The first panel sets up everything in the strip (save formal cast additions)—mobster Grogan on trial for murder, defended by “The Black Queen,” his lawyer, and a side item about the school district running out of money for lunches.

Grogan gets off (with implications of a fixed jury), and Spirit drops by to ask him for a donation to the school lunches. Now, Spirit has just interrupted Grogan and Black Queen talking business… she’s more than his lawyer, it’s her mob and he’s her proxy. Spirit either just missed that disclosure upon sneaking in, or he was too distracted, or he didn’t think it warranted comment.

He will go out of his way to get a look at Black Queen in her undergarments because the strip’s got a lot of implied misogyny. Can’t trust dame lawyers.

Also, let’s get this one done, too—Ebony gets his full name and hired on as Spirit’s sidekick. His assignment goes from being a cabbie to holding a gun on the coroner, the district attorney, Grogan, and Black Queen. For a criminologist, Spirit has a profoundly confusing understanding of the criminal justice system. Perhaps they’re in a universe without double jeopardy, in which case Spirit’s plan isn’t to torture and extort Grogan, or they are in a universe with double jeopardy and it is Spirit’s plan to torture and extort him.

It’s strange either way, and the action all seems toned down. Lots of longer scenes to get out dialogue, normal length chase scenes. There’s still some lovely composition, but it plays like the opening newspaper headings exposition device is the strip’s most significant success and, upon making the hit, Eisner and studio coasted a bit.

The last panel has Spirit and Ebony heading to the Wildwood Cemetery—where Denny Colt was buried in the first strip and Spirit’s been hiding out since (doesn’t he miss plumbing?)—and the moment’s from Ebony’s perspective. They have a little banter and… well, the Spirit’s a weird dude.

Maybe on purpose, maybe not. Even as the dialogue and exposition improve this strip—Eisner (or whoever) realized the art doesn’t need a lot of words slowing it down—the Spirit gets a little more distant. Eisner hasn’t decided how to position the reader with the Spirit yet. This strip tries some things, but doesn’t have room to evaluate them.

The strip opens with Spirit dropping into Ebony’s cab. Literally, from a tree. Spirit then pulls a gun on Ebony, demanding a ride to town, while the passengers—Homer Creap and Ellen Dolan—sit terrified.

Ellen’s in town to visit her dad, the regular cast member Commissioner Dolan, and to introduce him to her fiancé, Homer.

Homer Creap.

They’re both nerds in glasses and Homer’s got buck teeth. Eisner’s not being subtle for the cheap seats. Is it worse than Ebony? No. Even with discovering the Easter egg of unconscious Ellen’s side booby at some point, no, still not worse than Ebony in his handful of panels.

Ellen’s also going to help returning villain Dr. Cobra escape because she’s got book smarts not street smarts. She’s a psychology major and Dolan lets her tour the ward. Cobra knows a couple marks when he sees them and convinces them to help him get out. He then takes them hostage, which sets Spirit on his trail.

We get Spirit’s tombstone calling cards again. While the cops do big action sequences in small, beautiful panels, Spirit goes undercover on the street and passes them out. The cards say he’s going to kill Dr. Cobra at midnight.

Action cuts to Dr. Cobra’s at midnight, Spirit shows up to kick ass. At that point the strip becomes a glorious chase sequence through the city, with Cobra and Spirit pausing occasionally for a beautifully rendered action beat.

After that creative high, the strip needs to bring things back down to Earth for the finale, which has Spirit taking off Ellen’s “ugly” glasses, letting her hair down, and revealing her to be a hot chick. He and Homer then fight over who gets to kiss her first (Spirit as reward for saving her, Homer with the buck teeth because she’s finally on that social capital level).

Might not have been the best time to be a lady. Just saying. Because, remember, this one’s in the newspaper so the target readership includes the ladies.

If you can subtract the 1940, it’s sublime. And—shudder—the 1940… could be worse.

The Spirit ends his first adventure leaving three burning questions unanswered. First, why is he remaining officially dead—we’ll loop back—second, why doesn’t he think everyone will recognize his blue suit, and, third, how does he have those little tombstone calling cards carved already.

The strip—Spirit dropped as a weekly newspaper special—has thirties illustration sensibilities, almost PG-13 dialogue (as newspaper audiences include more teens and adults than a regular comic book), and sublime stage direction. Eisner doesn’t waste any panels, big or small (the Spirit’s resurrection is in extreme long shot in a small panel), but also saves some composition wows for the third act. Sure, Spirit is fighting escaped criminally insane Eastern European mad scientists with racist caricature henchmen, but the visuals of the showdown are pure noir (Technicolor noir?) fisticuffs. It’s hard boiled hero stuff, even as the Spirit—despite being in it, at this point, for the money and not having to pay taxes—is a bit of a lug, especially for a vigilante.

This first strip introduces the Spirit (Denny Colt before death, just “The Spirit” after), police commissioner Dolan (who knows the Spirit’s identity and approves of that plan to be a vigilante), and, in a one panel cameo, Spirit’s future sidekick, Ebony White. Ebony’s a cabbie; he doesn’t get a name here. Ebony’s a young Black man. The caricature is horrific. The villain—Dr. Cobra—has the Asian bruiser sidekick and it’s a bit. Ebony’s a lot.

And it’s just a panel (albeit observed with foreknowledge). But imagine how big a panel on the newsprint. Spirit’s greatest boon—being read with more potential detail—also can spotlight its unfortunates.

Bad, worse, good, mid, sublime, inspired, and genius—The Spirit has them all. Eisner (and his studio) deliver a visually compelling, narratively engaging comic spectacle. The exposition ranges from flat to purple, but the movement—and the movement’s framing—is truly exceptional work.

Even if the exposition doesn’t help, there are smarts to the plotting. For example, the two best visual sequences are Spirit’s showdowns with Cobra. He’s either had a jovial or moody setup for the showdown, then Eisner delivers the action goods. Vats of chemicals, henchmen, escape boats in the backgrounds and foregrounds, big and small parts of the action, and full of deeper implication. It’s mood implication, though, not exposited.

Anyway.

The Spirit’s off to a great start. Just hold onto your (blue) hat on the proverbial cab ride.