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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 9, 2020 14:46:55 GMT -5
So the grisly punishments devised in the Michael Fleisher run in Adventure weren't exactly brand-new, were they?
I know what you mean about the Spectre's outfit. It's creepy and the colors make it work... until you realize he's wearing a green adult diaper. I think we're just used to superheroes wearing that kind of get-up so we don't usually notice it.
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Post by MDG on Jan 9, 2020 15:06:03 GMT -5
TRIED TO FIX ABOVE PROBLEM BUT IT DIDN'T WORK.
There's a strike-through icon in the toolbar; that should fix it. Or, go into the bb code tab and remove the strike-through tag in the text.
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Post by chadwilliam on Jan 9, 2020 15:15:34 GMT -5
TRIED TO FIX ABOVE PROBLEM BUT IT DIDN'T WORK.
There's a strike-through icon in the toolbar; that should fix it. Or, go into the bb code tab and remove the strike-through tag in the text. And it worked! Thanks MDG - I must have hit it or something without realising.
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Post by chadwilliam on Jan 9, 2020 16:02:52 GMT -5
So the grisly punishments devised in the Michael Fleisher run in Adventure weren't exactly brand-new, were they? Fleisher will take quite a bit from this early run. In fact, in the very next issue, Corrigan rushes a crook with no regard whatsoever to his own safety since he knows that his bullets can't harm him. His fellow officers watch in astonishment as Corrigan thinks essentially "Why the Hell shouldn't I pull this stunt?" Fleisher copies that sequence pretty faithfully and even uses the sequence to illustrate how from time to time, The Voice will play games with him which is another thing Fleisher will take from Siegel. In Fleischer's handling, Corrigan learns that The Voice made him mortal in response to his wish that he be human again - The Voice just neglected to tell him this before he let a crook shoot him in the chest; Siegel meanwhile, will depict The Voice as similarly willing to let Corrigan have his eternal peace, but make the offer at the exact moment that a bullet races towards Clarice. In other words, The Voice isn't above offering Corrigan exactly what he wants but with a catch. Fleischer will also give Corrigan a love interest to substitute for Clarice. So if you've read Fleischer's run, you'll likely find quite a bit in these reviews which will strike you as familiar.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 9, 2020 16:13:52 GMT -5
The only Golden Age Spectre story I had read, was from Jules Feiffer's The Great Comic Book Heroes, in the reprint section, which has some brutal stuff there. You can tell this is very much an Old Testament kind of Angel of Death, which probably reflects Siegel's heritage. Also, he was a nebbishy you guy, who was shy and probably a target of bullies, as his work tends to suggest, as he is all about power fantasies and harsh payback to the bullies of the world. Look at the early Superman stories, where he is dangling people off of roofs and slapping around wife beaters and things; Siegel had some issues. The Spectre feels like he took the gloves off.
Fleischer followed that up and Aparo really made it work visually.
I've always had an affinity for some of these early comics, with their pulp novel trappings. It kind of gives them a character that the brighter Silver Age material lacks. You kind of see the darkness and violence as fitting with the hopelessness of the Depression and the anxiety of the dawn of the 40s, before it turns into patriotic fervor.
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Post by rberman on Jan 9, 2020 17:50:04 GMT -5
The character recalls to mind a peer who debuted a few months later in June 1940. "The Spirit" was a police detective who died (or rather seemed to die) at the hands of crooks but then re-appeared in disguise to bring them to justice. He seems a lot more like The Spectre than he does like Batman, and not just in his crimefighting name. Given the lead times on production of these printings, how likely is it that Will Eisner read More Fun before debuting his own creation?
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 10, 2020 0:12:05 GMT -5
..I don't know how much of Percival Popp I can take. Who is Percival Popp? Thankfully, no one right now. Right now, The Spectre works alone and his very existence is a better guarded secret than all of those secret identities superheroes had which were usually only known by "one or two people" (or less). But come More Fun Comics 74, he becomes The Spectre's comic sidekick. Yes, The Spectre - merciless bringer of death, vengeful agent of God - had a comic sidekick for about two dozen issues and I don't know how many of those I can take. So what I'm saying is this: I'm going to start this thread and I'm going to keep at it all through those first 20 or so More Fun appearances and whichever issues of All-Star which corresponds with those, but I don't know how I'm going to handle Percival Popp, The Super-Cop. I mean to see this thread through to the end, but man, if those reviews sound like I'm just slamming my fists into my keyboard trying to punch out whichever obscenities "Popp" into my head the fastest, it'll probably be because I am. So... no promises on where things will go. I shouldn't be too hard on Percival Popp because I've only read one or two of the Percival Popp stories over the many decades, but … he is really terrible! Ugh! I'm pretty tolerant of the Golden Age sidekicks. Doiby Dickles is so awkward and weird that I find him oddly entertaining. I love Stretch Skinner, Wildcat's hillbilly private detective friend. But Percival Popp … MAKE HIM STOP! He's even worse than Steamboat!
