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Post by chadwilliam on May 20, 2020 20:07:34 GMT -5
All-Star Comics #12 (August-September 1942)   Synopsis: A very moody opening to this installment with an ancient looking figure sitting somewhere in Japan offering these ominous words - "I started the Russo-Japanese war! I started the war with the United States! I am the power behind Japan - I will make her great!" Opining that the Japanese are "great imitators" but poor inventors, this figure vows that his people will steal the brilliant inventions of America's geniuses. In a house near Osaka, this is exactly what The Black Dragon Society plans, but not unbeknownst by The Justice Battalion who have been informed of their intentions through the War Department. Eight inventions, all with "great effect on the outcome of the war" have been stolen. To that end, the eight male member of the Battalion set out after them with Wonder Woman staying in Washington to respond to any emergencies which might arise during their absence. Hawkman, The Sandman, The Atom, Starman, Doctor Fate, and Dr. Mid-Nite all prove successful in their ventures, but what of The Spectre? "In a submarine in the depths of the sea, The Black Dragon Society has fled with inventor Charles Reagan, discoverer of the amazing Rocket-Bomb..." And so The Spectre's adventure begins. With the secrets of his Rocket-Bomb - a device attuned to the polarity of the poles and thus capable of bombing any place on Earth - beaten out of him, Reagan has involuntarily supplied the Society with the information it seeks. Remorseful over his betrayal, Reagan sees little hope when his device is used to target Chicago. Meanwhile, as The Spectre strives unsuccessfully to locate any clue regarding the inventor's disappearance, his finely tuned senses inform him of the rocket as it streaks towards its target. So powerful are these senses that he is able to detect the thoughts of Japanese men and Reagan simply by coming into contact with the missile which he handily disposes of. Tracing Reagan's thought waves to the depths of the ocean, The Spectre manages to follow the radio signals emanating from the submarine holding him prisoner back to their source. Rescuing Reagan and escorting him to the safety of the U.S. army first, The Spectre doubles back to the sub and after punching a missile fired his way, grows to gigantic size, grabs the vessel, and tosses it into space. Unusually for the hero, he flies after the flying submarine and gives its occupants the chance to be turned over to prison if they turn over the stolen plans and confirm that his earlier interference with their radio waves prevented the information contained therein reaching their superiors. With this completed, The Spectre deposits the submarine on the roof of an army building and departs with Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt to help the team rescue Johnny who has gotten himself into a jam with The Black Dragon Society. The Justice Battalion does just that, turns the villains over to the army, and so ends another tale. Thoughts: With nothing really added to this story that we haven't seen elsewhere with The Spectre, there isn't much I can offer in terms of thoughts pertaining directly to the plot of this tale that I haven't voiced before. Inventor is kidnapped, his secrets are badly needed by both sides, Spectre swoops in, defeats the enemy, saves the inventor, and his talents are put to proper use. We're reminded in this installment that The Spectre is capable of sharing his ability to pass through solid objects to others as demonstrated when he and Reagan escape from the sub. I don't recall The Spectre using his extra sensory perception here in quite the same way as he has before. He's exhibited a talent for summoning up images from the past through contact with a crime scene, but touching the Rocket-Bomb and picking up on the thought waves of Reagan and his captors is something new. And while The Spectre piece of this story doesn't offer anything which, say, a Doctor Fate or Starman chapter couldn't accomplish, it's of value simply because its the only comic on the stands with The Spectre not paired up with and playing second fiddle to Percival Popp. Grateful though I am for this fact, I have to wonder why, if All-Star Comics is meant to serve as a sampler for what you should expect in each character's own titles, Popp isn't present. Presumably, Fox and DC have enough faith in the character (or at least enough indifference to The Spectre) to make him the star of the Spectre tales over in More Fun, so why is The Spectre given the spotlight here, but not there? I suppose it boils down to the fact that in All-Star, he's only been allotted six pages an issue. Hard enough to begin and end a single story in that short space with a single character, so why complicate things with a second? Plus, with Johnny Thunder acting as the dim bulb comic relief for the title, Popp might just be redundant. Whatever the reason, it kind of makes me wonder what sort of stories lay ahead for The Spectre here. With America involved in the war and with this being perhaps the most patriotic high profile title DC has on the stands right now, I suspect that whimsical, surreal, and outlandish tales would be considered too much of a dereliction of duty on the part of Fox to indulge given the desire to focus on what's going on in the real world at this time. Though an understandable approach, I'm not sure how well a figure such as The Spectre can fit into these plans. Busting up spy rings is fine for some heroes, but for a character who boasts in this yarn that "nothing can kill me while in spirit form, why should I be afraid of a mere torpedo" a little more is required.
