**Brian Baer (who’s novel is out now) wrote this look all that survives of one genius’s attempt to adapt another genius’s work. Ah, what could of been…**
The road to feature film adaptations is long and rocky for many comic book characters, and perhaps none longer or rockier than for Will Eisner’s seminal superhero, The Spirit. Also, like many paths to adaptation, that final product (2008’s The Spirit) was rather disappointing.
The character had several brushes with live-action film before Frank Miller’s directorial debut, though. There was a 1987 TV movie, which failed as a back-door pilot for a series, and an aborted attempt from Harlan Ellison and director William Friedkin nearly a decade previously. Between the two, The Spirit nearly became animated. (more…)
Comic Book Media 