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jan 10, 2020 3:45:15 GMT -5
The character recalls to mind a peer who debuted a few months later in June 1940. "The Spirit" was a police detective who died (or rather seemed to die) at the hands of crooks but then re-appeared in disguise to bring them to justice. He seems a lot more like The Spectre than he does like Batman, and not just in his crimefighting name. Given the lead times on production of these printings, how likely is it that Will Eisner read More Fun before debuting his own creation?Well, Eisner began developing The Spirit in late 1939, but the basic idea of making him a ghost or supernatural superhero wasn't his -- it was Eisner's boss at Quality Comics. That said, having just looked at Mike's Amazing World of Comics, it appears that More Fun Comics #52 was approximately on stands in early January 1940. So, I guess it's possible that Eisner may've read the Spectre strip before the Spirit began to be published, but then again, maybe not. Given the late 1939 conception of the character, I'm not sure that we can conclude from that there was any influence on The Spirit from the Spectre. For me though, the really striking thing when comparing the Spectre to the Spirit is how much more polished Eisner's artwork and scripting is when compared to the clumsy dialogue of Jerry Siegel and the, frankly, primitive line work of Bernard Baily.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2020 8:34:38 GMT -5
Really enjoying this thread. Always liked the Spectre. Have not been able to read many of his 1940's stories.
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Post by tartanphantom on Jan 10, 2020 11:46:07 GMT -5
The character recalls to mind a peer who debuted a few months later in June 1940. "The Spirit" was a police detective who died (or rather seemed to die) at the hands of crooks but then re-appeared in disguise to bring them to justice. He seems a lot more like The Spectre than he does like Batman, and not just in his crimefighting name. Given the lead times on production of these printings, how likely is it that Will Eisner read More Fun before debuting his own creation?Well, Eisner began developing The Spirit in late 1939, but the basic idea of making him a ghost or supernatural superhero wasn't his -- it was Eisner's boss at Quality Comics. That said, having just looked at Mike's Amazing World of Comics, it appears that More Fun Comics #52 was approximately on stands in early January 1940. So, I guess it's possible that Eisner may've read the Spectre strip before the Spirit began to be published, but then again, maybe not. Given the late 1939 conception of the character, I'm not sure that we can conclude from that there was any influence on The Spirit from the Spectre. For me though, the really striking thing when comparing the Spectre to the Spirit is how much more polished Eisner's artwork and scripting is when compared to the clumsy dialogue of Jerry Siegel and the, frankly, primitive line work of Bernard Baily. Eisner really was on another level from the very beginning. Even in the early Spirit stories, one can see him already thinking outside the box in terms of scripting, characterization, and most importantly, page design layout. I've always said that Eisner could pack a more effective story in 7-8 pages than most others could in 48 pages.
