The Wrath of the Spectre. Could you think of a better title for something like this? Debuting in More Fun Comics 52 in 1940, the Spectre was not exactly what you would conventionally call fun. A private detective named as Jim Corrigan, the Spectre was born when Corrigan was trapped in a barrel filled with cement before being thrown into a river. Obviously, he died, but God gave him the duty of seeking vengeance against those who cause pain in the world. From there on in, the Spectre began his brutal and violent quest, leaving no victim behind. That is, until the 1960s, when the Spectre became a cosmic entity of sorts, fighting aliens and teaming up with Wildcat to take out very silver age foes. However, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, comic books were changing once again. Gone were the silly sci-fi villains and planets. Instead, the plotting became not darker, but more serious and willing to cover the troubles of the real world, tackling issues such as drugs and street gangs. I suppose to some extent you could argue that Michael Fleisher’s and Jim Aparo’s Spectre stories fall into that category. However, these stories are far more controversial, and you’ll understand why when you read them. Looking back at those stories, many new fans of the likes of Vertigo and Black Label may look back at the Spectre stories and believe that Fleisher and Aparo almost predicted how comics were changing and in what direction they were heading. I think that view is very naïve honestly, as these stories contain so much that is special in comics, a lot of which is pretty much ignored by the medium now. Let’s just say, we’re in for a ride…
Adventure Comics (vol 1) 431-440 was published bi-monthly from January 1974 to July 1975. All stories were written by Michael Fleisher with art by Jim Aparo, Frank Thorne and Ernie Chua. The Spectre strip was meant to continue in Adventure Comics, with Fleisher’s scripts already complete. However, they were pulled, deemed too controversial and violent. Over a decade later in 1988, from May to August, DC reprinted all the stories in Wrath of the Spectre 1-4, with the first three issues reprinting the Adventure Comics content and issue four printing the unpublished
stories by Fleisher, with Aparo, Mike DeCarlo and Pablo Marcos behind the art. Lastly, I have read these stories in the very rare Wrath of the Spectre trade paperback. Also, I’ll be reviewing all the stories at once. If I did them all individually, I’d be here until Christmas…
THE STORIES
Somewhere, a group of armed thugs shoot up armoured vehicle and kill the police guards inside of it. Although one of the thugs is killed, they manage to steal the armoured vehicle. Afterwards, Detective Jim Corrigan arrives at the scene and searches the body of the dead criminal, finding a card for an antique shop in his jacket. Arriving at the shop, Corrigan enters and asks the owner, Charlie about the armoured car. Charlie then shoots Corrigan, who quickly transforms into the Spectre. Charlie then flees in his car, phoning Hank (another thug) and telling him about the Spectre. Obviously, Hank doesn’t believe Charlie, who then gets back his car and drives away, before he is attacked by the Spectre and Charlie drives off a cliff. The next day, Hank is informed about Charlie’s death and he is confronted by the Spectre, who melts Hank to death. At the same time, the boss of the gang, Fritz, is seemingly safe on a plane when suddenly, the Spectre appears in front of him only, making other around him believe he is hallucinating. Fritz then takes a girl hostage, but the Spectre turns out the lights and when they turn back on, all that’s left of Fritz is a skeleton. The next day, Corrigan’s boss tells him to look for the armoured car and those who stole it, unaware of their deaths…
One night, a group of criminals break into industrialist Adrian Sterling’s home and place a bomb in his swimming pool. The next day, Sterling goes for his morning swim, before he is blown up. Later, Corrigan visits the scene and speaks with Gwen, Sterling’s father. She tells Corrigan that her father had been upset about business related to a man named Maxwell Flood. Before Corrigan leaves, Gwen asks if Corrigan is married, but he tells her that he isn’t free. Later, Corrigan pretends to be the ghost of Sterling and he haunts Flood, getting him to admit that he did kill Sterling. Afterwards, Flood meets with Eric and his gang, who placed the bomb in the pool. However, Eric attempts to kill Flood, but the Spectre appears and cuts him to pieces using giant scissors. After discovering Eric’s body, one of his allies, Peter, meets with Vera, who helped place the bomb in the pool. After the meeting, Peter kidnaps Gwen, but she is saved by the Spectre, who then attacks Vera and ages her to death. Gwen walks away miserably, knowing that Corrigan is a spirit…
