Overview: Spirit World #6 closes out the story of getting Cassandra Cain back to the living world. This issue also asks some thought-provoking questions about life and legacy.
Title: Spirit World Issue 6, The Promise of Eternity
Writer: Alyssa Wong
Artist: Haining
Color Artist: Sebastian Cheng
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Cover Artist: Haining & Sebastian Cheng
Variant Cover Artists: Yoshi Yoshitani, Andrea Shea & Jen Bartel
Release Date: October 31, 2023
Note: This Comic Book Review Contains Spoilers
We finally see the backstory of the antagonist of this run. The demon ghost was an artist in the living world by the name of Wan Yujing. She was a poet, and she thought that she could obtain immortality through her verses. She died and was admitted to the spirit world. The only hope was reincarnation, and that is what our poet has been waiting for. At first she was mourned, and the people submitted offerings. After a while, she was all but forgotten.
Now we see this demon ghost facing off with Xanthe Zhou, John Constantine, Cassandra Cain, and the Gilded General. However, they are not all on the same side. In order to defeat the demon, he moves to kill the other three. Xanthe shields them from his attacks. Cass, however, is focused on the other adversary.
The goal of Wan Yujing is simple. She wants to return to the living world, and she believes that the life essences of Xanthe and the others will give her that power. The Jade Court is watching and recounting that this is impossible without them.
Constantine and Xanthe attack the General while Cass takes the fight to Yujing. Yujing goes to absorb Cass while Xanthe and Constantine are beaten back by Gilded General. Xanthe is offered a chance to save everyone if they only offer a pledge of fealty to the Jade Court. Xanthe declines, and Cass breaks free from Yujing. Xanthe is able to hold the General at bay with what appears to be verdant sorceress magic. Xanthe and Constantine, along with a freed Cass, fight Yujing.
Xanthe switches tactics. They ask Yujing her name, and they are able to convince Yujing that with all the soul-absorbing she is doing, she is losing touch with who she really is. Xanthe convinces Yujing to let the souls go.
The Jade Court takes this chance to attack Yujing themselves. Xanthe stands up to them and actually agrees to join the Jade Court themself. Xanthe takes Yujing home, and Constantine and Cass both return to the living world.
Yoshi Yoshitani variant cover for Spirit World #6
There really is not anything different about the art in Spirit World #6 compared to prior issues. With the use of colors and otherworldly line-work, the mystical qualities of the characters and the location are on full display. Being the only non-magical character in this story, Cass does stand out, but she, too, is given a magical look with her flowing costume as compared to her usual design.
The action is interesting, but this story actually shines in the theme; that theme being legacy after death. It is common for various aspects of the deceased to be forgotten in time, but this story takes it one step further. Here, we see the living world forgetting Wan Yujing, but we also see Yujing forgetting herself as well. She has absorbed so many souls that she has a hard time remembering who she is. When Xanthe convinces her to release the captive souls, we see Yujing find herself, and that is visually depicted in her design.
She is shown as human for the first time outside of the flashback we see in the beginning of this issue. As annoying as it was to read this character in the early issues, it is fitting to put this backstory in this issue where the theme is finally revealed.
This is an interesting choice, but in my opinion, it is a risky one. The creators are hoping that the action and magic would capture the readers, so they would stick around for the point of the story. With this choice, I think it would have been better if this story was released as a graphic novel from the beginning. In that way, I might not be considered a comic purist, but I find the art to be more compelling in a collected format even though there are disadvantages to that format as well.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advanced copy of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by pre-ordering this issue digitally on Comixology through Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