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Post by chadwilliam on Jan 11, 2020 11:19:57 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #54 (April, 1940)
Synopsis: This tale starts already in progress as Jim Corrigan takes a bullet to the chest care of a criminal who’s been cornered by the detective and a couple of officers. Although his comrades reflect upon the miracle which must have occurred for the bullet to have missed Corrigan at point blank range, we know better. For the benefit of any readers stumbling across The Spectre for the first time, this comic provides a brief summation of his origin (“Earthbound ghost”, “eternal rest not to be” “supernatural powers”). For those of us familiar with the previous two issues who are wondering just where things stand between Jim Corrigan and Clarice Winston, well, Corrigan’s wife-not-to-be has been standing outside Police Headquarters waiting for him for the past hour when the detective arrives. Despite Corrigan’s assumption however, she is here on police business only. It seems that Clarice’s mother is being swindled by Rhani Set, a medium who has been cheating the elder Winston out of her money by pretending to summon her dead brother, Abner Ridges. Though none too pleased to see the man who jilted her daughter show up in her home, Mrs. Winston nevertheless invites Corrigan to attend Set’s latest séance at his apartment. Separating from Corrigan when Ridges’ face seemingly appears before the assembled group, The Spectre finds Set’s accomplice speaking through a microphone to complete the illusion. The Spectre stares into the hood’s eyes, he collapses with fear (unconscious but alive), and The Spectre takes over ‘Ridges’ speech by informing the group that “This is an exhibition of Rhani Set’s faked tricks to fool the public!” The Spectre re-enters Corrigan’s body, Mrs. Winston informs Set that he’ll be hearing from her lawyer, and the Winston family and Corrigan depart. Alone, Set demands an explanation from his confederate who can’t provide one beyond claiming he’s seen “a spook”. Set instead suspects Corrigan not realizing that "Jim Corrigan" and “spook” are not necessarily mutually exclusive terms. That night, an attempt is made on Corrigan’s life but proves futile when Corrigan disappears and a giant Spectre materializes before Set’s thug. Demanding that he return to his boss and tell him that Corrigan is dead (the underling’s speech pattern is such that it seems as if The Spectre has him under hypnotic control but the text doesn't make this absolutely clear) the goon does as he’s told and Set is free to move on with the next step in his scheme, which oddly, involves continuing to extort money from Mrs. Winston. Arriving back at the Winston mansion, Set flashes the image of Abner on his sister’s wall but whatever he intends to do next remains uncompleted for The Spectre arrives to throw him to the ground where his partner breaks his fall. Unsure as to what’s just transpired, but not wishing to wait around, the pair drive off with Corrigan convinced that they’ll no longer be a bother to the Winston family. Unfortunately, Corrigan’s optimism proves to be in error when, that very night, Set kidnaps Clarice and demands that Mrs. Winston leave $100,000 under the Dale bridge to get her back. Although Corrigan is present when Winston takes the call, she is too frightened to confide in him lest Set should harm her daughter. However, guess who’s able to read people’s minds? The money is left under the bridge, Set’s helper retrieves it, The Spectre follows the associate back to Set, and prepares to deal with the pair once he learns that the medium has no intention of letting Clarice live. Neither steel walls nor bullets can impede The Spectre, but nevertheless, something keeps him from wrapping this case up in a matter of seconds and that is… A summons from The Voice. Choosing this moment to pass judgement upon His page, The Voice informs The Spectre that He has rethought His decision to burden Jim Corrigan with the responsibility of ridding the world of all crime. “Your mission is too gigantic for one individual” announces The Voice and Jim Corrigan is now given the chance to pass on to eternal peace which would be fine except for the fact that he was called away at the exact moment when Rhani Set pulled the old “Keep back or I’ll shoot the girl!” trick and we all know from last issue how well Corrigan solves those sorts of dilemmas. So… Eternal rest but no one to stop that bullet which is slowly making its way towards Clarice or eternally earthbound and Clarice is saved? Really no choice at all. Returned to Earth, The Spectre causes the bullet to explode before it reaches its target and turns his attention towards Set and his henchman. Hypnotically commanding them to stare into his eyes, the two die of fright, The Spectre flies Clarice home, and the girl awakens in time to glimpse “that fantastic figure” but tells herself she must be dreaming. And so ends the first complete Spectre adventure following the completion of last month’s two-part origin tale. Thoughts: Jim Corrigan racing head-on to face off against that ne'er do well at the start of this tale parallels a very similar sequence found decades later in Michael Fleischer's Adventure Comics run of the 70's. Unfortunately, Fleischer’s intent was to have Corrigan not realize that his mortality had been given back to him the night before so that here, rather than illustrate how invulnerable he is, that moment served the purpose of underscoring