"This is the most daunting, challenging, terrifying thing I have ever done in my career," said Uslan of taking the reins on DC's "The Spirit" series -- no throwaway remark, given Uslan's role as producer of all the various Batman movies (as well as many other comics-inspired films of the last few decades) and his long list of comics writing credits.

"To me, The Spirit is the greatest creative work ever to come out of the comic book industry," Uslan told MTV News. (Read on for more from Uslan and DeSanto on their three-part story arc in "The Spirit.")

According to DeSanto, writing on their "Spirit" comic book story kicked off just after shooting had ended on "The Spirit" movie -- so the scope of Eisner's universe remained very much on their minds.

"Will had never done a backstory for some of his femme fatales," explained DeSanto. "There were always little hints or little references, but they never explored the origins of these three femme fatales in particular."

This led to the three female foils -- Plaster of Paris, Lorelei Rox and Silken Floss -- becoming the focus of their story arc.

"Rather than conflict with what [Eisner] had written, we were able to expand upon what he had written and created, and use some characters that he did not use very much," said Uslan. "For instance, Plaster of Paris was only used once in 1947. In that story it's hinted at that The Spirit and Plaster of Paris had some past, and we had an opportunity to explore what Eisner only hinted at."

As for the songstress Lorelei Rox, Uslan said her role in the story serves as a sequel to her lone appearance in an Eisner story -- one in which she appears to die near the end of the story, only to be revealed as not-quite-dead in the final panel. Silken Floss, who is the focus of the first of the three issues in their arc, was only used three times over the run of "The Spirit," according to Uslan, and was never given a proper origin... until now.

"What we've done is constructed a three-issue story arc that's a great jumping-on point for The Spirit," said Uslan. "Each one is a standalone story, but it's woven together so that if you read the three issues you'll get a lot more out of it and the characters will have so much more texture and layering."

"Will was also not afraid of dropping in a little social commentary along the way," added Uslan, "and we tried to incorporate a little of that, taking up a different issue or pet peeve in each of the adventures."

However, DeSanto acknowledged that one of the greatest obstacles for the live-action version of the "The Spirit" could indeed be an obstacle for newcomers to the print adventures of Eisner's hero. But in recognizing that dilemma, the duo hope that their story will make it less troublesome for future "Spirit" stories -- and the people crafting them.

"The problem with 'The Spirit' as a comic is that no one has a modern context for it like they do with Batman or Superman," reasoned DeSanto. "The people who are going to read this run, what percentage of them grew up with The Spirit? Very few. so, you want to do something that pays homage and is respectful and continues that legacy, but has its arms wide open for a modern audience."

While the pair's arc will introduce some new elements to the canon of Eisner's beloved hero, the writing team assured fans that the hallmarks of Spirit stories will continue to be found within the pages of their run.

"When you're dealing with The Spirit you have to have trademarks like the logo, him getting the crap beat of him, him being in tongue-in-cheek situations, him involved with some of the most interesting rogues gallery of femme fatales," said Uslan. "The Spirit humor has to be there. The character traits have to be there."

"The Spirit" # 26 hits shelves Wednesday, Feb. 11, featuring a story by Michael Uslan and F.J. DeSanto, interior art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, and a cover by Brian Bolland. The cover image is posted below.

What do you think of the pair's plans for "The Spirit"? Interested in the origins of Eisner's femme fatales? Sound off!