Taking part in a communion conducted by con-man Swami Seelal, a rich woman named Mrs Vandergilt tells him that her husband thinks that he is a fake. Swami tells her that he will personally intervene in the case. The next morning, Mr Vandergilt is killed when he is crushed by a truck. Investigating the case, Corrigan is told by Mr Vandergilt’s widow that her husband was offending the inhabitants of the spirit world and Swami Seelal. Meeting Swami, he is informed of Mr Vandergilt’s death and Corrigan warns him not to take one step out of line. Later that day, Swami meets with Gwen, who tells him that she would pay anything that would return her friend, Corrigan, back to the real world. Knowing Corrigan, Swami decides to help her. The next night, Gwen meets with one of Swami’s men at a graveyard and they wait for Corrigan to arrive. When he does, Swami’s servant blows up his car, seemingly killing him. He then attacks Gwen, before the Spectre appears and raises the dead from their grave to murder Swami’s servant. The Spectre then transforms back into Corrigan and Gwen tells him that she only wanted to help him. Corrigan tells her that he is committed to his unearthly mission. Meanwhile, Swami is in the middle of another communion when the Spectre appears and turns him into glass, before smashing him with a hammer…
On their way to dumping a truckload of mannequins, Pete and Frank are brutally murdered when the mannequins come to life, before returning to normal once their mission has been completed. The police recommend that Corrigan investigates the case. Meanwhile in a shop, mannequins begin attacking customers and Jim Corrigan becomes the Spectre, burning one of them to death, believing it to be a real person. Afterwards, Corrigan investigates the mannequins and discovers on the foot of one of the mannequins that it says “Monarch”. Meanwhile at the Monarch Mannequin Company, the creator of the mannequins, Zeke, is told that he may have to be dropped as machines will be able to do his job. Corrigan visits the company and meets with Zeke, asking him how the mannequins could have come to life. Zeke tells him that mannequins might become angry by the way that people treat them. Leaving the company, Corrigan is intrigued by Zeke. Corrigan then meets Gwen, telling her to get out of his life and leave. As Corrigan leaves, Zeke talks to Gwen and tells her that he can help her. Later, Gwen visits Corrigan and attacks and tries to kill him, but he cuts her apart using a knife, before discovering that it is only a mannequin. Meanwhile, Zeke has kidnapped the real Gwen and tied her up. The Spectre finds her, but he is attacked by an army of mannequins. After destroying them, the Spectre tells Zeke that he is going to join his mannequins. The next day, mistaken for a mannequin, Zeke is thrown into the fire on the boss’s orders…
The day after the Spectre entombs a group of criminals in ice for street violence, writer Earl Crawford learns of the previous brutalities committed by the Spectre and once his boss reluctantly allows him to continue, he begins his investigation. Later, Corrigan investigates a gang named the Grandenetii Boys and he allows Earl (who he names Clark Kent) to tag along. Arriving at the scene of a crime, Earl watches as Corrigan enters a store where the Grandenetii Boys are attacking people. Transforming into the Spectre, they are easily beaten and turned into dolls, one of which is found by Earl. That evening, an officer gives Earl a tip on where the last member of the Grandenetii Boys is hidden. Instead of taking the information to Corrigan, he investigates it himself. Arriving at an abandoned sawmill, Earl is quickly captured by the last of the Grandenetii Boys, but suddenly, the Spectre appears and turns the last of the Grandenetii Boys to wood, before putting him in the sawmill…
At a car show at the New York Coliseum, a group of criminals kill a large group of people using poison gas. Meanwhile, Earl tells his editor that everything he saw with the Grandenetii Boys was true, but his editor doesn’t believe him. At the same time, Corrigan investigates the crime scene and Earl appears, asking Corrigan who might have been behind the killings. Corrigan doesn’t answer him. Somewhere, a villain named Field Marshall Offal is pleased with his men’s work and begins the next phase. Later, the Mayor of New York is given a letter by Field Marshall Offal, telling him that they will attack somewhere else unless they are given a billion dollars. Although Corrigan tries to convince the Mayor not to give away money, he believes he has no choice. However, Corrigan convinces the Mayor that he should be the one to give the money to Field Marshall Offal’s gang. Later, Field Marshall Offal’s gang meet Corrigan and take him and the money. Arriving at their base, Corrigan is immediately gassed, but he transforms into the Spectre and attacks Field Marshall Offal’s gang. Field Marshall Offal himself attempts to escape in a boat, but the Spectre creates a giant Kraken-like monster, which destroys Field Marshall Offal and his ship. Transforming back to Corrigan, Earl appears and discovers that Corrigan’s kidnapper has been turned into a statue…