just how mortal he had become. It was a pretty nasty trick on the part of The Voice and not unlike the stunt pulled on The Spectre in this issue when he’s given the option of finding ever lasting peace at the exact moment that Clarice’s life hangs in the balance. A pretty hollow offer indeed. Incidentally, that scene where Set fires a bullet at the unconscious Clarice isn’t quite clear as to whether or not this time, The Spectre heeded his warning to stay back before the trigger was pulled. Last issue, “Gat” Benson made the same threat and Corrigan chose to rush him anyway costing Clarice her life. You’d think he know better this time around, but it’s not clear whether or not he’s actually learned his lesson or is thinking “Second time’s the charm!” All we know is that Set warns The Spectre to stay back and then his “finger contracts” thus setting off the gun. Whether Set pulled that trigger by accident or as a result of movement on The Spectre’s part isn’t clear, but I’d give our hero the benefit of the doubt this time around. This issue marks The Spectre’s first full appearance in costume anywhere. More Fun 52 might as well be on the same level as an ad seeing as how that issue featured the character on the cover and on the splash and nowhere else and issue 53 only had him appear on the last page thus constituting a cameo more than an appearance. I mean, Jim Corrigan is all over those two issues, but The Spectre? Up until now he’s gotten a couple of covers, a splash, and a page (in which only one panel gives us a clear look at him). Not unheard of (if I recall correctly, Green Lantern handled his first case as Alan Scott and only popped up in All American 16 in his superhero outfit in that tale’s final panel) but I do appreciate the disciplined pacing Siegel is employing here. Corrigan may have given his fiancée the brush off, but Siegel hasn’t. Furthermore, he hasn’t ignored the fact that jilting your lover just before they reach the alter has certain ramifications such as where Corrigan stands with Clarice’s not seen until now family. Not sure if Siegel will let these details fall to the wayside, but it’s nice to see that for the moment, he’s keeping track of things. Still, there is one element which seems not to have been as carefully considered as it might have been. Although he never identifies himself as such and though we’ve been given no reason to believe that the public has thus far heard of him, at one point, Rhani Set cries out “The Spectre!” when the latter comes face to face with the medium. How Set has heard of or recognizes The Spectre isn’t clear. In his foreword to The Golden Age Spectre Archives Vol. 1, Jerry Bails suggests that thought printed as adventure number three for Corrigan/The Spectre, there might have been another tale written before this one which was printed later. I suppose that would explain it, but a quick glance at the next few stories don’t seem to explain how The Spectre would become well enough known to be recognized by a common hood and I doubt that such an early story would have been hold back for more than a few of issues at most. Some more powers unveiled in this yarn. The Spectre can read minds. Not the last time he’ll pull that trick. He can also leave Corrigan’s body to go do his own thing, but it’s not clear to me from this issue and others which I’ve read just what happens to Corrigan during these moments. Does he just zone out or can he carry on about his business as usual? I know that later issues will let him do the latter, but this early on? I just don’t know. Also, Jim Corrigan doesn’t need to sleep. Makes sense, but it’s confirmed here. Intriguingly, we learn this little factoid by way of a panel in which the detective is “reclining in bed”. Whether it was Siegel’s intention or not, this little contradiction has the effect of reminding us that in some ways, the significance of what’s happened to him hasn’t fully sunk in yet – that Corrigan is a ghost going through the motions of being a man. Kind of amusing to see Set not give up on trying to con Mrs. Winston even after he’s been pretty thoroughly debunked at the start of this tale. I mean, that whole speech from The Spectre should have made things pretty clear, but Set flashing an image of Ridges onto Mrs. Winston’s wall as if she’s simply forgotten his unmasking shows that he’s committed if nothing else. Siegel’s use of a medium as his villain for this issue is a nice carry over from his work on Superman where the man of steel’s usual focus was still on down to earth, real world corrupt forces preying on the vulnerable and oppressed (ie. crooked politicians, wife beaters, etc). In fact, Siegel’s corresponding issue of Action Comics (#23) this month would introduce us to Luthor. Still, the fact that Siegel had to toss The Voice into the mix to prolong his tale suggests that he won’t be able to use such ordinary crooks and con artists as opponents for The Spectre forever. A fun little tale. One final thought: It’s pretty creepy the way The Spectre distorts his size so that his upper body fills a room while the rest of him couldn’t possibly extend beyond the parameters of the panel he’s supposed to be filling. It’s sort of like looking at an optical illusion and realizing “Though this isn’t possible, it’s no illusion”. I did his think his “You haven’t a ghost of a chance!” quip when he confronts Set was a little out of place though. Oh well, it just adds to the uncertainty of how much of The Spectre is The Spectre and how much is Jim Corrigan.
