The Spirit Covers Reviewed

The Spirit covers seem to vary a fair amount. Three of the samples provided have the same title in style and font, however the rest are different from the others. Also, Will Eisner changes the placement and structure of his signature on all the covers. Sometimes he puts his last name to the right of his first name and sometimes to the left. On all but one of the covers he writes "The Spirit by Will Eisner". On No.26 he just has his name, faded, behind the web. My two favorite covers are the No.26 and No.28 because of the depth of the illustrations. On No.26 the web and the three characters with the woman closest and what Im assuming is the villain furthest away creates 3 layers of dimension. This layout causes the reader to feel almost like they are being sucked into the comic. The Spirit No.28 has the same effect that is created by the tunnel that extends behind The Spirit. The other thing appealing about both these covers is the consistancy of the type. Sort of like how a magazine has a signature font and style of lettering that is consistant in every issue, I think a comic series should have the same consistency. Both No.26 and No.28 have the bold serif lettering that is both angular and curvy. The other covers are less cohesive. They have pieces in the picture that don't seem to be grounded by anything. For example on "Davy Jones' Locker" cover the ripped picture of the Spirit seems out of place, this feels more like a collage, it's not as engaging. Also, I like the covers that are primarily picture and not language, the "Davy Jones' Locker" issue uses font in a way that makes the cover almost a first page, not a cover.