In a television showroom, Corrigan wants to… buy a new TV? Well, that’s different. Anyway, on the TV he hears that a series of kidnappings have been reported and one of the victims is Gwen. As Corrigan leaves to investigate, Gwen is taken to an abandoned mine by some criminals where she is locked up by a mad scientist. However, when the criminals want their pay for their kidnappings, the scientist uses a strange hypnotic wheel, before ordering the two criminals to jump in a tank of barracudas, killing them. The scientist then tells Gwen and the others that they will become human bombs. Later, Mr Vanderhaven, one of those kidnapped, enters the bank with a bomb before exploding. The same occurs in other places. However, with Gwen, Corrigan finds her and follows her back to the mad scientist. After the Spectre releases the hostages, he attacks the mad scientist and destroys the bombs they are holding without hurting them. Although the scientist then tries to kill the Spectre with electricity, he easily defeats him by mind-controlling him and ordering him to jump into a pit of alligators…
While delivering mail, a postman is kidnapped by a group of criminals and is transported to a mad professor at the Museum of Natural History. There, he tries to escape from the guards, but he is quicky caught and shot. Despite the professor being angry that a test subject has died, he tells his men to find another one. The next morning, Corrigan and the police find the dead postman holding onto a knife. That same day, the professor’s men kidnap another man. At the same time, Corrigan is informed about a breaking and entering at the Schwartz Taxidermy Supply Company, making Corrigan realise that the knife held by the postman was a taxidermist’s knife. Corrigan arrives at the Taxidermy Company and he becomes the Spectre, frightening the professor’s guards before they manage to make it back to him with the new test subject. However, when they arrive, the Spectre appears once again and a group of gorillas break out of their enclosure and they are torn apart…
In downtown New York, a group of thugs break into a bank and kidnap the bank teller, who just so happened to be Gwen. Quickly, the Spectre chases after them and he easily manages to rescue Gwen. Afterwards, Gwen asks Corrigan to marry her, but he can’t because he’s dead and the only way that he can live again is if God grants him peace by finishing his mission. Later at home, Corrigan tells himself that he wants to stop being the Spectre and he wants to live a happy life. In his sleep, God contacts him, telling that when he awakens, he will return to the living. The next morning, Corrigan’s boss tells him about the Ducky McLaren gang, which Corrigan agrees to investigate. At the scene, despite Corrigan being confident that he can deal with the trouble himself, Corrigan shoots and kills one of the gangsters, but he too is shot by one of the gangsters. He is then taken to hospital, still confused about how the bullet actually went through him since he’s the Spectre. A few days later, Corrigan recovers and he visits Gwen, telling her that he does want to marry her. Several days later, the boss of the gang, Ducky, tells his gangsters to kill Corrigan for killing one of the gangsters…
From a tip, Corrigan learns that Ducky and his gang are apparently going to give themselves up to the police. That night, Corrigan finds Ducky and the gangsters, who
manage to trick Corrigan by telling him that they are really giving themselves up. The gangsters shoot and kill Corrigan. A few days later, a funeral is held for Corrigan and at night, he rises from his grave and flies into the sky, once again contacted by God and given the task of being the Spectre. Afterwards, Corrigan appears back in his coffin, where he is luckily saved by a passer-by who could hear knocking. With vengeance, the Spectre finds Ducky and his gang and violently murders them all. Afterwards, Corrigan meets Gwen and tells her that he has returned to being the Spectre once again. He tells her that no man can escape his destiny…
As the police and fire department arrive at a burning building, Corrigan appears too and notices a woman and her child screaming for help inside. Corrigan sneaks away and becomes the Spectre and saves the mother and child. Earl watches it as it happens. He then reports it to his editor, who quickly dismisses Earl’s claims, and he tells him just to investigate who caused the fire. In the realm between life and death, the Spectre speaks to one of those killed in the fire, who tells him that the fire was set deliberately. Meanwhile, Earl looks through the city’s Hall of Records, discovering that all the tenements that burnt down belonged to DeMarko, a ruthless crime lord. Earl then gets an idea where the next fire will take place. Later that night, Earl hides in the backstreets behind a building, finding a gangster acting suspiciously. As Earl takes the photograph and the gangster begins a fire, the Spectre appears and kills the gangster. With the photographs, Earl reports to his editor and once he sees the pictures, he believes that Earl faked them as the Spectre cannot exist. His editor then phones the police to arrest Earl for murder, believing that he killed the gangster and faked the photographs as evidence against it. Later in court, the jury finds that Earl isn’t guilty, but he is insane, and they put him in a mental institution…