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Post by chadwilliam on Jan 13, 2020 21:01:35 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #55 (May, 1940) “The Spectre”
Synopsis: Jim Corrigan and Wayne Grant (hadn’t thought we’d be seeing him again) have been called to the First National Bank where a clerk has been accused of embezzlement though he professes his innocence. Employing his ability to read minds, Corrigan quickly discovers that it is the bank’s book keeper, Simmons who is the real culprit. Retrieving a bond from his pocket in the amount of the missing money, Corrigan confirms Simmons' guilt. The book keeper panics, pulls a gun, and heads to the exit to make his escape. The Spectre however, emerges from Corrigan’s body and puts the kibosh on this hastily devised escape. Willing Simmon’s gun not to discharge its bullets, The Spectre invites the book keeper to visit “the valley of death with me”. A brief glance into The Spectre’s eyes reduces Simmons to a quivering wreck who quickly confesses all. Of course, given The Spectre’s abilities, his exchange with the crook was for all intents and purposes a private one – no one else in the room saw anything other than a criminal who was about to make a clean getaway inexplicably making a full confession instead. It says a lot about Corrigan’s job that all of this wasn’t even the most interesting thing to happen that day. After dropping their prisoner off at headquarters, Corrigan is intentionally stuck by a car before Grant's eyes. “Just a little shaken up” is how Corrigan describes his condition to Grant who still hasn't become accustomed to Corrigan escaping certain death on what has become a fairly regular basis. Once Grant isn’t looking, Corrigan gives chase in the form of his ghostly alter ego. With his face filling the whole of the car windshield, things seem to be going according to plan as the vehicle heads over a cliff (why there’s even such a cliff so close to the downtown area of a busy metropolis isn’t clear, but anyway...) but then something odd happens…( odder, I should say). The car hovers in mid-air and then returns to the road. Puzzled by this turn of events, it becomes clear that this is not what our hero intended. The Spectre’s confused state offers a perfect opening for the introduction of Zor, a top hat, goateed wearing individual who identifies himself as “like yourself, a spirit confined to Earth – only, thru’ the centuries I have spread evil upon this world!” Wasting no time, The Spectre grows to giant size as he rains blow upon blow upon his new foe. Zor first matches him in size and then, by The Spectre’s own admission, exceeds the heights to which he can grow. Not pressing his advantage, Zor leaves the scene but not before discharging the promise to soon bring unto the world “real anguish”. What does that mean exactly? Well, it means this: Zor takes on the form of Jim Corrigan and finds Clarice Winston. After establishing that he wants nothing to do with for the past three issues, Winston is happily surprised to discover that Corrigan now wishes to elope. The non-Zor Corrigan learns of Clarice’s disappearance at her family mansion and catches up to the couple as they drive away. Unfortunately, Zor transports his vehicle into another dimension and reveals his true appearance to his bride to be. Through the darkness of this other dimension, the car flies “as fearful dimensional creatures yammer outside the car” and Clarice faints. Laying the woman down in his castle, Zor announces his intention to imprison her after giving her “the kiss of death”. Before he can do so however, Zor begins to fade away and this time, it is he who is surprised by this unexpected turn of events. A flashback reveals that at the moment Clarice and Zor disappeared before The Spectre’s eyes, our grim ghost appealed to The Voice to intercede on her behalf. Acquiescing to his plea, The Voice provides The Spectre with the ability to track Zor to his castle. Despite the help, The Spectre finds himself walking into a trap – a fact he learns when he enters the castle and finds himself pinned in place by a paralysis ray. Promising The Spectre that he can look forward to centuries of being in this immobile state, The Spectre counters with an offer to give Zor the written formula for creating life if he frees him. Zor accepts these terms, The Spectre lunges at him, and they tussle. The Spectre tosses the formula (or at least, what he claims is the formula) carelessly on the floor, Zor reaches for it, and BAM! Paralysis ray for Zor! “Who’s stupid now?” asks The Spectre. Leaving Zor to the fate he had planned for him, The Spectre returns Clarice to her home and in the guise of Jim Corrigan, explains anyway the preceding events as a nightmare. Reiterating that “romance is not for me”, he departs and a blurb invites us to be here every month for further adventures of The Spectre in More Fun Comics. Thoughts: Zor adopting the appearance of Jim Corrigan and proposing marriage to the woman who loves him but to whom he can never be wed is a bit Siegel would return to 20 years later in “The Trio