The Spirit has had a wider narrative scope as of late, but never before have Eisner and studio attempted anything like S.S. Raven. It’s a phenomenally weird strip, all about a killer Navy boat, with an ornery, lovable sea captain narrating the tale from a dock. The story focuses on the ship’s murderous nature, with the captain—Ferguson—laying on the purple prose, always leaving just enough room to think about the ship’s body count without the assigned agency.

From that point of view, the Raven’s been in some extraordinarily unlucky circumstances–being captained by a series of failures couldn’t have helped. From Ferguson’s narrative stance, however, they weren’t so much failures but the Raven’s annual victim. All of the ship’s captains, whether in the ship’s U.S. Navy days, its subsequent time in an unnamed South American country’s navy, and—well, no spoilers—but all of the captains do die within a year of taking command. Very unlucky circumstances. But a murderous, petty, vengeful boat?

Then, around the fifth page, Ferguson reminds the readers they’re reading The Spirit. Spirit is chasing the bad guys onto their getaway boat, which just happens to be the Raven, now in the ownership of a master criminal. Until this point, the strip’s been either Ferguson telling scary stories from the dock or the Raven’s murderous impulses and impacts summarized in long shots. Now, we get intense fisticuffs onboard, an autoplane sequence for (an otherwise off-page) Ebony, some derring-do from Spirit, and a final punchline. The fisticuffs sequence is excellent, leading into Spirit’s realization of the ship’s malevolent nature (according to Ferguson, anyway; it could just be Spirit pays attention), which resolves with moody suspense, before going into high-flying action, which also has a bit of a tone shift finish. It’s a constantly moving, constantly evolving action strip. It’s glorious.

And that glorious visual pace and the ever-building momentum enable the strip’s particular narrative device to succeed. If S.S. Raven were Ferguson—jovially and affably–telling the story without the visuals being dynamite, the strip simply wouldn’t work. What then stands out is the assuredness of Eisner and studio’s work here. It’s a relatively big swing for the strip, but there’s never a moment where it isn’t connecting. If it were a backdoor pilot for a “haunted ships of the Navy” strip, I can’t imagine that strip not getting the green light. It’s great big boat action, then it’s great Spirit action, and so on.

In addition to being outstanding, Raven’s also in that still small group of strips where Spirit doesn’t show until page five. The strip’s getting a lot more comfortable with the broader narrative scope, but it still hasn’t let Spirit go entirely. And, if this strip’s any indication, Eisner’s going to make sure the Spirit gets a strong set piece, but the strip’s on an established trajectory, now. The Spirit might not always have to be about the Spirit.

Croaky‘s tale is Spirit at its most didactic: crime does not pay. It’s also the strip stretching to center other characters, in this case Croaky and his best gal, Poison Mag. The Perfect Crime title is a tad misleading; Croaky’s crime is robbing some guy of a hundred thousand dollars and killing the poor sap. More appropriate would be Perfect Getaway, but that one spoils a bit.

Because the crime is not perfect–the dying man tells Croaky the Spirit will avenge his death, cursing Croaky thanks to the dying words curse. Mag’s well-aware of the dying words curse, too, so it must be true.

The Spirit, however, will never be aware of the curse. It’s not even clear he ever knows he’s chasing Croaky Andrews for the murder. He’s chasing the bad guy, which leads to a solid autoplane action sequence (Ebony pilots, Spirit waterskis), but it’s nothing personal. Except for how bad Spirit feels about Croaky escaping.

So now let’s spoil a bit about Croaky’s Getaway, which involves a five-year plan: Croaky has purchased a Caribbean island and outfitted it with automatic machine guns, an elaborate security system with booby traps—the whole bit–and built a submarine capable of escaping a flying car.

It’s incredibly impressive, so it’s strange Croaky’s kind of a dope. It’s also weird he was waiting until this particular crime to cut out. Perhaps there’s something in the absent first act, which Eisner and studio wisely avoid.

