That's the Spirit

#61

2007-10-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

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Warren Zevon was taken too soon.

Next: a spooktacular smackdown

#60

2007-10-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

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Jokes about food just make carnivores hungry.

Next: a hairy-handed gent running amok

#59

2007-10-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

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I swear, like every seventh European you meet is a werewolf.

Next: you don't happen to be a vegetarian, do you?

#58

2007-10-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

Click to see dead people

Is W.K. another one with The Sight?

Next: something in common

#57

2007-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Click to open up more

Next: you're never alone

#56

2007-09-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

Click to get to know the comic a little better

Who is this W.K.? What terrible secret does he hold... a secret that can threaten the peaceful lives of Poe and all those around her... forever?!

Okay, that's a bit melodramatic. But to be continued.

Next: an initial meeting

#55

2007-09-26T17:39:00.001-07:00

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Poe probably won't be buying any more fish, but you can bet we're going to think of ways to justify bringing the Fin Reaper back anyway. The Fin Reaper is the greatest avatar of death since the Black Racer.

Next: new kid in town

#54

2007-09-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Click for the fish-eye lens

Fish live in fear of the Gorton's man.

Next: a stark warning

#53

2007-09-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

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Empirical proof that Jonah really does live in the comic universe.

Next: a death in the family

#52

2007-09-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

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The cast has returned! A few thoughts:

- Sparsest strip in quite a while. Hey, sometimes you feel like putting in backgrounds, sometimes you don't.

- The setup and tone is an homage of sorts to a line in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Man, Peanuts was brilliant.

- Refresh your memory about where Jonah's been here and here.

- I'm not drawing three months of basketball strips ever again, that's for sure.

Next: Jonah's tale

#51

2007-09-02T16:27:00.000-07:00

Click for the long goodbye

People often measure their self-worth by the amount of impractical metal cups they own.

Next: and what did you get?

#50

2007-08-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

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Well, maybe it's not that big a deal, but it's something.

Next: something to remember me by

#49

2007-08-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

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To be continued.

Next: the continuation

#48

2007-08-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Click for giant armadillo

Sometimes we don't know what we don't want until we have it.

Next: play ball!

#47

2007-08-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

Click for big laughs

Next: a suit of armor

#46

2007-08-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

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Next: it's the role she was born to play

#45

2007-08-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

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Proper terminology is so important.

Next: a lucky shot

#44

2007-08-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

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Kenzie is tough but fair.

Next: pass? fail

#43

2007-07-14T23:47:00.001-07:00

Click for a decidedly non-notorious big comic

If Poe's too distracted to make the bad puns, the ghosts will just have to make them for her.

Next: it's not as easy as it looks

#42

2007-07-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

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They take their basketball pretty seriously in Cabin 'A.' Even if they do go to Camp Sweatsock.

Next: long time no see

#41

2007-06-30T13:06:00.001-07:00

Click for bigness

It's important to find one's level.

Next: the Kenzie report

#40

2007-06-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

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Is Poe taking this as seriously as she ought to? Where are the ghosts? Will she find her calling despite her attitude and lead a ragtag bunch of underdogs to an upset win over snooty Camp Omega in the championships? These and other questions will probably not be answered any time soon.

Next: a refresher course

#39

2007-06-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

Click for the expanded universe

Man, Jonah is a waldo. Still, what he says is correct. Not just that he and his friends are all comic characters, but that we will not be seeing him (nor indeed any of the supporting cast) until September. However, we will be seeing Poe and the ghosts all summer long. Hijinks will ensue.

Next: suit up!

#38

2007-06-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

To magnify: maneuver mouse, depress digit

Misery actually hates company.

Next: the cat who walks through the fourth wall

#37

2007-06-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Click for bigger and thus slightly more legible comic

This is not something for which Poe is suited.

Next: Gimme a P?

#36

2007-06-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

Click to grow cartoon

The children's summer camp industry is crying out for a uniter (not a divider) to soften the tone of debate.

Next: a sporting chance

#35

2007-06-03T22:33:00.001-07:00

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No more school spirit for a while! Ha ha! I slay me! OK, we've used both those jokes in the strip already. It's true. We're so lame.

Next: gotta keep the kids occupied

#34

2007-05-28T16:59:00.001-07:00

Compressed comic, clicked, converts capaciously

And with that, Ms. Chao's time with the students of Tim Burton Elementary comes to an end. But she shall return (she's a career counselor; she's got nothing better to do).

Next: we might not go back at all

#33

2007-05-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Click to biggify

Next: is that a real job?

#32

2007-05-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

Click to see the larger, "For Your Eyes Only" document

This strip introduces Cici, a new minor character. See, we told you there would be lingering fallout from the election arc! It's all about the continuity. Unless something else is funnier, in which case all bets are off. Possibly.

Next: Poe needs help

#31

2007-05-17T21:26:00.001-07:00

Click for futuristic Vast-o-Scope view

He's brash, but he's earned the right.

