The Spirit panel

Can this panel make me feel better about the movie?

I really like the Spirit.  I can't really explain why.  Believe it or not, it is before my time.  My first exposure to him was in the 90s when I saw a boxed card set featuring Will Eisner's Spirit art.  Something about the images compelled me to order the set from my comic store.  Even after I got the set, I never read anything as it wasn't overly available.  Once DC acquired the rights, I started reading the issues.  I've even bought a few of those expensive hardcovers collecting the original early strips ($50 retail). 

When I heard about Frank Miller doing the Spirit movie, I thought "Cool."  I love and respect Frank Miller but I don't think I held back my true feelings after seeing the leaked trailer just recently. 

So how about first I talk about the Spirit Panel at Comic-Con.

It was a full room in the big hall.  Producer Deborah Del Prete came out and was soon joined by Frank Miller.  Frank told us about his relationship with Will Eisner.  He first discovered the Spirit as a kid and finally met the man a few years later.  Will became a mentor and friend to Frank.  They were soon joined by Sam Jackson (the Octopus), Gabriel Macht (the Spirit) and Jaime King (Lorelei Rox).

Frank and Deborah asked during the making "What would Will think?"  As Deborah had the movie rights for a while, she felt it was important to get an artist for a comic movie. 

Samuel L. Jackson plays the role of the evil Octopus.  Frank described him as "the center of evil" and that he had to be played by someone that could "scare the crap out of everyone."  The Octopus is a villain waiting to become a big Kingpin of the crime world.   In the comics, the Octopus was never revealed.  Only his gloved hands were shown.  Frank needed someone that could fill those gloves.  That's were Sam Jackson came in.    Sam was told he could make the character what he wanted.  He could dress how  he wanted.  Frank allowed him to flesh the character out.  Apparently in the movie the Octopus made Denny indestructible.  Really?  That's not how I remember reading his origin.  Maybe it was changed later when Octopus was introduced (it was a few years after the strip started). 

So the character was never seen.  Sam appears in some wacky outfits in the movie.  That bothered me a bit when I saw some of the images.  But as Frank put it, it'd be hard to have a villain on screen who is only seen as a pair of gloves.  Okay.  I'll buy that.

Sam told a story how he kept wanting a bigger gun in the movie.  He'd get one and then ask for a bigger gun.  It got to the point that there wasn't a gun that would be bigger.  Solution?  Put a bunch of guns together to make a massive one.  Sam joked that he needed a wire to help hold up the end of it during filming. 

Sam was asked how Frank was as a director.  He said Frank was very open to suggestion.  No ego was involved.  He was great at setting things up and explaining what he wanted. 

What's been Sam's favorite action figure of himself?  "Mace Windu."  He likes that he comes in different shapes in sizes.  Apparently he has them all over his office at home.  He also likes his Afro Samurai figure.  He was confuesed when the first Jurassic Park movie came out and everyone had an action figure except for him and Wayne Knight.  Someone yelled out there should be a Nick Fury figure of him.  Sam replied, "When I was a kid, Nick Fury was a white man.  It's great that he finally evolved into something that makes sense to me.  So you see, you too can grow up to be a black man."

What about the females in the movie?  The Spirit is a guy that basically falls in love with every woman he meets and they fall in love with him.  Deborah said that every male fantasy is covered in this movie, in terms of the different woman on screen.  Ellen Dolan (played by Sarah Paulson) is the commisioner's daughter and a surgeon. (Surgeon?  I thought she became Mayor of Central City).  Lorelei (Jaime King) is an Angel of Death.  Sand Seraf (Eva Mendes) is a jewel thief (and childhood friend of Denny's, according to the comic). 

The Spirt was the most difficult for them to pick.  Frank decided he wanted to follow Richard Donner's lead and pick someone with an unfamilar face.  Gabriel Macht looks good in the role.  It's always hard to translate comics into the "real world."  The Spirit's mask does seem a little...cheesey.  The decision to change the Spirit's trademarked blue suit with a black was also because of that. 

My verdict so far?

It's hard to say.  The movie looks good.  Now I'm not an expert on the Spirit but it just seems off to me.  Frank Miller said that he feels Will would've approved of what they are doing.  I have to believe that.  He knew Will for a while and was close to him.  When he was first asked to do it, he said no.  He then realized that if he didn't, someone else would.  He didn't want someone to mess it up.  Maybe I just need to read more than I already have.  I've only read about the first year of the strips plus the updated stuff.  I have to assume that Frank will keep the characters true to who their supposed to be.  I understand some changes have to be made in order to make it a live action movie.  I do have to wonder, where is Ebony?  I know he disappeared from the comics for a time.  There was always controversy around the character.  He has been updated for the current comics.  I haven't seen him in the trailers or seen an actor attached to the role.  That too seems weird to me.

So regardless, I am going to see this when it comes out.  Will I see it Christmas day?  Probably not.  I will see it as soon as I can (like maybe the next day).  I know it will be a good movie.  It's Frank Miller involved, right?  I'm still not sure if I'll think it's a good SPIRIT movie.