The Spirit (August 10, 1941) “The Element of Time”

Element of Time starts as a mad scientist strip and fairly quickly becomes a “thug of the week” strip. Just as Professor Corda completes his life’s work to condense time into a physical form–in this case, a liquid–Tommy Moran decides to plug Nick Ennis for snitching. Moran’s got a girlfriend who wants him to reconsider and think about their future together, but toxic masculinity; no one snitches on Tommy Moran.

Tommy and the Professor happen across one another in a park, and Tommy can’t turn down the scientist’s offer of $5,000 to be the first liquid time test subject. It’s unclear how Professor Corda knew the liquid should be injected and not consumed; not to mention whether or not he can be certain time is a nonlethal element.

At this point, the strip leans heavily into stylization: Tommy sees his immediate future—he goes and kills the snitch, but then the Spirit catches up with him. They then have a cat-and-mouse fight on some cliffs, though the visual stylization clashes with the setting having any particular import. The visuals are all about color and unbound dimension, not fisticuff action. They convey Tommy Moran being unstuck in time, and nothing looks quite right.

So it’s a morality tale, and a heavy-handed one. Spirit has gotten downright lefty with Spirit convincing Dolan criminals can be rehabilitated but Tommy’s only going to learn the lesson if he just happens to be seeing a possible future. He’s not interesting, much less sympathetic. Dumb and dumber luck; the strip’s final reveal strips Tommy of even more agency in his rehabilitation. And Eisner and studio know it’s the same old story, only without a natural happy ending, so they unravel the tale with the colorful panels and leverage the visuals more than the narrative.

And instead of doing an elaborate fisticuff sequence or some other obvious distinct gag (there was the strip they did as a song about a fight), they’re trying something with the art. It’s fine. It’s not unsuccessful, just not at all exciting, especially since the finish—with the actual Spirit’s appearance—sends it all out on an inert, truncated note.

The strip has a lot of different pieces, cohesive thanks to Eisner and studio, but still clashing with each other. Art can cover for a clunky narrative; it can only do so much.

The Spirit (August 3, 1941) “Wanted Dead or Alive: The Spirit”

From the splash page, Wanted Dead or Alive promises a lot and delivers very little. Spirit is indeed wanted, and apparently dead or alive, but the police manhunts never give him the slightest trouble. Not even when he breaks into the police station and kidnaps Dolan and the Mayor. Spirit’s very cocky this strip, and oddly self-destructive.

He’s wanted because he’s broken a murder suspect out of jail. The murdered is a foreign general who is in exile in the United States because the Nazis took over his country. The cops found the suspect going through the general’s papers. Spirit knows the general might have Nazi agents after him—the general was active in the resistance even in exile—and doesn’t think his execution by firing squad suggests a lone gunman. The reader gets all these details after Spirit has kidnapped Dolan and the Mayor (which comes after Ellen has a panel bitching out her dad for putting out the APB on Spirit). Spirit presents these details at the murder scene, which has no signs of ongoing police investigation, even though Spirit broke the suspect out before Dolan could even question him.

We find out the “not talking to Dolan yet” detail later, after the suspect slugs Ebony (who’s babysitting him) and heads out to try to get the Commissioner to believe him about the Nazi agents. But it wouldn’t matter because Dolan agrees with Spirit’s assessment after a reenactment at the crime scene, where the Spirit repeatedly humiliates the Mayor. Now, the Mayor has been a stuffed-shirt and looked the other way at significant corruption, but Spirit’s really going for it this strip. The Mayor tells Dolan to up the manhunt and charges because of the whole humiliation thing. For the first third of Wanted, it seems significant.

It is not significant. It goes away entirely because the suspect runs into Ellen at the police station before he can talk to Dolan, so they can go off trying to find the Spirit. Except the Nazis have captured the Spirit, who came up with a plan to get captured and tortured until they felt comfortable enough talking in front of him, all so he could discover their actual hideout.

Certainly this actual hideout will be important to the narrative and host a fantastic finale showdown between Spirit and the Nazi scum.

Or not.