Next: meet the press

#30

2007-05-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

Click for the permanent record

Have you ever known a student who was gregarious and sociable and got straight A's, but wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier? That's Frankie.

Next: what's plan B?

#29

2007-05-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Click for the big picture

And so we begin another brief arc, with once again nary a ghost in sight. Never fear, our undead trio haven't been put in the hamper permanently. We just have a lot of personality traits to explore in our still-living cast members.

Next: don't worry...

#28

2007-05-01T20:34:00.001-07:00

Click for the life-size canvas

Like a lot of art teachers, Mr. Clay is apparently enthusiastic but clueless. Yes, I am bitter.

This and the previous strip started out as an idea for one strip, was retooled and proposed as four, until we finally went with the two-strip format you see here. I think we did the right thing.

Maybe it coulda been four.

Nah.

Next: what is something for which you are suited?

#27

2007-04-29T18:07:00.001-07:00

Click for the full-size piece

Mr. Clay makes the jokes around here.

Next: l'art, partie deux

#26

2007-04-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

Click for visual enhancement

This is our humble homage to a boy who was often jumped by a tiger as soon as he walked in his door. We bow and doff our caps in reverence.

Next: art reflects the soul

#25

2007-04-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

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No, really. Why?

Next: welcome!

#24

2007-04-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

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It is possible to share the desk with Paul, since he's not solid, but it's quite hard to concentrate on an academic text if you have to read it through semi-transparent ectoplasm. That talks.

Next: dark secrets?

#23

2007-04-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Click for bigness

Our election storyline over, it's back to the basics: Ghosts making bad puns.

Next: it's what he does best

#22

2007-03-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

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Well, our first story arc turned out to be a marathon rather than a sprint, but the election strips are finally over.

Although there will be lingering fallout.

Next: hey, isn't this strip supposed to be about ghosts?

#21

2007-03-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Click to read all those words

The winner... revealed. To be... um, someone never introduced before and not seen on-panel. So, kinda anti-climactic, really.

If this was a different kind of comic, we might have something like

Introducing... W. Walker Ward III. But is he a friend... Or Poe's deadliest enemy?!

We can all breathe a sigh of relief that this isn't that kind of comic.

Next: the finish line, at last

#20

2007-03-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

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Sometimes you don't really need to hear all the details.

Next: we have a winner

#19

2007-03-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Click on comic for Enhanced Biggability

Delano didn't win the class presidency, either. Whoops!

Next: vox hoi polloi

#18

2007-03-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

Click for easier-to-read format

To no one's surprise, Poe lost the class presidency. But Paul's schemes for her never end.

Next: number crunching

#17

2007-03-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

Would you like to supersize that? Click picture.

You'd think by now that Paul would have learned not to entrust Smooch with any tasks.

Next: the results are in

#16

2007-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

Click for larger view

Next: where do I vote?

#15

2007-02-22T20:35:00.001-08:00

Click to enlargenate

Frankie thinks the students at her school should get weirdness vaccinations.

Next: round two

#14

2007-02-19T21:11:00.000-08:00

Click comic for legibility

Delano's a perspicacious fellow.

Next: confrontation

#13

2007-02-16T23:02:00.000-08:00

Click to enlargify

This is the first and possibly only time that Poe is shown in profile.
This is the first and possibly only time we have used narrative text.

Next: valid conclusions

#12

2007-02-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

Click to see it clearly now!

Oh, the corruption! Not since the days of Warren Harding have we seen such political scheming behind closed doors. Luckily, Paul's on the case.

Next: turning up the heat

#11

2007-02-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Click it, and see it magnified!

The next few strips will have more action. And more ghosts.

Next: politics, dirty tricks

#10

2007-01-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

Click to embiggen

We first envisioned Jonah as a shrewd, perceptive fellow, but he's gone against our expectations and become one of those clueless smart kids. He's got a big vocabulary, but he doesn't really grok what's going on around him. And yet, he does seem to realize he's only a cartoon character.

And so are we all resistant to type-casting.

Next: Poe-ster child

#9

2007-01-20T23:32:00.000-08:00

Click to embiggen

Next: Jonah returns

#8

2007-01-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Click to embiggen

Next: meet Delano

#7

2007-01-07T20:15:00.001-08:00

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Look, they can't all be gems.

Next: nothing to fear except the competition

#6

2007-01-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

Click to make legible

Next: the lowest form of humor

#5

2006-12-30T20:47:00.001-08:00

Click to make legible

Next: run, Poe, run!

#4

2006-12-23T22:02:00.000-08:00

Click to make legible

Still experimenting with different pens (and brightness, contrast and exposure in the image editor - thanks, Alma Mater - though the electronic tools at my disposal are very limited).

Next: sis, boom, bah.

#3

2006-12-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Click to make legible

I used a thinner pen on this comic. It makes for more detailed drawing, but I'm not sure how well it shows up online.

Next: meet Frankie

#2

2006-12-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

Click to make legible

Next: rise and shine

#1

2006-12-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

Click to make legible

Next: meet the ghosts!