Instead, we’re straight into the action, then the chase and escape. There are great visuals of Croaky and Mag getting out of Central City, but their adventures in a green hell are much more striking. While still keeping the Spirit involved (mostly immaterially), Crime‘s all about Croaky and Mag suffering for their sins — the strip’s relentless and vicious in its punishment. Crime doesn’t pay, after all, even if the Spirit’s losing sleep over things not his fault.

It’s a moody, tough strip. The Spirit’s bouts of self-depreciation over his failings–to an unusually silent Commissioner Dolan–succeed in softening some of the despair, but at a significant cost. Perfect Crime introduces this previously unknown practice of the Central City citizenry—siccing the Spirit on their killers. A “vengeful” Spirit just seems out of character, but so does the whiny one they went with.

Crime‘s a really good strip. Heavy-handedness included. Additionally, the strip’s a very graphically violent and visually disturbing tragedy. It’s practically a horror comic. And the characters earn their keep and the portent of the narrative–Croaky for his accomplished planning, and Mag for her personal tragedies.

Of course, no answer to the greatest question–what does Croaky need with a hundred grand in cash when living in self-sustaining luxury exile?

They are a superstitious, cowardly lot, I suppose… but, only the Spirit knows.

If you want to explore the peculiarities of Spirit’s characterization and visualization of Ebony White, Introducing Scarlett Brown is probably the most fodder the strip’s seen to date.

Ebony, of course, is the Spirit’s only confidant, best friend, assistant investigator, and occasional savior. Ebony’s single-handedly saved Spirit’s bacon at least two times, probably three. Eisner and studio just happen to draw him Sambo-style and write his dialogue like it’s Amos ‘n’ Andy. Save his second (or third) strip, Ebony has been the only Black character in The Spirit. And that other time it was about the lodge hall (in a visual Amos ’n’ Andy style).

As the book says, yikes on bikes.

This strip introduces Ebony’s love interest, Scarlett, a Black girl who’s dressed like she’s a tween. Spirit met Ebony when Ebony was a cabbie. Now, the strip took place in New York City at that time, and, at that time in 1940, the driving age was eighteen in New York City–sixteen or seventeen with a learner’s permit. Even assuming Ebony’s fourteen…

Not great stuff. Also not great is Scarlett and Ebony’s rival for her affections, the imposingly named Throckmorton, who is also in Sampo style. But then, inexplicably and welcome, Mr. Brown is, you know, just a guy. Like, he’s not the best rendered character in his one medium shot before he’s narrating a flashback, but he’s just a Black dad guy. It’s fine.

Also, his dialogue is fine, no minstrel dialect. And racism doesn’t appear to exist in The Spirit. The strip has been racist—Black people, Mexican people—but none of the characters have ever exhibited any prejudice towards those characters. The creatives are mocking them for the readership.

And that part is actually the worst. Maybe. Because other than the racist caricature and dialect, Ebony’s a great character. As long as he’s twelve because he wins Scarlett in a “game o’ marbles.” Spirit’s surprised about the marble thing—after observing his lovestruck friend with sincere happiness–which also has some vibes. Though without the visuals, the strip would be a lot closer to it being tweenage folly.

Post acquisition, Ebony goes to see Scarlett and finds Throckmorton already there. Mr. Brown wants to meet both boys (the marbles go unmentioned). Except it turns out Scarlett really wants Ebony to talk to her dad about work stuff: spies have been snooping at his munitions factory. And Ebony’s been over-hyping himself—he’s told Scarlett and Throckmorton he’s the great detective and Spirit’s his assistant.

So while Throckmorton takes Scarlett for an ice cream, Ebony gets the lowdown on the case. It’s simple enough work, especially for the Spirit, but Spirit decides to make Ebony do all the work himself because of the lying.

Until things get violent, Ebony’s doing a great job on his solo mission (not his first; he’s saved the day in multiple strips). He investigates the crime scene, finds additional clues, pursues those leads; he’s got a moral purpose (though his courage is from Scarlett’s renewed affection at his acceptance of the case). It’s a great strip for Ebony.

Despite the visuals and dialect. The dialogue’s probably great if cleaned up. It’s infuriating.