Lots of “or nots” this strip. Eisner and studio get ideas every page or two, but they burn through them quickly and need something else. Nothing goes anywhere. And while I’ve been mentioning the Nazi angle a bunch, it’s kind of not important enough. Dolan and the Mayor certainly haven’t been paying attention to the Spirit comic strip each week, which would have warned them about the various dangers from the Axis powers, even in the relative security of Central City. Except, of course, Ellen went to Occupied France on an adventure, and the Mayor and Dolan literally just had bad guys take advantage of the city during air raid drills.

Eisner and studio keep it together—there’s some solid fisticuffs and Spirit’s patriotic swagger (even during torture) is affable—but there’s some warping in the verisimilitude. Wanted’s too full of hot air, narratively speaking, and Eisner never finds anything substantial. Never even tries.

The Spirit (July 27, 1941) “Pink Perkins”

Pink Perkins brings back the two kid characters—revealed here to be the Tidewater children–who previously appeared in the “Hitler Goes Good” strip. They don’t get first names here; the family name matters because their dad is initially in trouble. He runs the Tidewater grocery chain, and the mob is shaking him down for protection money. It just happens the mobsters in the Spirit comic strip use similar threats as the mobsters in the Gumshoe Gus comic strip the kids read. And that comic strip is created by one Pink Perkins. He works at the Daily Beagle. So many names, all of them great, some of them eerily prescient for future developments in the comic book industry.

The kids go see Pink Perkins because Gus is a vicious killer of bad guys, and they think Pink writes Gus from experience. Gus also apparently beats his witnesses within an inch of their lives, which also contributes to a less-than-heroic ideal. Certainly less heroic than the Spirit, who will figure into the story eventually, and Commissioner Dolan, who Eisner and the studio also manage to fit in. The kids go see Perkins, leaving a note for their dad to explain, which leads Dad to think Perkins is a big tough guy, too; except the mobsters snatch the kids, which Spirit somehow finds out about and sets about rescuing them.

Meanwhile, the kids–well, one of them, the comic-relief one (who bites people) doesn’t talk—regal their kidnappers with tales of Gumshoe Gus’s toughness. And, being a superstitious, cowardly lot, the criminals believe the kid about Perkins’s demeanor. Now, Eisner and studio’s punchline for Perkins is he’s a risible scaredy-cat. It’s not a flattering characterization. Eisner gets some of the “life imitates art” meta, but entirely misses how Pink Perkins could be the obvious stand-in for the creator of The Spirit.

The mobsters go after Pink Perkins, while Dolan and Spirit both figure out the mobsters’ kidnapping scheme, down to where they’re holding the kids. At that point, with some peculiar exceptions, the strip plays like an early “Spirit vs. the mob” entry; they’ve even had one with a fight at a rural cabin before, though this time there’s a fainted man prop for the fisticuffs to move around.

There are good comedy beats thanks to the kids, and the strip generally survives how poorly it treats Pink. The art’s solid without trying for anything special; lots of familiar fight choreography, and limited locations. It’s all played for the humor, with Eisner treating the fisticuffs—at least until the very end (and even then not for long)—like a combination of added value and mandatory inclusion. Like the Tidewater kids aren’t enough to carry a strip on their own, Spirit needs to sock some thug into the side of the panel.

Overall, mostly successful. In some ways, a more traditional Spirit, but only since the “war’s almost on” Spirit doesn’t have as many entries. Yet.

Briefly (26 September 2026)

Movies

The Book Club (2018) D: Tobias LaMontagne. S: Ray LaMontagne, Sarah Sousa. After accomplished women of a certain age Keaton, Fonda, Steenburgen, and Bergen select 50 SHADES OF GREY for their BOOK CLUB, they start to examine their romantic pursuits (or lack thereof). The script’s entirely platitudes and tropes, but there are a handful of strong moments and occasional honest ones. And an often excellent soundtrack (also of a certain age).

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) D: Bill Holderman. S: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Andy Garcia, Mary Steenburgen. The gang goes to Italy to celebrate a surprise engagement, but also the end of COVID travel restrictions. Like before, the performances and genial (and less overtly vulgar) mood carry the scenic outing. Unlike before, the BOOK doesn’t matter much (it’s seemingly THE ALCHEMIST this time, but they skip discussion other than dropping quotes). Bergen’s particularly funny this time.