In his cell, Earl is met by a mysterious old woman, who is convinced that Earl is innocent as she knows the Spectre. Before she leaves, she quickly manages to give Earl a penknife. Later, the old woman meets with Corrigan and without the makeup and wig, she is Gwen. She admits to Corrigan that she did give Earl a penknife, surprising him as now he needs to work quickly. At the same time, Earl escapes from prison. Later, the Spectre disguises himself as the man who attempted to set the building on fire earlier, telling them that Earl is innocent. Before he can be found out, the Spectre quickly leaves. Then, the Spectre finds DeMarko in his apartment and he transforms him into a cactus. At the same time, Earl is caught by the police, but he is quickly released when they inform him that he has now been found to be innocent…
As Earl continues his Spectre investigation, a strange old woman enters a boardroom meeting at a textiles company. In the boardroom, the old woman tells the company boss to stop making indecent dresses, otherwise she will kill him using a voodoo doll. As she throws the doll into a fish tank, the boss dies. Later, Corrigan investigates the case and finds the doll in the fish tank. Meanwhile, Earl rages at his editor for throwing him in a mental institution and he decides to quit his job. Later, Corrigan discovers that the textile company boss did in fact drown, since his lungs were full of water. Meanwhile, Earl looks through his notes of the Spectre case when his assistant Freddy (who looks uncannily like Jimmy Olsen) tells him that his editor has one last story for him involving the drowned man. Earl leaves, believing that the case may be linked to the Spectre. At a press conference, the police mention that strange old woman, but they believe that she was innocent in the case. Earl thinks otherwise. Elsewhere, another board-member of the company is met by the strange old woman, who produces another voodoo doll and places it in a guillotine. However, this isn’t what kills the board-member, since the swinging scythe to the neck may have something to do with it. As the old woman leaves, Corrigan enters the room, and it hits him that the old woman is behind the killings. As the Spectre, he follows her home, where she meets with her mysterious boss, who tells her to lay off because of the police. However, the Spectre quickly intervenes and transforms the old woman into a spider. Meanwhile at Gwen’s home, Earl breaks in and finds the clothes and wig that she wore when he met her before. In the house at the same time, Gwen is met by Mr Slater, who attempts to kill her. However, the Spectre then appears, which causes him to go insane. Earl watches as the events unfold and silently, he leaves.
MY THOUGHTS
On the front cover of the collected edition, the word of “controversial” appears to the be the way that DC describe the series. Why is that? I think its fairly obvious. The times might have been changing in comic books, but Fleisher must have thought that it was going a bit too slow. Remember, this is only the mid-1970s and excessive violence in comics didn’t really come about until the 1980s, before evolving and going further in the 1990s. Pretty much all of these stories, with the exception of some of the latter stories, feature quite a bit of extreme violence, but not really in a gory sense. I think these stories are mainly remembered due to the very creative deaths that Fleisher writes. I mean, pretty much every single one of them is unique and is genuinely shocking. Examples would be Zeke’s death, when the Spectre transforms him into a mannequin and also when he turns one of the Grandenetii Boys into wood before placing him into a sawmill. Its deaths like that which makes the Spectre feel different as a character. Pretty much any other character would just kill a villain via (continued)
a bullet to the head. Here, Fleisher writes the Spectre in a way that almost makes him get some enjoyment out of murdering criminals. That being said, I would be lying if I said that there wasn’t any weight to the killings, but more on that later. Originally for this review, I was going to go through each of the plots individually and critique them where justified. However, not only will that take an eternity, but also, while I was writing the plots to these stories, I just realised how similar most, if not, all of the stories are. At least in terms of the actual story, Fleisher seems to use one formula which although is a good and reliable way of telling a story, can become very dull quite quickly. Here’s a breakdown: a group of thugs either rob a bank or kill someone; Corrigan investigates the crime and finds a clue; the thugs kidnap Gwen; Corrigan becomes the Spectre and violently murders the villains. That is it. Seriously, there really isn’t much deviation at all from that type of story. At first, it doesn’t really brother you but when it dawns on you that nearly every story is like that, you want to come across something fresh and new. Unfortunately, by the middle of the series, it is rather difficult to find a dramatic difference in the stories and their formula. The same goes for the villains as well to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great villains throughout the series that are written in such an evil or nasty way that makes you want the Spectre to kill them, but by the end, the villains just feel flat and two-dimensional. There are