Spirit maintains a presence, which works out (and also lends to the niceness). There are some excellent panels, if not full pages. Some fine action beats. Some of them even manage to be racist in how they visualize Ebony fighting in a darkened room. If it weren’t being racist, it’d be a fine strip.

Swell.

But then it’s even worse when you remember Spirit’s a weekly newspaper strip. And it’s so messed up to make a role model character into a racist insult directed at the audience the character should be representing.

So long as when the strip retconned from New York City to Central City, Ebony de-aged to twelve or so. Because if he didn’t, it’s an even bigger layer of f**ked up.

The title gives everything away in this strip: the Central City underworld teams up (principally three gangsters) and successfully captures the Spirit. Not a particularly difficult feat, it turns out. They give Spirit some bad intel, and he walks right into a trap. Art-wise, it’s a beautiful sequence, lots of inky blacks and a fantastic establishing shot of the ominous waterfront. Glorious stuff.

Narratively? Well, given it happens on the second page of the story, another shoe drop seems inevitable. Especially once the gangsters reveal they’re waiting until every criminal in Central City who wants to stop by and see the captured Spirit before they kill him off. They don’t even think to unmask him.

Now, Spirit will eventually take advantage of the delay, but the story focuses on his friends deciding what to do about his capture. The gangsters don’t have a complicated communication system — they just have crooks telling other crooks they’ve grabbed Spirit and to head over for one last look. So the cops hear about it, too, with Commissioner Dolan unable to intercede because the Spirit’s apparently still considered a violent criminal.

I could’ve sworn he was at least not wanted for murder anymore (and has made more friends on the police force than just Dolan). But, no, the cops are thrilled they’ll be rid of the Spirit, and things can go back to them not getting shown up by Spirit solving the cases they ignore. Dolan’s staff sure seems to make his job even more miserable.

Dolan then heads home to find Ellen in tears, Ebony just having informed her about Spirit’s capture and impending execution. She pleads with her father to help; he explains the official position of the Central City Police Department is they’re going to let wanted criminals murder internationally beloved (and wartime government contractor) Spirit.

Ebony hadn’t just been visiting for Ellen’s emotional support; he assumed he and Dolan were going to save the day together. With Dolan out of the picture, Ebony takes it upon himself to get the job done.

Meanwhile, Spirit’s doing social engineering to save himself. Central City’s criminal types aren’t too bright.

It’s an okay enough strip, though, without any narrative weight. Ebony’s rescue attempt is good—and possibly the most inventive story element (Ebony wouldn’t have fallen for a fake tip)—but it’s resolved in a couple of pages, even though it could’ve been the whole thing. Because, instead, Eisner lightens the mood some more. Unfortunately, it’s not straight comedy, which would’ve helped.

The art’s great–good fight scenes (even when Spirit inexplicably disappears from a panel)–and fine (brief) talking heads. The story’s just a little uneven.

The Dolans—both Commissioner and Ellen—are back this strip after a few weeks off. The Commissioner’s sick of Ellen just going to teas or dances; it’s high time she settles down with a husband or gets herself a job. Ellen’s already ahead of Dolan (a theme this strip)—she’s got a new job as a boxer’s manager. She’s found a poet palooka named Winthrop Boombershlag (because Eisner was in a fun mood). The Commissioner doesn’t approve but is interrupted by the Spirit’s call.

Spirit’s calling to report information about a plot to kill Winthrop Boombershlag in the ring. The reader already knows about it because the opening scene features the bad guys (including the evil scientist, who appears to be a racial caricature of some kind, but they lost their nerve to put the finishing touches on). Then the reader knows about the danger in the second scene with Ellen and the Commissioner, and goes into the Spirit’s briefing scene knowing more than anyone. Except Ebony, who’s overheard the bad guys (presumably some time after the opening scene).

Commissioner Dolan’s not interested—and Ebony doesn’t have information about the other boxer, though the reader knows the mad scientist has deadened all Dipsy Dooble’s nerves to make him a more lethal opponent–so it’s a good thing Spirit pisses off Winthrop. Without the delightful page of Winthrop’s feats of strength and their eventual payoff, Commissioner Dolan may never have listened to Spirit’s plan, which would have narrative repercussions.