of Steel!” from Superman 135 (Feb, 1960). In that Superman adventure, Mr. Mxyzptlk impersonates Superman, proposes to Lois, and then laughs in her face. This is probably about as cruel as Mxyzptlk ever got but for Zor, it might be one of the nicer things he’s done. With Zor, we have the introduction of The Spectre’s first major foe and as such, it establishes that The Spectre is not the only being of supernatural abilities walking the Earth. Actually, Zor might be a supernatural being, but that paralysis ray of his seems to be science based – advanced, yes, but still rooted in science (well, comic book science at any rate). It’s interesting to see that just as Superman is as susceptible as the rest of us to magic, The Spectre can, at times, be as vulnerable to scientific instruments as anyone else. It’s a detail which will be returned to elsewhere in these texts though not dwelled upon to my knowledge. As I mentioned in my review of the previous issue, you can’t really have The Spectre going up against everyday gangsters forever, but I am hoping that beings such as Zor don’t become the norm just yet. I personally prefer it when the star of the book is the most interesting character around and having a being who equals – actually, surpasses in a number of ways – The Spectre’s abilities kind of makes our hero seem a little less unique. Plus, you can spend only so much time with two magical beings going at it before it gets a little too “I’m as powerful as ten oxes!”, “I’m as powerful as 100 oxes!”, “I’m as powerful as 500 oxes!”, etc. etc. Still, as a malicious being bent upon perpetrating evil upon the world, Zor is an excellent counterpart to The Spectre. His freezing his victims in place leaving them to watch the centuries pass is a pretty scary prospect and a punishment Fletcher Hank’s Stardust would mete out to his enemies around this period over at Fox Features. More on Stardust soon. This isn’t to say that The Spectre himself has lost any of his bite. We’re reminded that it isn’t enough for him to simply drive a car full of killers off a cliff and be done with it. No, no. He has to appear on the hood of their car and glare at them. Then he has to transport his face into their windshield itself and glare at them ghoulishly. I mentioned at the start of these reviews that Corrigan was a pretty uncouth fellow, but there’s something sadistic about The Spectre and it’s not quite clear where that comes from. Is this simply a side of Jim Corrigan we haven’t seen before or when he transforms into The Spectre is he becoming a wholly new person sort of like a dark Captain Marvel? I don’t think Siegel ever gives us an answer and I’m not even sure it matters, but one gets the feeling that The Spectre is more than just Jim Corrigan in a cape and bleached skin. Though The Spectre is still keeping below the radar as far as public knowledge of his existence is concerned, Jim Corrigan should be raising a few eyebrows at work. He’s already taken down the “Gat” Benson gang singlehandedly in a case which found Benson and a henchman reduced to gibbering simpletons at its close; a crook took a shot at him at point blank range and somehow missed; and here he gets hit by a car and shrugs it off. It’s kind of funny that Siegel and Shuster gave Superman a meek, milquetoast alter ego to allay suspicions that he moonlights as Clark Kent, while Jim Corrigan is pulling stunts such as these. I guess the difference is, citizens of Metropolis know there’s a Superman masquerading as a regular guy, while at this point, very few people have even seen The Spectre and would therefore never think of connecting Jim Corrigan’s miracle survival rate with a supernatural being they have no reason to know exists. Still, someone who should be connecting the dots is Clarice Winston who caught a glimpse of The Spectre at the end of last issue’s yarn and had to be assured that the events of this tale were just a nightmare. Granted, she was unconscious for most of it, but Corrigan doesn’t seem to be too concerned with what she remembers seeing and not seeing. You’d think a character such as The Spectre would be able to at least wipe her memory of any unsettling traces of stuff like her horrible car ride with Zor. Speaking of that car ride, though Baily doesn’t depict it, Siegel’s narration of “fearful dimensional creatures yammer[ing] outside the car” is a frightening and tantalizing description of the other dimension Clarice and Zor travel through. Siegel really knows how to set up a mood and bits like Zor’s castle in the middle of nowhere, The Spectre’s face filling the whole of the bad guy’s car window, the Valley of Death he threatens to take Simmons to, really paint a vivid picture of The Spectre’s world. The Spectre engaging in everyday fisticuffs with Zor seemed a bit odd and somewhat lowbrow (especially in light of how The Spectre usually discharges his enemies) but there’s a nice balance here between superheroics and horror going on here. Hopefully, Siegel and Baily (who does a great job of giving The Spectre both a human and demonic expression upon his face) can keep it up.
