The Spirit #1
Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Dan Schkade
Colored by Brennan Wagner
Letters by A Larger World Studios
Cover art by Eric Powell, Matt Wagner & Brennan Wagner, Alex Ross, and John Cassaday
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: July 1, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

The Spirit #1 is the latest addition to Dynamite Entertainment’s pulp library and I honestly have to say, with very few exceptions, these pulp characters are being given rock star treatment by Dynamite editorial, and it really shows.

Sherlock Holmes: The Liverpool Demon #2
Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion
Illustrated by Matt Triano
Colored by Brennan Wagner
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Francesco Francavilla
Dedicated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 20, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Sherlock Holmes: The Liverpool Demon is a five-issue miniseries from Dynamite Entertainment that gives us a new mystery-adventure from the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion Dr. Watson.

In The Liverpool Demon #1, we see the crime-solving duo far from their Baker St. London flat finishing up what looks like a really interesting case Liverpool, England. While Holmes and Watson planned to return home once the job was done, they bump into one of the doctor’s old acquaintances and his colleagues, who convince them to delay their departure until later in the day, though Holmes seems none too pleased about it. While they dine inside, a terrifying creature bounds through the city, leaping across rooftops during an electrical storm, frightening the citizens, who refer to it as “Spring-heeled Jack.”

The Shadow: Year One #1
Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Wilfredo Torres
Colors by Brennan Wagner
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Matt Wagner, Alex Ross, Chris Samnee & Howard Chaykin
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 20, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Shadow Year One #1 is the first part of the untold origin of The Shadow. Kind of. What I was expecting and what this book delivered are two VERY different things.

Author Matt Wagner is legendary in the comic book business, and rightfully so. His list of credentials are WAY too long for me to list here, and let’s face it, you know who he is. Thankfully, he’s his awesome self writing this book. When I first hear about this series, I pictured something much different. I was looking for a great story about how LaMont Cranston BECAME The Shadow: his training, his reasons for doing so, etc., sort of like a Batman Begins type story for this character. Instead, what we have is a Batman Year One type story. Cranston returns home from abroad to New York, and that’s where the book starts. It’s about him becoming the masked vigilante hero that we all know and love.

Sherlock Holmes: The Liverpool Demon #1
Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion
Illustrated by Matt Triano
Colored by Brennan Wagner
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Francesco Francavilla
Dedicated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: December 12, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Anytime there is an offer to review a story involving The Great Detective, I jump in with both feet. Sherlock Holmes: The Liverpool Demon #1 is no exception to that rule, but it is an exceptional story – one that is sure to please Sherlockians everywhere.

Reuniting the awesome team of Leah Moore and John Reppion to pen this mini-series was a stroke of brilliance, as their grasp of the Victorian age is well suited for comics. They have a way of conveying the dirtiness and griminess of the time through well-written characters and dialogue. From mannerisms to mode of speech, the reader is made to feel as if they are right there in that time and place. The story is captivating and intriguing, two things that make for a great gothic mystery.