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Post by MWGallaher on May 23, 2020 8:48:55 GMT -5
I think that All-Star Comics was generally a "no comedy sidekicks" zone for all of the main characters, despite the trends of the time for introducing them almost everywhere. Doiby Dickles appeared in the Green Lantern segments prior to his move to honorary membership, but once he rejoined, Doiby didn't join in, even though he remained a fixture in the GL series. Flash's trio of dimwits never showed up, nor did Etta Candy, or Stretch Skinner in Wildcat's two appearances. It makes sense, since the JSA adventures frequently called for globe-trotting, that the sidekicks wouldn't participate, but it seems to be a more instinctive omission to me, with All-Star being the place for "straighter" super-heroics up to the very end, with the attention on the superheroes who were fading elsewhere in the line.
The question for me is why they left the Spectre in at all, since his segments were way out of sync with the developments in his own series, to a degree that he really shouldn't have been able to participate with the JSA. I know the JSA adventures were prepared and released in some degree of disorder, at least after the Spectre left the team at the point of the brief DC/AA separation. But I guess we'll get around to that later...
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Post by chadwilliam on May 23, 2020 9:29:26 GMT -5
I think that All-Star Comics was generally a "no comedy sidekicks" zone for all of the main characters, despite the trends of the time for introducing them almost everywhere. Doiby Dickles appeared in the Green Lantern segments prior to his move to honorary membership, but once he rejoined, Doiby didn't join in, even though he remained a fixture in the GL series. Flash's trio of dimwits never showed up, nor did Etta Candy, or Stretch Skinner in Wildcat's two appearances. It makes sense, since the JSA adventures frequently called for globe-trotting, that the sidekicks wouldn't participate, but it seems to be a more instinctive omission to me, with All-Star being the place for "straighter" super-heroics up to the very end, with the attention on the superheroes who were fading elsewhere in the line. The question for me is why they left the Spectre in at all, since his segments were way out of sync with the developments in his own series, to a degree that he really shouldn't have been able to participate with the JSA. I know the JSA adventures were prepared and released in some degree of disorder, at least after the Spectre left the team at the point of the brief DC/AA separation. But I guess we'll get around to that later... That theory works for me. With All-Star being so focused on the seriousness of the war, it might have felt inappropriate to make things too comedic or silly hence it being the place for "straighter" super-heroics as you say. As far as being "out-of-sync" - Clarice Winston will be making one final appearance during The Golden Age and it will be over in All-Star Comics. Though I won't mention why now, I will note that it offers either the biggest continuity screwup or shockingly unexplained development the series will almost certainly see. Something which would have meant a huge change for the character at one point, but is presented here so matter-of-factly that you have to conclude that Fox is just writing these tales on default mode. |
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Post by tarkintino on May 23, 2020 9:53:13 GMT -5
It makes sense, since the JSA adventures frequently called for globe-trotting, that the sidekicks wouldn't participate, but it seems to be a more instinctive omission to me, with All-Star being the place for "straighter" super-heroics up to the very end, with the attention on the superheroes who were fading elsewhere in the line. If only Timely followed that model and left the terrible, non-powered stereotypes from Young Allies Comics in some back-up feature unrelated to WW2...or just not use them at all. |
