The Spirit #19

The Spirit takes on a heartless con artist known as Mr. Carrion, who exploits grieving families by promising to locate their missing loved ones from the Pacific War—only to disappear with their savings once he's drained them dry. With Officer Dolan unable to act without hard evidence, and the victims too desperate to press charges, the Spirit must stop this racket himself, enlisting his assistant Blubber to retrieve proof from Carrion's hideaway. A perilous encounter unfolds when Julia, Carrion's accomplice, enters the fray, and everything spirals toward a violent and tragic confrontation.

Detective Flatfoot Burns gets a tour of a futuristic city built on elevated highways—a marvel of urban planning designed to eliminate traffic accidents and preserve street-level commerce—but the showcase becomes a test when the villain Speed De Monn steals a rocket car and tears through the system at breakneck speed. Burns devises an ingenious trap using the city's own architecture against the fleeing criminal, though his plan's success comes with an unexpected price.

The Spirit and his partner Ebony find themselves stranded on a remote island in the South Atlantic after a confrontation aboard a tramp steamer—only to discover it's the domain of the wanted criminal Dr. Scalppel, who's been hiding there for five years guarding an island full of gold. When another fugitive, Carrion, washes ashore and befriends Scalppel, the scheming doctor sees an opportunity: turn in his new acquaintance, claim a pardon, and finally mine the fortune that's been tantalizingly out of reach. As Scalppel sets his sinister plan in motion, the Spirit must navigate the deadly machinations of two criminals and the treacherous rock itself to bring justice to this hidden corner of the world.