The resolution’s a lot of fun, with Eisner and studio keeping things moving once we’re in the ring, but Ellen and Spirit don’t get to catch up at all. It’s an interesting narrative actuality of the comic strip—sometimes you’ve got characters to use without much reason to use them, so they fit another function. Here, it’s Ellen’s boxing manager career, which gets no resolution. Her character development had veered towards romance with Spirit, but she’s all business—especially since her star (and only) client Winthrop Boombershlag is very protective.

The result’s a good strip, but not one with anything particularly standout. They’ve never really done a character like Winthrop as comic relief, and it’s interesting to see Eisner lean heavier on comedy beats. The finale’s got some excellent visuals, the fights have some excellent visuals. It’s all very well-executed comics.

Commissioner Dolan and the Spirit doing bickering bits, however, need a little more work. They get into it over Ebony’s reliability as a witness, and it gets personal for both of them rather quickly. It resolves on a comedy beat, and they do get to bond a little at the very end, but the strip’s seemingly satisfied with contriving whatever type of friendship they need (or don’t need) for the plot.

Satin is an incredible strip. It’s a mostly action strip, with three master thieves planning a team-up heist in Central City. They’re all displaced from Europe: Cedric’s British, Anton’s French, and Satin’s… Satin. They’ve also got an American sidekick monikered “Asphalt,” who doesn’t figure in much except during the setup.

The strip opens with men all waiting for Satin to arrive; she shows up with a bullet wound. They all get excited watching her dig it out before getting down to the heist planning.

The main action takes place at a ball; the thieves are going to do a switch on a famous medal, only the Spirit’s wise to them. He interrupts Satin dropping off the goods, and they get into a multi-page fight scene. By the second page, it’s clear they’re both enjoying it, which is a vibe from the weekly newspaper comic strip for the whole family. To be clear–Introducing Silk Satin is neither sexy nor horny, but Spirit and Satin clearly think rolling around with one another is sexy. And Eisner knows how to visualize it, which is accomplished, albeit arguably unnecessary. Though without Spirit’s pent-up frustration at loving to wrestle with the lady criminal but knowing it’s wrong, there’s not much to the strip.

The setup seems another of The Spirit’s WWII-aware but not directly referenced strips, but once the rolling around starts, it’s all about flexed muscles, exposed flesh, and unexpected lust. Spirit and Satin’s first rumble seemingly leaves him addled and vulnerable, which she exploits, only to discover she too is unable to dismiss her feelings.

It’s the most human Spirit’s been in ages, partially because he’s clearly losing control.

Art’s great, the comic bits are awesome—their tussle gets interrupted, leading to a turning point but also a good comedic beat amid the action—and the other thieves are always mugging out at the reader to emphasize the humorous potential in one moment or another. Again, it’s accomplished, but it’s accomplished at being about the good guy and the bad girl getting horny for each other.

And it’s infinitely impressive how well Eisner and studio pull it off.

Ebony pops in for the last few panels to give the story a postscript but also wonder why Spirit’s not in a friendly mood. Will Satin return? Perhaps… and it’ll be interesting to see if Eisner’s able to find a narrative more “Sunday Funnies” than late-night cable.

Magnificent comics.

Spirit and Ebony are on the job for the G-men, trying to crack a spy ring planning on destroying munitions factories with “robot planes.” The robot planes, as the Spirit will later explain, are really aerial torpedoes. The villains launch them from Europe with such precision, they don’t need adjustment until they near their target, when a light signal can aim them.

And, so, when it comes time for the Spirit to counter these intercontinental missiles, he will utilize Toy Planes. And Eisner and studio get away with any potential silliness because the art is moody and gorgeous. Turns out the Eisner studio’s really good at dramatic silhouettes and vehicles. Even the fisticuffs are outstanding. Right up until the last page, Planes is a recent art standout. It’s still a recent art standout with the poorly conceived finish, where Spirit has to make his report; that scene just doesn’t deliver narratively or visually.