Paddington 2 (2017) D: Paul King. S: Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson. Delightful sequel sends PADDINGTON (Whishaw) to prison. He’s been framed for the theft of a valuable pop-up book. While he tries to bond with fellow inmates like Gleeson (who’s fantastic), his family tries to clear his name. And how will new neighbor Hugh Grant figure in? Besides absolutely devouring the scenery, of course. So much sincerely pure heart.

Samson and Delilah (2009) D: Warwick Thornton. S: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, Noreen Robertson Nampijinpa, David Page. Rending tale of two Aboriginal teens who leave their hostile rural community after a series of events. They travel into white Australia, finding abject despair. Writer-director Thornton weaves the narrative through colorism, institutional and direct racism, patriarchy, and so on. He does not, however, let the audience in on the teens’ interiorities, which limits their otherwise excellent performances.

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (2026) D: Steve Cox. S: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Nina Sosanya, Paul Whitehouse, Andy Nyman. After a Farmer-shaped disaster ruins the sheeps’ pumpkin patch a few days before Halloween, SHAUN decides to do a little mad science to make sure Timmy can have a Jack O’Lantern. Dialogue-free but full of banter, including romantic, one-liners, and recurring bits. A delight start to finish, with a phenomenal sense of timing and gorgeous animation.

Spartan (2004) D: David Mamet. S: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Kristen Bell, Mark Pellegrino. Writer-director Mamet tests the limits of euphemistic Mamet-speak as everyone narrates their actions in this taut conspiracy thriller. It’s practically parody, but the filmmaking’s strong and the performances are good and better. The actors run with the theatricality, lead Kilmer chewing with his mouth closed. Some exquisitely executed sequences, with Mamet and crew finding places to excel.

Steel Magnolias (1989) D: Herbert Ross. S: Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah. Elegantly produced–albeit atrociously directed, superficial, and didactic–Southern tearjerker about Field and daughter Roberts coming to terms, but in the background so Field’s friends can steal the show. Maclaine’s hilarious, Dukakis is real good, ditto Roberts. Parton’s very likable as the lynchpin. Hannah can’t overcome the worst part. The script does Field no favors; the direction even fewer.

The Uprising (2026) D: Paul Greengrass. S: Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Katherine Waterston. Mostly middling account of the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt centers on broody farmer Garfield and his experience. Writer-director Greengrass does it in digital video verité, except the whole thing’s a hodgepodge of CGI and bad sound design. In addition to being boring and only barely adequately acted (Garfield’s fine, Bell’s terrible). The quizzically atrocious, tacked-on epilogue stinks it.

Comics

Legion of Super-Heroes (1980) #290 [1982] W: Paul Levitz. A: Frank Giacoia, Larry Mahlstedt. “The Great Darkness Saga” kicks off with unstoppable mystery villains, a foreboding mystery Big Bad, and lots of LEGION drama. There’s bureaucratic drama with elections and treason trials, relationship drama, and then just plain interpersonal dramatics. Writer Levitz and penciller and co-plotter Giffen pack the issue with content; it’s a masterclass in narrative balance. Really nice art, too.

Legion of Super-Heroes Annual (1982) #1 W: Keith Giffen, Paul Levitz. A: Bruce Patterson, Dick Giordano, Keith Giffen. Precisely executed annual (the LEGION’s first, twenty years in) has Brainiac 5’s hubris ruining the life of a sick child–don’t worry, he doesn’t learn from it–and bringing back a fearsome villain who almost kills the LEGION in “real time.” Levitz and Giffen utilize a specific panel layout for most of it, bringing a beautiful, tense pace.

The Spirit (July 20, 1941) “The Jewel of Death”

The Spirit heads to Syria for a Middle Eastern-tinged adventure in Jewel. He’s there to find the only doctor who can cure a disease back in Central City, but the doctor has married a beautiful local woman and doesn’t want to return.

Except this beautiful local woman seems to be a dark figure of legend—any man who marries her dies within twenty-four hours. Perhaps The Jewel of Death has something to do with it.

The wife is personality-free as a potential villain, with some similarities to early Spirit female villains. The wanting ones, unfortunately. She doesn’t get any lines; she doesn’t have any motive; she’s just possibly a murderer. One who operates without motive, too, because the doctor isn’t some black widow achievement. He’s just a drunk who feels bad about himself and doesn’t want to listen to any of Spirit’s pleas.