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Post by chadwilliam on May 25, 2020 13:55:03 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #83 (Sept 1942) “ Leatherpusher Law”  " And you call yourself a detective! Detective? Defective... you mean!" Synopsis: Percvial Popp has been moonlighting as a boxer in recent days – a fact which The Spectre discovers when he comes across the Super-Cop as he’s accosted by a group of hoods as they attempt to compel him into throwing his next match. After the thugs are tossed out of Popp’s gym and into the street, introductions and explanations are made. Popp is being trained by Kid Morris (a little kid who is brother to disgraced boxer Hammer Morris who Popp suspects was framed into appearing to have thrown a fight) and with Popp’s patented “Windmill Windup” technique (consisting of Popp spinning his arms around wildly, walking forward, and hitting anyone he comes into contact with) the shrimp detective has been doing fairly well for himself in the ring.  But, hey, how come The Spectre’s around anyway? Well, as it turns out, “a lot of robberies have been occurring lately… but no money has been passed around town! No jewels have been pawned or sold… it seems odd!” In trying to determine how stolen goods have been transferring hands in the underworld, The Spectre took note when some of Blackie Barrow’s men entered Popp’s gym. As it transpires, it’s a good lead for elsewhere in the city, Barrow is showing off his disposal technique for his ill-gotten gains. By Hiding jewels, money, etc. inside hollowed out dumb bells, Blackie has managed to get his loot to his confederates at Paddy’s gym who in term get the stuff over to Barrow’s fences at sporting goods stores. Of course, when he learns from his men that Popp won’t take a dive and that The Spectre has gotten involved, Barrow conspires to get rid of the annoyance at a time when his ghostly guardian angel isn’t around. As we know however, The Spectre also goes by the name of Jim Corrigan and Jim Corrigan can hardly go five minutes without Percival Popp paying him a visit. So Popp and Kid Morris do just that and while they’re calling to the detective from beneath his apartment window, they’re attacked by a group of Blackie’s ne’er do wells. The Spectre takes over, tosses two of the attackers into space and accompanies the third into the sky where he offers this bargain – “Perhaps you’ll be willing to trade your life for a little information on why you tried to get Percival Popp”. The goon readily agrees, admits that Popp’s fights have been fixed so he’d win and Barrow could clean up on him, and Popp takes offense. He needn’t bother though, since The Spectre tells him that he’ll continue being used by Blackie so that The Spectre can learn more about his fencing racket.  Popp offers his services to Blackie, Blackie announces that the diminutive boxer will prove “the greatest champ the ring ever knew”, and as Popp discovers, one of his sparring partners turns out to be none other than former great Hammer Morris who confides in the fellow that it was due to his water being spiked that people thought he threw his last match. Morris also suspects that something is up when he sees how much fighting equipment is being brought into the gym. Meanwhile, The Spectre has built upon Morris' and his earlier suspicions to uncover the full scope of Blackie's scheme. Taking Popp to his gym and presenting a package sent to the goof containing a set of barbells with stolen jewels conceled within, the pest accepts the implications of this development. As The Spectre explains, "Look here, Sherlock! This package has your name on it! If a police officer opened these, you'd take the wrap for Blackie's robberies!" At that moment, Blackie and his goons enter the scene, foolishly pull a gun on The Spectre, and literally gets tossed around by the mirthful ghost. Blackie himself makes it as far as his office where he is waylaid by our hero and forced to make a full confession from inside the squared circle in which Popp is scheduled to have his match that evening. With Hank Morris' name cleared in front of the audience, Popp offers the redeemed champ the chance to fight in his place as the crowd roars their approval for "Hammer." Dejected, Popp accepts that his career as a pugilist is over and a next issue box invites us to return next month.  Thoughts: With each passing issue of More Fun Comics it becomes harder and harder to plausibly deny that the series has been turned over to Percival Popp. Having already lost the privilege of serving as this title's cover star every month, The Spectre seems to be coming increasingly closer to vacating his own splash page. Last month, his giant figure looked on in bemusement as Popp sold halos for " The Truth Hurts!". Though a Popp centric scene, The Spectre's befuddled expression suggested that whatever this yarn entailed, our ghost hero was going to play a role in extricating Popp from something. This time around however, the splash page with its giant smiling Spectre head off to the side seems to be using ol' Spec here only as a sort of endorsement for Popp whose billing now reads 'The Spectre and Percvial Popp, The Super-Cop' as opposed to the previous entry's 'The Spectre with Percival Popp The Super-Cop'. Such a change in phrasing has the effect of presenting Popp as no