Not to mention portraying the G-men as flakes, which is a tad odd for such an otherwise jingoist strip (and recurring plot line). Eisner’s still staying coy about the home nation of the baddies, with one named Hogh—is it supposed to be Danish because Denmark was occupied, or is Hogh just a European name?

Still, the strip is getting much bolder about the Nazi threat. These villains aren’t fifth columnists; they’re actual Nazis who fly over in their superior, silent airplanes. They’re planning an invasion. It’s approximately nine months before Pearl Harbor, and the Nazis have flying torpedo planes and silent running. Despite their disbelief at the autoplane, they’ve got better technology, and it might be enough to beat us.

While it’s an action strip, with beautiful art, fantastic action, and the Spirit unveiling his gliding suit, it’s also a comic strip in newspapers telling readers to be on the lookout. Report those potential Nazi invaders. So, you know, it’s like a public service announcement, really.

But they’re still not saying Germany.

Ebony’s around almost the entire strip, helping capture the bad guys, and he’s got a bunch during the toy plane sequence. He’s the Greek chorus for some of the toy vs. robot plane battle, which would be fantastic if not for the (racist) caricaturing. With the caricature… well, there’s a lot going on with Spirit this strip. Lot to think about, lot to enjoy, lot to appreciate, some to question, some to regret.

Well, right up until the end, when it doesn’t go anywhere. Not with the art, not with the alarm-raising, not with anything. Dolan’s been absent before, but his absence has perhaps never been felt more greatly than on this last page. Still a great strip, just got that off finish.

Argos is a singular Spirit strip. Not because of its formal artistic qualities, which are strong in places, particularly in the establishing shots, and altogether perfectly fine. Rather, its content and connotations. The strip’s about a regular Joe who encounters a space alien and can’t get anyone to believe him. Eventually, this fellow—Sam Smith—will enlist the Spirit’s aid. And the Spirit’s not sure whether or not to believe him, because even though they’re hunting giant robot monsters in the cemetery, turns out Spirit’s got bad eyes. Especially on foggy nights.

First, the most obvious—aliens exist in the Spirit-verse. Eisner presents it as a “what do you think?” but the Spirit’s evidence is conclusive. I mean, as far as within the context of the story, it’s conclusive. So… neat. It doesn’t really matter. It does allow for this strip having a bit of a horror vibe—even though the alien means Sam Smith no harm (and, arguably, no one any harm), Sam’s repulsed and must find allies to help him destroy.

The alien told Sam only primitive minded beings are racist, and, if you’re always so violent, you’re going to kill yourselves off. Sam’s going to take them out to prove the opposite. And the Spirit’s going to help.

The strip’s almost entirely from Sam’s perspective. Even when the Spirit takes over, it’s just for exposition’s sake; even though Sam’s not present in the finale, the conversation’s about Spirit’s adventure with him. We find out about Sam’s racist lodge brother, his unsympathetic landlady, and his ability to bust out of jail. While briefly in custody, Sam finally finds someone who believes him–a prisoner in a straitjacket compares Sam’s story to Jesus’s.

It’s actually kind of hard to understand the point Eisner’s trying to make with the interaction. Best to take it objectively, but the other implications are fascinating. Contradictory and fascinating.

But then Sam meets up with the Spirit on his way to the tallest, most likely spot for a spaceship takeoff around, which just happens to be in Wildwood Cemetery. Spirit flies Sam around and acts as a sounding board. He’s superfluous, just as superfluous as Commissioner Dolan, who takes Sam’s statement. It’s a Spirit strip because it’s Eisner and studio and Spirit and Dolan, but it’s a sci-fi horror thriller appropriate for newspaper readers.

I’m leaving out Sam Smith’s moral imperative; with it, the strip’s far more fascinating than “are aliens for real” could ever be. And the strip taking Spirit out of the driver’s seat (in his scenes) is a milestone.

