by deranged carnivorous spirits attracted to everything undead. She takes it in stride, fighting off the monsters and making her way to a refuge run by a kindly old woman and a mysterious warrior—both of whom aren’t clear about their status as living or dead. It’s great to see Cass in a very different type of story, and Wong’s writing is excellent—particularly with the reveal about Xanthe in the end—but as good as the story is, the real star here is Haining’s art. Not only is the character work excellent, but the depiction of the Spirit World is one of the most visually engaging comics out of DC in a very long time. We’ve introduced a completely new world to the DCU, based on an obscure Jack Kirby concept the legend never got the chance to explore, and this creative team is the perfect choice for it.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