literally two villains which aren’t named in two back-to-back stories, one featuring a mad scientist and a mad professor. Even there I’m struggling to find the difference between the two of them. Discussing them in a broader sense, the villains are all usually insane, but many of them are compelling. A great example is Zeke, a character who, at first anyway, isn’t your generic bog-standard villain. Fleisher writers him as a very intriguing and interesting character and because of the way that he is developed throughout the story, the Spectre’s act of killing him feels fictionally justified. In fact, that’s Fleisher’s main strengths with the villains. Some of them may be very flat and dull, but they are written in such a cruel and evil way that their fate at the hands of the Spectre feels right. Now, I’ve just realised that most of what I’ve just said is negative and from just that, you’d think that I wouldn’t be a fan of The Wrath of the Spectre. While I do accept the flaws of the series and how significant they can be, I do consider the series to be one of my favourites from the Bronze Age. Mainly, it’s down to the characters and the overarching story, but it’s also down to the creative team on the series. The main story which arguably begins with the second story that introduces Gwen is never completed. At the time in the 1970s, the series was cancelled and when the next three unpublished stories were finished and released, it still wasn’t a conclusion to the run. Therefore, I don’t think that there has been an official conclusion to this saga. However, the more the saga went on, the more developed the overall story became. At first, it felt like there wasn’t much connection at all between stories, but definitely after the first half, Fleisher begins to bring everything together and the saga become very enjoyable when that happens. Even the stories released in the 1980s still feel like they belong to the original series, but its just a shame that the saga was never finished. One of my favourite plot points from the saga is from Adventure Comics 440, in which Corrigan is killed once again. That whole scene when Gwen finds that Corrigan is dead is incredibly chilling and the concept that he cannot run away from his fate is incredibly powerful. In fact, that is where I think the weight of all the violence and death really lies. Throughout pretty much every story, the Spectre brutally murders the villain and partly, I think that one of the reasons he wants to return to life is because it has occurred to him that his actions are just as evil as the tactics used by his enemies. There is great conflict within the character of Jim Corrigan and the Spectre and arguably, it is one of the most intriguing aspects of the series. Not only that, but there is a great example of Corrigan’s character in Adventure Comics 434, when a mannequin of Gwen attacks Corrigan, who then butchers the mannequin to death, believing it to be the real Gwen. Essentially here, he has just brutally murdered somebody that he has feelings for and ultimately, that must be a part of why Corrigan has some resentment not for himself, but for the evil entity that lives inside of his body, the Spectre. They really are two different characters, partially in terms of morals and partially because of their opinions on each other. It really is two characters in one body and Fleisher portrays this excellently. What adds even more interest to the overarching story is the use of secondary characters, but there is only really two of real significance. The first one is obviously Gwen, a character who starts out as a background character in Adventure Comics 432, before becoming a major character in the issues that follow. While her love for Corrigan may be extremely hollow (primarily because they haven’t known each other very long and she already wants to marry her), she is an important part of Corrigan’s change in character, although I will admit that when she does become involved in the story, it is usually coincidence of sorts. But like I said, her presence in the main story is crucial since it allows Fleisher to be creative with the differences between Corrigan and the Spectre. Secondly, the other new major character that is involved is Earl Crawford. Well, I really don’t know what to say about Earl and his character. Essentially, he is a Clark Kent rip-off, but there is something rather strange about that. From his first appearance in Adventure Comics 435, he is established to be Earl. However, Corrigan calls him Clark Kent and a police officer thinks that Earl is Superman because he’s Clark Kent. Does this mean that Superman is a comic book in this world as well? Not only that, but in Wrath of the Spectre 4, Earl’s assistant looks an awful lot like Jimmy Olsen, so, what gives? While Earl’s role in the main story is not as involved or major as Gwen, he does become a point of view character at points, especially during the latter half of the series. This is because he not only repots on the Spectre and his editor thinks he’s insane, but because he is latter thrown in a mental institution, indirectly due to the Spectre. My only real problem with Earl’s character is that his story never ended. I know that