Argos is a singular Spirit strip. Not because of its formal artistic qualities, which are strong in places, particularly in the establishing shots, and altogether perfectly fine. Rather, its content and connotations. The strip’s about a regular Joe who encounters a space alien and can’t get anyone to believe him. Eventually, this fellow—Sam Smith—will enlist the Spirit’s aid. And the Spirit’s not sure whether or not to believe him, because even though they’re hunting giant robot monsters in the cemetery, turns out Spirit’s got bad eyes. Especially on foggy nights.

First, the most obvious—aliens exist in the Spirit-verse. Eisner presents it as a “what do you think?” but the Spirit’s evidence is conclusive. I mean, as far as within the context of the story, it’s conclusive. So… neat. It doesn’t really matter. It does allow for this strip having a bit of a horror vibe—even though the alien means Sam Smith no harm (and, arguably, no one any harm), Sam’s repulsed and must find allies to help him destroy.

The alien told Sam only primitive minded beings are racist, and, if you’re always so violent, you’re going to kill yourselves off. Sam’s going to take them out to prove the opposite. And the Spirit’s going to help.

The strip’s almost entirely from Sam’s perspective. Even when the Spirit takes over, it’s just for exposition’s sake; even though Sam’s not present in the finale, the conversation’s about Spirit’s adventure with him. We find out about Sam’s racist lodge brother, his unsympathetic landlady, and his ability to bust out of jail. While briefly in custody, Sam finally finds someone who believes him–a prisoner in a straitjacket compares Sam’s story to Jesus’s.

It’s actually kind of hard to understand the point Eisner’s trying to make with the interaction. Best to take it objectively, but the other implications are fascinating. Contradictory and fascinating.

But then Sam meets up with the Spirit on his way to the tallest, most likely spot for a spaceship takeoff around, which just happens to be in Wildwood Cemetery. Spirit flies Sam around and acts as a sounding board. He’s superfluous, just as superfluous as Commissioner Dolan, who takes Sam’s statement. It’s a Spirit strip because it’s Eisner and studio and Spirit and Dolan, but it’s a sci-fi horror thriller appropriate for newspaper readers.

I’m leaving out Sam Smith’s moral imperative; with it, the strip’s far more fascinating than “are aliens for real” could ever be. And the strip taking Spirit out of the driver’s seat (in his scenes) is a milestone.

WLXK is a beautifully plotted strip, with lots happening in a very short amount of time. A rather unlikely amount of time, actually, but considering part of the plot has kids listening to the Spirit kick ass on the radio and cheering along… Eisner and studio have all the slack they want.

The strip opens with radio station owner Marion Dale refusing to let fifth columnists threaten her. They’ve promised to blow up the station if she doesn’t report an Eastern European country welcomed their invasion by a certain (still unnamed) bad guy. She reports the truth, and boom goes the station.

Luckily, the bomb goes off during Ebony’s radio serial, which piques the Spirit’s interest, and he goes down to the station. He finds Marion very enthusiastic about his plans to foil the spies, regardless of the scant details. She’s too busy throwing herself at him. Her amorous intentions end up being the proverbial rifle on the wall, to great effect.

After repairing the station by flying new wiring between the antennas in the autoplane, the Spirit reveals his great idea. They’re going to do a radio play about the attempts to silence the station. The idea is all the attention will piss off the wrong people, who will send thugs to the station. At that point, the Spirit will beat them up and get the necessary information to foil the ring.

Lots could go wrong with the plan, but Commissioner Dolan happens to be listening to the radio broadcast with an acquaintance, and—again—the strip moves so well, works so well, has such good fisticuffs—Eisner can get away with pretty much anything. Especially since everyone gets in on the radio play energy, including Dolan. It’s less proof of concept for a Spirit radio series and more Eisner exploring how Spirit’s particular celebrity fits right in with radio’s fictional adventurers.

The art is solid throughout, with some great long shots to move the story along quickly. They slow down for the fight scene, of course; Ebony’s nowhere to be found, but Marion tries her best to help. The strip’s neatest bit is how the Spirit’s fight on the radio plays out with Dolan, who’s as thrilled as the kids listening.

It’s a great one. The end joke is a particular standout, with Eisner hanging onto the moment to get a better bit. Excellent work, start to finish.