In all honesty, the Spectre has never been a character that has really captured my attention. Mostly, my introduction to him comes from when Hal Jordan became the host and the few times I’ve seen him pop up in the big “Crisis” books at DC, playing the stop-gap that allows the heroes a chance to prevail over the big bad. In the end, what mattered was that he was as powerful as a God, was always wrapped up in a green cloak, had skulls for eyes and could pretty much do anything he wanted to do. In a way, he was an almost boring and cliched character, one that really didn’t have a story to tell. Needless to say, when a few friends said that I should go back and check out the first few issues of the ongoing Spectre series, a product of the audacious and loud ’90s, I was a bit skeptical.
What I uncovered was, in a single word, creepy. Which was a surprising reaction.
Penned by one of my new favorite authors, John Ostrander (Suicide Squad/Manhunter) and intelligently drawn by Tom Mandrake (Grimjack/Creeps), The Spectre goes beyond the cramped and limited ideas the character was normally cast in, and instead throws him into a book laced with tragedy, horror and humanity. Not a simple task, nor is it one that intuitively fits the Spectre’s character, but it’s one that is done so excellently that you can’t help but immediately be hooked.
The first four issues of the series, a reinvention of the Spectre character that changed him from an avenging ghost into the embodiment of the Wrath of God, give us a glimpse into not just the Spectre but also Jim Corrigan, the creature’s host. You get his back story, one of a 1930s hard-boiled police detective, which is something else to focus on instead of making the exploits of the Spectre the main theme for the book. This simple fact was probably the defining factor for why I liked it so much, because Corrigan’s character is so flawed and it’s interesting having it paired off against the all knowing, all powerful being of the Spectre. The dynamic works in more ways than one and the insane power struggle between the two entities, one wanting revenge against the people who killed him while the other wants nothing more than to bestow vengeance on the guilty, is more than readable. Even the quasi-romance story line that appears in the book works, though it’s probably the weakest and most unbelievable aspect to the story.
Of course, when talking about a character that throws out vengeance in an almost Freddy Krueger-like fashion, you can’t help but talk about death. And that, quite frankly, is a point that is touched on very frequently. The “acts of vengeance” are all harsh and edgy and unlike in the horrors Freddy Krueger inflicts, where one can see a bit of humor, the manner that the Spectre uses is down-right scary. In the very first issue a group of gang bangers do a drive-by and kill a sidewalk full of people, which is bad luck for them when Corrigan is one of the people they shoot at. For their sins, the Spectre transfigures them as aspects of his own hand and shoots up liquid fire into his own hand. Let’s just say that the result is…painful.
There’s other death here too, a nice chunk in fact, that doesn’t happen to come at the hands of the Spectre. One of the main sub-plots that is mentioned in the first four issues, and continues to escalate in importance during the first year of the book, involves a serial killer who is ruthlessly murdering AIDS victims. It’s yet another dark aspect of the book, but one that adds a very real undertone to the story.
Still, even though a book has a great story, without a strong artist to compliment it, it can really fall by the way side. Tom Mandrake however, doesn’t let that happen. His work in the Spectre is gorgeous and drips with malice and an intensity that works so well with Ostrander’s story. The dark and grandiose dreamscapes, the places inside a person where their soul resides, were some of the best and most imaginative I’ve seen. Mandrake nails it and offers up some of his best, and most acclaimed, work ever.
This Spectre that graces the pages in these issues is the Spectre that I want to see, not the flimsy, unstable Spectre who can be easily duped or manipulated by any random villain. With few flaws to expose, tight, dramatic story lines and fantastic art, The Spectre is certainly worth digging up, whether that be in back issue bins or finding them on Mile High Comics.
What is a Bell Bottom Pick? At Comic Pants, we love the new, but sometimes we get nostalgic to talk up an older book or series and remember some greatness from “back in the day.” That “day” could be the extreme 90’s, the socially relevant 70’s, or the guys-wore-hats 50’s. Who knows? All we can tell you is that a Bell Bottom Pick is worth rifling though back issue bins for or even braving the wilds of Ebay. Our latest “Bell Bottom Pick” is The Spectre #1-4 (1992).
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Spectre #1 had that sweet glow-in-the-dark skeletons on the cover as an added bonus. A deserving bell-bottom pick.
09 Oct 2006 at 10:03 pm
QuoteThe Spectre had great covers throughout. As I recall, they did one or two glow in the dark covers, and the trade paperback has one as well. But it wasn’t just the gimmicky stuff, they had rotating cover artists and they all looked spectacular. DC’s current Jonah Hex series seems to be aiming for (and mostly achieving) a similar aesthetic, getting a variety of artists to do cool, striking covers that draw the readers into the book.
I just finished re-reading all of my Suicide Squad books. Surprisingly kinda softer in the middle than I remember, but the first year and a half is amazing, and the last year and a half is as well. It’s always a shame when a book firing on all cylinders and only getting better goes out, and that’s what happened with the Squad.