longer here as a guest or junior assistant to The Spectre, but as an equal partner at least as far as providing entertainment is to be concerned. So is this installment providing entertainment? Well, it's not The Spectre any more unless he's been lobotomized. Despite appellations such as "The Dark Knight" and a "grim figure" being applied to our hero within Fox's captions, this is still a Spectre who quips "Shall we ankle away, rats?" as he grabs the feet of some ruffians, jokes "this isn't dandruff on your shoulders" as he grabs Blackie by his sides, and enters the story with the pithy "Mind if I do some bopping of my own?". Steve Ditko went to great lengths to explain why his character, Mr. A, would never refer to a crook as "my friend". It's one of those instances of Ditko's attention to detail being misinterpreted as an eccentricity and it's a trait I wish more writers had. You can't labour a character with flippant cookie cutter dialogue like this while still describing him as a "grim ghost" - I can only imagine what kids encountering the word "grim" here for the first time thought that word meant when they saw it being applied to someone acting as goofy as The Spectre. But perhaps the biggest dichotomy is seeing The Spectre kill two men by tossing them into space while quipping "Give my regards to The Milky Way!" I'm not even sure these guys are killers. I mean, killing a murderer or rapist or bigamist or something like that is fine, but killing guys for fixing boxing matches and stealing jewelry? How did The Spectre's personality get so silly while his moral code got so twisted. I suppose if Fox were called on the carpet over this he could explain that the strip is so cartoony that you can't take these murders seriously, but it's still a weird juxtaposition on display here. Still, given that he follows this action up by outright threatening the third hood's life, it's hard to expect readers to assume that that first pair of crooks landed on a nice soft cloud or something. And what's with The Spectre taking it so easy on Blackie's men at the start of this story? He just tosses them into the street and lets them go. No wonder he's treated so dismissively later on in the tale when Blackie casually assumes that pulling a gun on the ghost will leave him at his mercy. So another tale ends but this time, there's no expressed hope from The Spectre or Corrigan that Popp will now leave him alone from here on out. Perhaps that and the fact that The Spectre even had Popp working for him in this yarn is a sign that even he knows that the pest is here to stay. As for me, as much as I can no longer consider these real Spectre tales, I suspect that Spec's presence will eventually be so diminished that part of me might actually come to look back on this period relatively fondly. "Ah, the good old days when The Spectre at least had dialogue!"
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on May 25, 2020 14:13:21 GMT -5
I suspect that Spec's presence will eventually be so diminished that part of me might actually come to look back on this period relatively fondly. "Ah, the good old days when The Spectre at least had dialogue!" Which begs the question of how much further you are taking these reviews. I'm curious if you have the resolve to push through the final appearances. |
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Post by chadwilliam on May 25, 2020 16:54:35 GMT -5
I suspect that Spec's presence will eventually be so diminished that part of me might actually come to look back on this period relatively fondly. "Ah, the good old days when The Spectre at least had dialogue!" Which begs the question of how much further you are taking these reviews. I'm curious if you have the resolve to push through the final appearances. Oh no, I'll be sticking through with the reviews until the very end ( More Fun Comics #101) even though at this point, I sort of feel like I'm doing a review thread of " Super Turtle" or " Varsity Vic" or all those 1960's Rocky and Bullwinkle Cheerio ads at this point. I also feel as though there's some pot of gold waiting for me if I finish this thread and the ghost of Gardner Fox knows it and wants to keep me away from it. "Arrr... I felt certain that this here Percival Popp scallawag would have scared the scurvy into this here Chad fellow by now, but it seems as though he be made of sterner stuff. Arrr. Perhaps he be needin' to see yon Spectre in a sun dress to haunt the marrow into his bones. Arrrr". To which I can only respond "You want to get nuts, Fox? Let's get nuts!" And frankly, the only thing I don't like about this series now is that it's not what it's advertised to be - The Spectre. If this were "The Adventures of Super-Turtle and Percvial Popp" I think I'd unconsciously enjoy it in the same way I enjoyed those Tootsie-Pop ads in Silver Age Batman comics. I wouldn't necessarily be aware of the fact that I was enjoying them until it suddenly dawned on me that I was taking the time to read them in every comic in which I found them. And hey, as M.W. Gallaher noted before (admittedly during the Siegel run) even if the larger story isn't working, there's almost always some small bit of ingenuity or intelligence or something to be found in these installments. Granted, they're becoming harder to find these days, but they're still there. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on May 25, 2020 16:57:46 GMT -5
Arrr. Perhaps he be needin' to see yon Spectre in a sun dress to haunt the marrow into his bones. Arrrr". Sold. I want a DC Archives volume containing this story. |
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Post by tarkintino on May 26, 2020 4:41:51 GMT -5
And hey, as M.W. Gallaher noted before (admittedly during the Siegel run) even if the larger story isn't working, there's almost always some small bit of ingenuity or intelligence or something to be found in these installments. Granted, they're becoming harder to find these days, but they're still there. That is true. Historically, when a comic begins to go south, so goes all of the creative interest for those behind the book, and obviously, the readers. The Spectre at least has points of interest in the latest stories you're reviewing. |
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Post by MWGallaher on May 26, 2020 6:14:12 GMT -5
This one really does feel like the final transformation of the feature into a humor strip. The story feels just like some forgotten 1940's B-film comedy--you could easily excise the ghostly hi-jinks and put an imitation Bud Abbott in as Jim Corrigan and call "Action!"
I've read ahead a little, and I think there is some interesting material, and I look forward to jointly trying to make sense of the instability in the "rules" of this feature.
And I'd love to see a follow-up thread digging into the Silver Age run if you're not too exhausted. Looking at the 60's revival in the immediate light of a thorough review of the evolution of the Golden Age run might give some valuable insights.
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Post by chadwilliam on May 26, 2020 16:39:21 GMT -5
Not sure about a follow-up review thread focused on the Silver Age material, but the thought has occurred to me. Can't think of any reason why not I shouldn't touch upon a few appearances following the end of this run and I have one in mind from the Ostrander/Mandrake run already...
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Post by chadwilliam on May 26, 2020 23:04:42 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #84 (October 1942) “The Cry-Baby Crimes!”
 Synopsis: “Cursed with overflowing tears due to defective glands, I have made it my purpose in life to make others cry with me!” And so we are presented with the raison d’etre of this month’s villain, The Cry-Baby (sweet mother of God…) The Cry-Baby has been sending pamphlets with “sad stories” printed on them to places they wish to rob. These publications have the effect of causing their targets to burst out into tears thus making them defenseless against the weeping Cry-Baby when he robs them. Of course, there’s a little more to it than that – it isn’t the words producing this result but the combination of laughing gas and tear gas which has been applied to the paper which is responsible though no one knows this as of yet. When The Chief (yes, he’s back) assigns Jim Corrigan to this case which has rocked Culver City (no, that’s not what The Spectre’s city was called last time) the detective decides to set a trap for The Cry-Baby (and yes, this a guy who, in the past, has faced off against villains who have destroyed entire cities, threatened the Earth, and survived being hurled into the furthest reaches of space). The bait? Percvial Popp. Or at least that’s Corrigan’s intention. “He usually wants me to let him work with me! The tables are turned for once! This time I’m going to ask him to help me out!” Popp however, actually turns down Corrigan’s request. Why? Because as the super-cop explains, he and The Spectre are now a team. Alright, I’ll admit that’s a fairly clever twist. So Corrigan revisits Popp that night and in the guise of The Spectre requests his aid. This time, Popp acquiesces. The scheme? Let the papers know (and through the papers, The Cry-Baby) that the Romanoff jewels, valued at two million dollars, are being guarded by Popp. When the bane of my