The Spirit #13

the-spirit-13-coverThe three-part storyline featuring “The Professor” (a villain who uses toys, robots, and automotons to kill – think the Toyman only creepier) concludes. Once again it’s Ellen Dolan who steps up to save the The Spirit by destroying a robot created in her likeness.

This issue has all kinds of creepy sexual undertones (as to how the Professor planned to use this copy of Ellen Dolan), but it’s also balanced with tension, mystery, and fun which makes sure it never becomes too unseemly.

Although the epilogue makes sure we’ll never see the character of the Professor again, which I’m a little sad about, it’s the right choice. Writer David Hine foreshadowed the tragic end of the character over the course of the last couple of issues and presents us with a moral to the story: Never scorn a woman, even a robotic one.

The Professor may have been defeated, but the man who hired him, New York gang boss Shonder Zeev, is still out there. We’ll have to see how this larger storyline plays out over the next few issues. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]