There’s also a fortune teller on the street who figures in, and a smuggler villain. The fortune teller freaks out when Spirit arrives, only for Spirit to be a jerk to him and the fortune teller to semi-curse him back. It’s a strange way to start, especially given the Spirit’s in white for most of the strip. All the other Western men’s suits will at one time or another become Spirit’s white suit—in the final example indistinguishably so. The ending feels rushed, including Spirit talking about something he (and everyone else in Damascus) sees but Eisner and studio don’t bother to show the reader.

It’s also a strip with lengthy expositional text, with more than enough Orientalism to make it a little weird. Coupled with Spirit making fun of the fortune teller, Jewel’s just got bad vibes. Bad vibes and nowhere near enough story. To contextualize Damascus at the time, it and Syria would’ve just been freed from Vichy occupation. The week before. Given Spirit has been doing international espionage for months now, a mystical outing—because magic’s real in the Middle East, just not Central City—in a war zone is notable. There’s also the overly reverential tone to the Orientalism in the exposition and the disconnect in how Spirit (and some other speaking players) react to the local population.

Jewel is a far less cohesive Spirit than usual. It’s already a strange mix with the setting, the MacGuffin, and tone–and acknowledging the war would make it stranger–but also considering the art oversights, Jewel reads shakier. Eisner doesn’t even know what to do with the Spirit (other than white-suited fisticuffs against shirtless, dehumanized Middle Eastern thugs); very little of the story ends up mattering.

There are some flexes, but the strip’s too slim for its circumstances.

The Spirit (July 13, 1941) “Stolen Squad Cars”

Like last week, Stolen Squad Cars brings back another recurring Spirit character to involve them in war-related intrigue. This strip it’s Squire Samson, a corrupt political operator who’s been a thorn in Commissioner Dolan’s side for ages. Last time the Squire appeared, Spirit outed him as a criminal. Unfortunately, the Women’s Civic Club—and its twenty thousand voting members—didn’t read the Spirit that week; they still think the Squire’s a saint, which will eventually be very important, but not at the start.

The strip begins with Dolan and the police department doing a city-wide blackout drill. It’s the first time Central City’s had to do it and Dolan wants to get it right. He’ll be incredibly upset when ten of his squad cars are, well, Stolen. Except the stolen cop cars aren’t a plot point for a few pages, because Spirit and Ebony have a gadget-testing plot to get Spirit involved with the case early (only to inexplicably ignore it).

Spirit’s figured out a way to create a ghostly glow around himself and have it dissipate as black smoke above, meaning he can walk around in blackout conditions and still be seen. It doesn’t seem like it’d particularly help Spirit see in the dark, since he’s only lighting the area immediately around his body. It scares the crap out of at least one beat cop before Spirit calls it a success and heads home.

On the way, Ebony notices ten police cars driving in a peculiar procession and headed towards a single house, but Spirit’s not interested. He wants to go home. We never find out why, though it’s definitely not to listen to jitterbug music, which Ebony had been enjoying earlier. Spirit’s got no time for that kind of music. The strip’s got a lot of dialogue in its scenes, with Eisner and studio padding it out a little. There’s not even an emphasis on the (eventual) fisticuffs because the strip’s got to get along to the next dialogue-driven beat.

Anyway.

The next morning the newspapers are demanding an explanation for Dolan’s incompetence in losing the cop cars. The mayor’s there, and the Squire’s there. Spirit disguises himself and poses as Dolan’s new secretary, just in time to witness the mayor appointing the Squire as Dolan’s assistant. Corrupt gangster or not, the Squire’s got those twenty thousand votes, and the mayor’s going to make them happy. It does not make Dolan happy.

The Spirit’s got a plan, however; they can make sure the Squire’s exposed as a crook. We get some plan details, but then some are for the plot twists, but they also enable the one fisticuffs scene. The glowing doesn’t come back. And it’s never clear what’s part of Spirit’s plan and what Dolan’s doing on his own. The effect’s the same, it’s just herky-jerky with what receives abundant exposition and what doesn’t.

The finish doesn’t even involve the Spirit, who wraps up one part of the case then vanishes until the last panel for a postscript.