So it might be time for me to move on and reread my Spectre run, which I believe I haven’t done since I first bought them. It was Nick’s Bell Bottom review of the Squad that inspired me to go back and reread Suicide Squad, so it seems only fitting that his review of The Spectre would lead me back to there.
Then it’s on to Hawkworld, which remains one of my favorite Ostrander books. Have you read that one, Nick? If not, I should let you borrow it at some point.
09 Oct 2006 at 10:49 pm
QuoteActually, my travels through the world of Ostrander as of late have yet to land me in the realm of Hawkworld. If it’s better than Suicide Squad and Spectre then I’ll be pretty amazed. So, if you want to loan them to me, then I won’t stop you.
I’ll tell you what though, reading the Squad and then Spectre has really made me excited about Ostrander and Mandrake’s upcoming two issue arc for Batman. I’m not as familiar with Mandrake’s work but to me, he seems like a really good choice for that title. Only time will tell, I guess.
09 Oct 2006 at 11:28 pm
QuoteI was blown away by this book when it came out in the 90’s (a time when my interest in comics was off and on) and this was one of the few series I followed religiously from the first issue to the last. The first 13 issues in particular are worth tracking down (they were also collected) as it forms a larger story with the AIDS killer. Also lots of socially relevant (for the time) stuff in later issues with the Spectre’s unique take on solving a Balkans type conflict and his pursuit of an OJ Simpson case-alike being highlights.
To me Ostrander & Mandrake achieved the definitive take on this sixty-plus year old character (no mean feat) and I haven’t been able to relate to any of the later incarnations at all.
09 Oct 2006 at 11:50 pm
QuoteActually, only the first four issues of the first thirteen were collected, sadly. It seems like a longshot (to say the least) at this point that DC will ever collect the rest, which is a shame, as this should really be in print as a series of trades.
But then, so should Hitman and Starman, and DC has either not completed them or let them go out of print.
10 Oct 2006 at 1:13 am
QuoteThis is one of my all-time favorite comics, so much so that I loaned my collection to a friend looking for something good as an antidote to the current bleh he’s feeling.
While I thought that the series sagged around issue 40, I love it till that point. The characters always grabbed me (even though Corrigan was a jerk and a bastard from start to finish), the stories were gripping, and the horror was quite horrific but rarely grotesque. Mandrake’s art always served the story, as did the work of many guest artists who gave Mandrake a chance to get caught up.
I also love that Ostrander and Mandrake were allowed to end the story. The last issue is a template for how a comic should end.
10 Oct 2006 at 8:08 am
QuoteThis was a great read throughout. At one point during the run, Ostrander exposed the secret society that founded this country. Now we have the Illumanati by Bendis, but Ostrander’s writing seemed based on truths (with speculation). Now I will have to dig up the run and read it again, thanks to the ‘Pants.
10 Oct 2006 at 10:16 am
QuoteOstrander obviously had a fondness for conspiracy theory. He explored The Cabal (a military-industrial conspiracy) in the Suicide Squad, and in fact they were the foes for the final couple of arcs, and then he went back in time and dug deeper with The Spectre. I suspect he had done research on secret societies and conspiracy theory and added them into his book.
10 Oct 2006 at 11:54 am
QuoteThis is a great series, something that really made me take notice back in the nineties. A series that kept me interested in comics as my interest in the Death of Superman started to wane. Most fans forget (or never knew) that the JSA’s own Mr. Terrific II, Michael Holt, premiered in this series, an Ostrander/Mandrake creation, back before WWII era character revivals were popular.
11 Oct 2006 at 3:43 pm
QuoteMost fans forget (or never knew) that the JSA’s own Mr. Terrific II, Michael Holt, premiered in this series, an Ostrander/Mandrake creation, back before WWII era character revivals were popular.
That’s right, and it was done as a story that also provided closure for a long dangling thread about the original Mr. Terrific’s murder by The Spirit King. Ostrander’s Michael Holt was a little more grounded and less super-genius than the JSA version we have today, but the roots are still definitely there.
11 Oct 2006 at 10:57 pm
QuoteThis book along with Suicide Squad of which I only own the last 20 issues or so are runs I have been trying to track down for a while now, but I just keep getting out bid on E-bay.
12 Oct 2006 at 2:54 pm
QuoteFor what it’s worth, Nick got the first twenty issues of Suicide Squad during one of Mile High Comics’ recent sales for pretty cheap. Probably worth keeping an eye out for the next sale, which probably won’t take long to come around.
12 Oct 2006 at 8:00 pm
QuoteThanks for the tip!
12 Oct 2006 at 11:50 pm
QuoteFor anyone still checking this board: The recent Spec revival in Tales of the Unexpected was better than I anticipated, more part and parcel of the horor expected of the title’s roots, as opposed to the Hal Jordan Spirit o’ Love and Kindness version. I still find Jim Corrigan a more compelling character than Crispus Allen, but I am willing to give this one a shot. The beard and the golden cloak brooches have GOT to go, though.
19 Oct 2006 at 5:45 pm
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