you could argue the same for Corrigan and Gwen, but with Earl its different. By the end, you wonder if Earl will ever discover that Corrigan is the Spectre, or will he be left in the dark about it forever? As much as I would like to know what happens next, that just isn’t possible, unless I somehow stumble upon a Michael Fleisher script that may not exist or visit an alternate dimension. There may only be three or four characters that serve in the main cast, but ultimately, I think that that is enough. Any more would be too many and any less would be too hollow. Overall, Fleisher uses and creates a good and interesting set of characters. That is one of two reasons why I really like the series. The other is far less descriptive or suitable for analysis. That reason simply is that both Fleisher and Aparo must have had some balls to do the Spectre strip. The same goes for Joe Orlando, who co-edited the series with Fleisher. The whole creative team must have been surprised when the stories were published, because it didn’t take long for them to be criticised for their violence. I can really respect the team who worked on it because of that. They want to publish the stories that they want to write and draw. Honestly, I don’t have much of a problem with the violence because honestly, it isn’t that violent. Don’t get me wrong, it can be incredibly chilling and freaky at some parts, but there is never a panel or page full of blood and guts everywhere. The violence here is not exactly cartoon-violence, but it feels creative and unique. If I read this as a kid, it probably would have frightened me, but I would have kept reading because overall, it’s just fun to read. The violence is suitable because it’s a Spectre story. If you know anything about the character of the Spectre, you will except the type of things that you do see in Wrath of the Spectre. Like I said at the very beginning, the violence here is very different from the violence that you would witness in modern comics, which (to me, at least) feel like blood for the sake of blood and there isn’t any weight or substance to it. In Wrath of the Spectre, there is plenty of weight to the killings and the evidence for that is in the main characters of the saga…
Those who review these stories often praise Jim Aparo’s artwork as the most memorable aspect and place it as the reason why the Wrath of the Spectre series is
rated so highly. That wouldn’t be an incorrect judgement, yet Aparo’s art works so well partially because of the mood and contents of the stories written by Fleisher. The dark edge which Fleisher creates in his stories are excellently portrayed and visually depicted by Aparo. As usual, his sense for of storytelling is incredibly clear, concise and creative. His inks over his own pencils look great and with that rough appearance he can sometimes give to his art, it makes the stories grittier. One of Aparo’s huge achievements here in the storytelling, specifically in the gorier scenes involving a violent death or two. The reason they work so well isn’t because of the violence, its sense of the dramatic angles that they are drawn from and how horrific they appear on the page. There really isn’t much of anything here which I would consider to be gore for the sake of it, but when there is another murder, it feels creative and its sense of shock doesn’t vanish. For Wrath of the Spectre 4, the pages are all clearly drawn later in Aparo’s career, hence why the likes of Mike DeCarlo and Pablo Marcos ink him. Their styles, particularly DeCarlo’s, give Aparo a sense of smoothness in his art. While that may not be the most appropriate inking style for the Spectre, it still looks gorgeous and overall, the art, whether it be inked by Aparo or otherwise, it adds so much to Fleisher’s stories and without Aparo, the stories wouldn’t have the impact that they do. Plus, even when the likes of Ernie Chua and Frank Thorne are doing the art, the stories themselves are told excellently and continue to have that chilling appearance…
VERDICT
Overall, The Wrath of the Spectre stands out from other comics from the 1970s and partially, that is because of its violence. However, the reasons are much deeper than that. While I may have my criticisms of the saga, especially in terms of the formulaic stories and underdeveloped villains, Fleisher handles the Spectre and Jim Corrigan perfectly, writing as if the two of them are completely different entities. Fleisher also creates a great cast of characters and places them in an overarching story which is both enjoyable and incredibly compelling. For the writing, the deaths are certainly some of the most memorable moments of the saga, but that is also down to the fantastic art by Jim Aparo. Even when he isn’t inking himself, the art looks great and the same goes for when Aparo himself doesn’t pencil an issue or two. It comes as no surprise that DC has recently reprinted them in omnibus form, but its just such a shame the series was never finished…
Stories: 9/10
Art: 9.5/10
Next Week: The Question: Epitaph For A Hero (The Question (vol 1) 13-18). Written by Dennis O’Neil with art by Denys Cowan and Rick Magyar. Expected by 25/10/2020.
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