It’s an all right strip; a little rambling. Lots of ideas kicking around all at once; instead of filling them out, Eisner introduces them, maybe even executes on them (the glowing bit), then moves on directly.

The Spirit (July 6, 1941) “Agent 24”

Agent 24 is an espionage thriller; Spirit goes over to occupied France on an impromptu rescue mission—one with many surprises in store.

The strip itself sets a few precedents, including the first direct use of Germans as Spirit fisticuffs villains. A couple strips ago, Eisner and studio did a fable about Hitler finding his humanity and, while the Germans were villains there, Spirit didn’t interact with them the same way. It’s no longer vague European baddies; it’s Nazis with German phonetic dialect dialogue.

Though not too much of it, because the Nazis aren’t the main foil in Spirit’s adventure, which involves two love interests, a newborn babe, and an unexpected sea voyage. The first love interest is Ellen, who’s headed to England to help out in the war effort. She’s going to drive ambulances. Her father disapproves.

The Spirit doesn’t find out about Ellen’s plans (and trip) until he runs into her aboard ship. He’s there after trying to save a good spy from some bad spies. The good spy gives Spirit the Agent 24 rescue mission.

Except Ellen and Spirit can’t just get to England (or occupied France) without incident; they’ve got numerous hurdles to jump over, most done in summary, with one major exception. The strip slows down to emphasize the destruction and loss of life the Nazis are causing. Spirit’s a newspaper comic, read before and after news of real sinking ships, concerns of real sabotage, and so on.

So when Ellen and Spirit get captured, putting Ellen in a spot to engineer their escape (thanks to Spirit’s reluctant but unfailing devotion), it’s also a spot for expanding the scope of the story. Ellen and Spirit—and the other love interest (no spoilers)–exist separate from the war. Ellen and the other love interest, until this strip, have existed entirely separate from one another; now the strip’s able to bring them together with the war. The war supersedes The Spirit, and Eisner concentrates on the human factor.

Of course, these human factors can only exist because of the war. All the secrets, whispers, and lies mix and create this definitely peculiar outing. Spirit’s knocked out for a bunch of it, too. It’d be more of an Ellen strip if it weren’t for the whole Agent 24 angle; actually, no… Ellen gets very involved with the Agent; she’s just sharing space with the other love interest at that point.

And since there’s only so much story for the end of the strip, Eisner shifts gears again to examine how Spirit feels about capable women.

Art-wise, it’s rote. The action’s all well-choreographed, and the panels flow, but the action’s just for the narrative; no exuberance. A few rather nicely composed panels, even if the detail work isn’t there. Also, the humor—limited but present—comes across well.

It’s not exactly a war comic, but it’s closer than Spirit’s gotten before. Maybe a war espionage comic. Something along those lines. Somewhat more notable for its precedents than its content.

Briefly (2 September 2026)

Comics

Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) #1 WA: Jim Starlin. Creator Jim Starlin gives CAPTAIN MARVEL a singular superhero send-off. After his superpowers reveal he has terminal cancer, Marvel determines he’ll go out alone, without any help. His friends and loved ones disagree with that approach. Mostly somber and serious, Starlin finds time for pin-up splash pages and a couple of arguably unnecessary action sequences. Outstanding work.

The Spirit (July 6, 1941) “Agent 24.” WA: Will Eisner. Ellen is heading to England to drive ambulances and Spirit ends up on her ship (on a spy mission). They get in trouble pretty quickly, but the strip’s got even more in store for them. A few firsts as supporting players finally meet and the strip identifies the previously just European villains as Germans. More notable historically than artistically.

The Spirit (July 13, 1941) “Stolen Squad Cars.” WA: Will Eisner. Tightly packed strip combines SPIRIT making gadgets, a recurring villain finally getting punished, and wartime intrigue (the strip takes place after Central City’s first blackout drill). Despite some strangeness (Spirit ignores suspicious activity because otherwise there wouldn’t be a story), it’s an all right strip. Good humor and plentiful ideas–albeit ones Eisner and studio discard immediately after introducing.

