Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: alyssa wong, dc comics, Haining, jack kirby, Janice Chiang, Jessica Chen, Sebastian Cheng, spirit world

DC Comics To Revive Jack Kirby's Spirit World For 2023

One upon a time, DC Comics cancelled Jack Kirby's Spirit World before the second isssue could be published. Fifty-two years later, they are having another go.

Published Sun, 12 Feb 2023 10:57:14 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Spirit World was a 1971 anthology comic book magazine created by Jack Kirby that DC Comics cancelled after its first issue, and the DC Comics reprint ten years ago included work that had been meant for Spirit World #2. Former Kirby assistant and Kirby scholar Mark Evanier wrote in that collection, "Even if you were buying comics back then, you might not have seen Spirit World #1. Neither Steve [Sherman] nor I could find a copy at any newsstand. Then again, we did live in the tiny, insignificant town of Los Angeles, California." DC Comics seemed to publish it as a favour to Jack, but distribution was low with bundles left in warehouses, the comic was cancelled before sales came in and Spirit World was published under the name of Hampshire Distributors rather than DC Comics.

The first issue told stories of the housewife who could foresee the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a house haunted by the ghost of an escaped slave, and a woman haunted by past lives, all framed by parapsychology.

Now in 2023, fity years later, DC Comics will be bringing back Spirit World with a new Spirit World No. 1 – and maybe more to follow. Jack Kirby may no longer be with us, but expect a story of Cassandra Cain trapped in a mystical world.

It begins with a story about a new character, Xianthe or The Envoy, by Alyssa Wong, Haining, Sebastian Cheng, Janice Chiang and Jessica Chen, in this week's Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate, labelled a "Spirit World" story and promising a Spirit World No. 1 to follow. Could it still be from Hampshire Distributors?

LAZARUS PLANET DARK FATE #1 (ONE SHOT) CVR D HAINING CARD STOCK VAR
(W) Various (A) Various (CA) Haining
NEW THREATS WILL RISE! Written by Tim Seeley, Joshua Williamson, Dennis Culver, A.L. Kaplan, and Alyssa Wong Art by Baldemar Rivas, Chris Burnham, A.L. Kaplan, and Haining When the Lazarus storm touches down, people from every walk of life stand to be affected. People who are kind, people who are good…and people who are evil. This epic issue will spotlight the many disastrous new villains created by the Lazarus event and the heroes who stand ready to stop them from doing harm to others! What sinister threat brings a new chapter to the Doom Patrol saga? Can a new hero channel the inexorable Still Force energy to fend off evil? What lurks in the corners of the Spirit World for new character Xanthe? And what early clue to the new direction in Arkham Tower will spell disaster for Gotham City?
Retail: $5.99 In-Store Date: 02/14/2023

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