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Post by MWGallaher on Jan 14, 2020 9:01:54 GMT -5
I wanted to read along with this review thread, so I looked up some online scans of More Fun. Clicking through to the first story page, I was distracted, as I often am, by a name I found: I've been tempted to play "Internet Detective" many times because of old comics I've seen online. I've looked up the whereabouts of people known to have purchased Action Comics #1 (prize winners announced in issue 3), all of whom, alas, appeared to be dead. I've followed up on people who appeared in advertisements. I've alerted a college professor in Arizona who had had a letter printed in a Supergirl comic so that she could finally see a scan of the story she requested, but never got to see as a girl. So when I see a name like "Charles N. Reinsel", a fairly unusual name with a specific home town, I was tempted to see what I could find out about him. Was he a kid who had his own rubber stamp, who bought this comic in 1940, reading the debut of Dr. Fate? I quickly found his gravesite on findagrave.com, showing he was 10 years old in 1940. He might have bought it, and might have had a stamp, but more likely, a kid would have just scrawled his name on the comic. Let's see what else I can find about Mr. Reinsel... Charles was a sergeant in the US Army during the Korean war. He appeared on the cover of a magazine for soldiers, and appears to have had aptitude for technical subjects like "topographic computing". Interesting! Further digging led to this: Reinsel, in the 1960's, published a mimeograph fanzine devoted to Edgar Rice Burroughs. So he was a fan of heroic fantasy into his adulthood! This made me suspect that the issue of More Fun #55 was an adult acquisition, as adults seemed more likely to mark their possessions with a rubber stamp. Still, kind of cool to know who this belonged to, right? A veteran, an active participant in fandom...what else is there to learn online? How about this: In 1970, Reinsel sought the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania General Assembly Representative. He was a policeman and a math and science teacher! Married, with four children...but wait...his findagrave listing didn't include any spouse or children... Oh, no... Presumably he died after 18 years in prison. A depressing end for a man who should have learned better lessons from the Ghostly Guardian...
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Post by rberman on Jan 14, 2020 9:07:59 GMT -5
Detective work worthy of Jim Corrigan, MW.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 14, 2020 9:26:04 GMT -5
Jim Corrigan wouldn’t be my first choice for a character to headline a series entitled ‘More Fun’ given his personality. Though I might be too far removed from the era to judge accurately just how Corrigan would have been perceived by his 1940 audience, his personality is more James Cagney than, say, Dick Tracy or Bulldog Drummond. I have no problem with him getting tough with a stool pigeon or “Gat” Benson, but man, this guy doesn’t change his tone with anyone. A friend teases him about marrying above his station and Corrigan shoves his head in the sink and turns on the tap; his fiancée reprimands him for missing a party and he gives her that whole “I’m the boss” speech; one even has to wonder how that stoolie benefits from his relationship with Corrigan when he asks what he’ll get for his tip and the detective responds “The tip of my foot!”. If anyone would welcome the chance to become the all-powerful, vengeful Spectre, it should be Jim Corrigan – his plea to The Voice for “eternal peace” seems a little hollow. I'd never given the characterization much thought before. You raise some excellent points. It might be worth taking a look at the larger horror genre of the time period. it was a common trope of earlier horror films and stories to make the protagonist unlikable so that their confrontation with the supernatural would seem less...upsetting. If, on some level, Corrigan invited this confrontation with the morbid by being such a jerk, then the universe continues to make sense and all is right with the world. A year after the publication of this story, Universal's The Wolfman would chuck that trope out the window with well-meaning Larry Talbot getting bit by a werewolf that didn't even dislike him, but we aren't there yet. I was actually going in the opposite direction with that, arguing Wolverine's first appearance was in #180, but this is the real crux of my fascination with this first appearance. When else in the Golden Age was a character's first appearance ever billed on the front cover, only to give us a two part cliffhanger within, at the end of which the character still hasn't appeared yet? Fascinating stuff. I can't imagine this had been the original plan for the issue. Excellent point. I hadn't considered this before.
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