The Spirit (July 20, 1941) “The Jewel of Death.” WA: Will Eisner. Banal Orientalist outing has Spirit heading to Syria (Eisner and studio ignore it being in WWII at the time), trying to convince a disgraced doctor to save Central City from an outbreak; he’s got the only cure. A fortune teller’s prophecy, smuggler, and black widow bride figure into it. Far less cohesive than usual, with even the fisticuffs disappointing.

The Spirit (July 27, 1941) “Pink Perkins.” WA: Will Eisner. The Tidewater kids are back (they were unnamed in their previous appearance). This time they get the last name; the mob’s shaking down their dad, so they go to one guy who’ll help them for sure. PINK PERKINS, creator of their favorite tough detective comic strip. Too bad Perkins’s a scaredy-cat. Eventually, Spirit and Dolan appear. Mostly works.

The Spirit (August 3, 1941) “Wanted Dead or Alive: The Spirit.” WA: Will Eisner. From the splash, *Wanted* promises a lot and delivers very little. Spirit is indeed on the run, but the cops never give him any trouble. Not even after kidnapping Dolan and the Mayor. Lots of ideas–Ellen, Nazis, frame-ups, European royalty, crime scene reenactments, torture; none go anywhere. Solid fisticuffs and Spirit’s affable patriotic swagger keep it together.

The Spirit (August 10, 1941) “The Element of Time.” WA: Will Eisner. After an engaging mad scientist cracks it opening, ELEMENT turns into another “crook of the week” strip. Tommy Moran’s on his way to off a snitch when the scientist talks him into a shot of liquid TIME. It leads to stylized potential future sequence where Tommy tries to escape the Spirit. The visuals work, but the narrative’s too thin.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #244 [1978] W: Paul Levitz. A: James Sherman, Joe Giella, Joe Rubinstein, Joe Staton. Levitz’s script rushes the penultimate “Earthwar!” chapter, even skipping the cliffhanger resolve. Obviously he can’t rely on Staton and Giella’s art for much detail, but he’s overcorrecting. Instead of exploring the interesting plot threads, he showcases Legionnaires behaving obnoxiously. There’s still some momentum (multiple reveals in the last few pages gin it back up); hopefully, the finish isn’t embarrassing.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (1977) #245 [1978] W: Paul Levitz. A: Joe Staton, Murphy Anderson. Despite writer Paul Levitz taking a reductive approach to the “Earthwar!” saga–all the intergalactic intrigue gets put aside once previously unseen mastermind Modru shows up, and the finish is just a big fight–it does the job. Levitz strips it down enough for Joe Staton, who does his best composition work here. Murphy Anderson’s inks help. Successful bunk.

Movies

Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don’t Come Back!) (1980) D: Bill Melendez. S: Arrin Skelley, Daniel Anderson, Laura Planting, Bill Melendez, Scott Beach. Episodic PEANUTS feature has Charlie Brown heading to Europe to a mysterious French villa for an unexpected student exchange program. The opening act at home is sluggish, but things pick up in England and for the strange French adventure. Lots of long, solid comedy bits (Charles M. Schulz scripted). Excellent stuff for Marcie, too. The music’s a disaster, however.

Crossing (2024) D: Levan Akin. S: Mzia Arabuli, Luke Kankava, Deniz Dumanlı, Ziya Sudançıkmaz, Bergüzar Mercan. Superb character study (in triplicate) about retired schoolteacher Arabuli traveling to Istanbul to find her missing niece, who the family ran out for being trans. Floundering young man Kankava tags along as de facto guide. Meanwhile, İstanbullu trans woman Dumanlı is about to get her law license. Breathtaking performances, beautiful filmmaking; phenomenal, patient, deliberate work from writer-director Akin.

Dark Mountain (1944) D: William Berke. S: Robert Lowery, Ellen Drew, Regis Toomey, Elisha Cook Jr., Byron Foulger. Gangster Toomey has been keeping wife Drew in the dark, but then they’ve got to go on the lam. She runs off to her forest ranger ex, Lowery, but then Toomey comes along after saying he wouldn’t. Engaging enough B picture, mostly because Toomey’s great, but there are nice moments throughout. Lots of trained animal stuff, including the finale.

