Post-modern Riff on The Phantom of the Opera

Merging darkness and heroics, the Spirit of the Shadows is about to step into the spotlight. Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera, cartoonist Nick Cagnetti and writer Daniel Ziegler have put that old Phantom through quite a blender. Here’s the thing. The original character is a clear-cut monster, especially after being visualized by Lon Chaney. Forget Andrew Lloyd Weber’s morally grey narrative.

The only way to make this idea into something close to heroic is… ignore it. That looks like what the two creators have done. Their “Spirit” is Erik Leroux, a brilliant and dead musician atoning for the wrongs he committed in life. The trick being he has only hazy memories of that life. That’s my take from the press release, and luckily I’d already ordered this at House of Secrets sight unseen. The cover alone sold it to me.

Because I wasn’t prepared for how bright and shiny this would look — and now I’m more eager to read it. Give me this kind of remix. Don’t drop a chandelier. Solve a mystery and give me fun. We’ll be getting the Skybound/Universal Monsters take on The Phantom of the Opera in a few months, and though I’m sure it will be good, this gives me a vibe of great.

From Oni Press:

OUTRAGEOUSLY OTHERWORLDLY AND BACK FROM THE GRAVE WITH A SCORE TO SETTLE! Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, invites readers into a spectacularly terrifying new vision of the underworld in this extended excerpt from SPIRIT OF THE SHADOWS #1, the arresting new limited series from the phantasmagorical minds of breakout cartoonist Nick Cagnetti (Pink Lemonade, XINO) and Daniel Ziegler (Elodie). Arriving in comic shops on January 28th, SPIRIT OF THE SHADOWS #1 features the first full-length artwork by Nick Cagnetti since his extraordinary debut with 2022’s PINK LEMONADE.

“I guarantee you’re not going to find another comic on the stands right now quite like this one—from the story to the art, my friend Daniel and I really tried to create something cohesive and evocative in the way that only this medium can provide,” said co-writer and cartoonist Nick Cagnetti. “To achieve that, I put a lot of care into differentiating styles and techniques for each of the settings the story goes to make them each feel distinct. You’re swept up in this dreamlike haze alongside the main character, and you go through all the emotions and revelations alongside him. The end result should really make for a rewarding experience you can reread and look at completely differently the next time, but I’m envious for readers to experience that ride for the first time here soon!”

Once, Erik Leroux was a mortal musician, selflessly devoted to his music and his true love, Katrina . . . until his sudden death plunged his soul into the carnival-like torments of the Spirit World beyond our own. Now, reborn as a phantom with fleeting memories of his life among the living, and forever cursed to bear the arcane costume his corpse wore to the grave, Erik will claw his way back from the infernal planes to uncover the mysteries of his own life . . . and avenge the dark sins that transformed him into the SPIRIT OF THE SHADOWS!

“Introducing an entirely new world can be one of the most daunting tasks as a writer, so what better way to immerse the reader than to immediately place them in the shoes of the protagonist?” said co-writer Daniel Ziegler. “As Erik pieces together the forgotten fragments of his life, readers will also embark on that same journey of discovery and revelation, and may find themselves facing more than one moral quandary in the process. This extended preview gives you a taste of the various worlds and varying styles that Nick and I use throughout the series to tell this wholly unique parallel narrative of love, loss, and revenge that we couldn’t be more proud of.”

The artistically dazzling and emotionally gut-wrenching new addition to the canon of creator-owned superheroes rises into comic shops everywhere on January 28th, 2026, featuring covers by Nick Cagnetti (Pink Lemonade), David Lafuente (Ultimate Spider-Man), Karl Kerschl (Gotham Academy), and Matt Lesniewski (Faceless & The Family). Don’t miss this day-glo hybrid of Jack Kirby’s THE DEMON, Mike Allred’s MADMAN, and Todd McFarlane’s SPAWN — with an eye-catching style and gripping narrative hook that’ll keep you searching the endless underworld for the next page of the story…

SPIRIT OF THE SHADOWS #1 (of 5)
WRITTEN BY NICK CAGNETTI & DANIEL ZIEGLER
ART BY NICK CAGNETTI
COVER A BY NICK CAGNETTI
COVER B BY DAVID LAFUENTE
COVER C BY KARL KERSCHL
COVER D BY MATT LESNIEWSKI
FULL ART VARIANT (1:10) BY NICK CAGNETTI
B&W VARIANT (1:20) BY MATT LESNIEWSKI
FULL ART VARIANT (1:50) BY KARL KERSCHL
ON SALE JANUARY 28, 2026 | $4.99 | 32 PGS | FC
IOD: 11/29/25
FOC: 1/5/26