Phantom of the Opera (1943) D: Arthur Lubin. S: Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, Claude Rains, Edgar Barrier, Hume Cronyn. Thin Technicolor musical-esque adaptation reveals the PHANTOM’s origin: violinist Rains loses his job, jeopardizing his anonymous patronage of ingenue Foster. The wrong guy makes him angry; there just happens to be acid involved. Mostly a grating love triangle with Foster, baritone Eddy, and cop Barrier. Foster and Eddy have charm; Barrier does not. Reprehensively underuses the gorgeous sets.

Slap Shot (1977) D: George Roy Hill. S: Paul Newman, Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean, Lindsay Crouse, Paul Dooley. Hilarious, vulgar tale of a losing hockey team, a city on the skids, and an over-the-hill player-coach (Newman) who thinks he might have an idea to save it all. Along the way, he bonds with his star player’s miserable wife (Crouse), while pining after his own ex (Warren). Sublime character development, great production; Nancy Dowd scripted.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) D: Destin Daniel Cretton. S: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Bernthal, Sadie Sink. SPIDER-MAN Holland’s latest adventure requires he team up with guest stars Bernthal and Ruffalo, just as best friends who forgot him Zendaya and Batalon return to town. Good performances, fun comedy beats, and solid action make up for the jumbled, non-committal narrative about outsiders. They also punt on giving any resolutions, instead setting up for next time.

The Ugly Stepsister (2025) D: Emilie Blichfeldt. S: Lea Myren, Ane Dahl Torp, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Agnieszka Żulewska, Malte Gårdinger. Beautifully done, heady body horror retelling CINDERELLA from stepsister Myren’s perspective. Elegantly, gruesomely weaves with objectification, patriarchy, and misogyny. Myren’s outstanding, mom Torp and sister Fagerli are real good, too, but Cinderella Næss isn’t. Director Blichfeldt’s script just doesn’t make time to give her–and eventually everyone else–a real character arc. Outstanding production, with standout music and photography.

Briefly (10 August 2026)

Movies

Double Danger (1938) D: Lew Landers. S: Preston Foster, Whitney Bourne, Donald Meek, Cecil Kellaway, Samuel S. Hinds. Inoffensive but mostly charmless B picture about police commissioner Hinds inviting his two prime suspects for “The Gentleman,” a renowned jewel thief, to his suburban estate for the weekend. Foster and Bourne are the suspects and ostensible romantic leads. Simultaneously too busy and not busy enough during its hour-long runtime. The opening social engineering heist is the highlight.

Lost in America (1985) D: Albert Brooks. S: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Michael Greene, Donald Gibb, Garry Marshall. Dissatisfied yuppie couple Brooks and Hagerty decide to leave L.A. in a Winnebago, dropping out like in *Easy Rider* (which they may have misunderstood), only to discover life’s not so easy on the road. Some fantastic, funny sequences and outstanding cameos (Marshall’s best performance ever and Donald Gibb’s a hoot). They just run out of story too early.

Radio Patrol (1932) D: Edward L. Cahn. S: Robert Armstrong, Russell Hopton, Lila Lee, Andy Devine, Sidney Toler. Peculiar mix of early talkie, stock footage extravaganza, toxic masculinity primer, B copaganda picture following the latest (integrated) police academy class in an unnamed city. By the finish, only forty percent survive, done in by dopers and dirty cops. Director Cahn doesn’t believe in second takes; his cast needs them, especially thanks to the mawkish melodrama. Hopton’s exceptionally sturdy.

The Saint In Palm Springs (1941) D: Jack Hively. S: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Paul Guilfoyle, Jonathan Hale, Harry Shannon. Lackluster outing survives thanks to Sanders, who’s actually more bored than everyone else. He’s in PALM SPRINGS to deliver some valuables to Barrie (who’s returning but as a different love interest) and runs into old pal Guilfoyle, now the resort detective. Not predictable only on a technicality. The script requires Sanders to be dim; he obliges, the picture suffers.

Sea Fog (2014) D: Shim Sung-bo. S: Kim Yun-seok, Park Yoo-chun, Han Ye-ri, Lee Hee-jun, Yeom Hye-ran. Portentous “based on a true story” (well, adapted from the play based on the true story) about a desperate fishing boat captain (Kim Yun-seok) who takes a job trafficking people from China. Unfortunately, his boat’s a deathtrap and his crew’s mostly misogynistic sociopaths. Solid production, some strong acting; also, a bewilderingly ill-advised romance subplot and shallow finish.

Waltzes from Vienna (1934) D: Alfred Hitchcock. S: Edmund Gwenn, Esmond Knight, Jessie Matthews, Fay Compton, Charles Heslop. Histrionically acted, stagy play adaptation about Johan Strauss II (Knight) getting the chance to be his own composer thanks to rich lady Compton liking the cut of his jib, musically and physically. Shame she’s got a husband (Vosper), and he’s got a girlfriend (Matthews). Plus angry dad Gwenn figures in. Boring, though director Hitchcock does try to stay amused.

Comics

Watson’s Sketchbook, Vol. 2 (2025) OGN WA: Lee Knox Ostertag. Ostertag covers a lot in Volume 2, concluding with the Reichenbach Falls affair, but it’s a windy road to that point. Holmes and Watson get their tenderest moments–and, as Ostertag observed previously, all reads naturally. It’s more of a comic this time around, too, less sketching, more fully formed narrative. With fantastic characterizations and lovely relationships. Fantastic work.

Briefly (27 July 2026)

Movies

Attack Force Z (1982) D: Tim Burstall. S: Mel Gibson, John Phillip Law, Sam Neill, Ko Chun-Hsiung, Sylvia Chang. Bewildering and boring WWII picture about elite Aussie ATTACK FORCE Z who are sent in to a Chinese island, occupied by the Japanese, to rescue mysterious plane crash survivors. Everything goes wrong because the Z team isn’t very elite when not shooting people in the back. Way too much involves psychopath Law (who’s comically bad) romancing seeming teenager Chang.

Enigma (1982) D: Jeannot Szwarc. S: Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, Sam Neill, Kevin McNally, Derek Jacobi. Boring, entirely unsuccessful spy “thriller” about Russian-American Soviet defector and master of disguise Sheen doing one more job for the CIA. He’s got to get the Soviet version of the ENIGMA decoder from East Berlin. There’s a cop (Jacobi) and a KGB wunderkind (Neill) after him. Fossey’s the love interest. Szwarc’s direction disappoints. Also, no accents on anyone.

The In-Laws (1979) D: Arthur Hiller. S: Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, James Hong, Ed Begley Jr.. Superb buddy comedy about soon-to-be in-laws Falk and Arkin. It’s days before their kids get married, and they’ve only just met. Turns out Falk’s a CIA agent who needs mild-mannered dentist Arkin to do a little job for him. It becomes increasingly complicated, culminating in Libertini’s peerless appearance. Great direction from Hiller, Andrew Bergman script.

Little Evil (2017) D: Eli Craig. S: Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Owen Atlas, Clancy Brown, Sally Field. Often quite funny (forty years removed) OMEN homage about new step-dad Scott finding out kid Atlas is the Antichrist. For real. Probably. Scott’s willing to try thanks to wife Lilly. Great support from Everett (who runs the movie start to finish) and Brown; Scott’s solid in the lead, Atlas is fine, Lilly’s lacking. Rather successful “adult” kids comedy.

Comics

Babs (2024) TPB W: Garth Ennis. A: Jacen Burrows. Excellent “light” comedy from Ennis and Burrows about barbarian warrior BABS, a self-aware badass, and the time she had to fight a bunch of murderous con artists masquerading as racist religious zealots. Ennis makes one wry observation after another about the genre, while also doing a lot of commentary about twenty-first-century male “culture.” Fun, good read.

Hulk Grand Design: Madness (2022) #1 WA: Jim Rugg. Slightly better issue has more detail–except when creator Rugg skips five years here and there–but at least the storyline recaps are better. Until they’re not. There’s almost nothing to it in the end, with thin recaps of the biggest story arcs. Hulk deserved another issue (at least) except there’s no reason to think it’s be any good.

Hulk Grand Design: Monster (2022) #1 WA: Jim Rugg. The Hulk gets his GRAND DESIGN but creator Rugg’s more interested in the visual presentation than any kind of narrative. There’s very little detail in the recaps, with villains dying and resurrecting from panel-to-panel, and no personality for Banner at all. There’s some nice art and some decent humor, but it’s all distressingly thin. Rugg like HULK?