existence returns to his apartment he finds a single mother looking after her two children already living there. Pleading with Popp to let them stay rather than starve, Popp begins to weep at which point, The Cry-Baby bursts into the room and demands to know the Romanoff jewels are. The Spectre, peering in through a window, takes over and beats up The Cry-Baby and his gang. While chasing Cry-Baby’s men into the street, the head man sneaks away with what he thinks are the jewels he came for. As The Spectre informs Popp however, “Those jewels were only paste! Think I’d trust you with the real ones?” The Cry-Baby learns of the deception in the morning edition of the newspaper and sends one of his men to pay Popp a visit on the pretense of being a client wishing to find out who’s been stealing from him. Correctly guessing that this is a trap, Popp plays along. Arriving at his caller’s home, Popp is captured by Cry-Baby’s men and tied to a chair. Now The Cry-Baby has a hostage to use against The Spectre. With that accomplished, Cry-Baby arranges a set-up involving a man finally tracking down his long lost wife in front of a jewelry store “overcom[ing] even the most cynical of passerby!” Incidentally, attention is drawn at this point to a wet sponge being squeezed by The Cry-Baby which we soon learn releases the Laughing/Tear Gas hybrid I mentioned earlier. So this lady breaks out into tears, is invited into the jewelry store to rest, and The Cry-Baby introduces himself as a Doctor who prescribes her rest. Within the store, he and his men take whatever they can grab, but The Spectre intervenes. Playing his “I have Percival Popp” card, The Cry-Baby discovers his one advantage is useless given the fact that the pipsqueak has actually succeeded in his plan to be lead to Cry-Baby’s hideout and then take his men by surprise when one of the criminal’s agents gets too close while gloating about the glass phial he’s holding which contains the mixture causing the rain of tears deluging the city. Lunging at the thug whilst still tied to the chair, Popp knocks him to the floor, uses the glass from the broken phial to severe his bonds, and races to the scene of Cry-Baby’s latest attempted crime. Popp explains why everyone couldn’t help crying and The Spectre correctly surmises that the long lost wife was a plant. Cry-Baby goes to jail and this nail biter comes to a close.  Thoughts: For their inaugural meeting, Johnny Thunder suggested that each member of the newly Christened Justice Society of America bring a tale of their solo exploits to the table. Having recently singled himself as the one member who hasn't joined the army or navy but don't worry, "I'm sure I'll be kept busy here on the home front while you're all risking life and limb against Hitler and Hirohito", I can only imagine what thoughts are going through The Spectre's head these days at team meetings. "Please don't ask me what I've been doing, please don't ask me what I've been doing, please don't ask me..." I mean, we haven't seen Percvial Popp in the pages of All-Star so I think it's safe to say that he's been keeping that aspect of his life to himself, but, man, how would he sell " The Cry-Baby Crimes!" to his fellow teammates? Actually, you know what? Let's see what else is going on in the DC Universe in issues cover dated Oct, 1942... Action Comics 53 - Superman goes up against a foe who has blocked out the sun. Detective Comics 68 - Batman vs. Two-Face All-American 43 - Investigating the collapse of a new subway tunnel, The Green Lantern finds himself involved in a tale of murder and himself labeled as the primary suspect. All-Flash 6 - The Flash gets involved in the case of " The Ray That Changed Men's Souls" when policemen beg bank robbers to run off with their stolen loot and criminals plead with the police to arrest them. More Fun 84 - And in the very issue housing " The Crime-Baby Crimes!", The Green Arrow raises $50,000 for The USO while facing off against Japanese enemy agents; Dr. Fate comes into conflict with a villain using the theme of hobbies to commit crimes (yeah, perhaps not much to brag about either, but with the crook blowing up banks, sending exploding airplanes after his intended victims, and using nitroglycerine against Fate, you can't argue that he's not giving it his all); Aquaman is kidnapped and put on display after his hideout is discovered; Johnny Thunder goes up against arsonists while becoming a Hollywood hero. And then we come to The Spectre... "Brace yourselves gentlemen, for it was Wednesday last when, ensconced within his own soiled undergarments, a criminal mastermind bawled unashamedly before his own men as they turned their heads away in disgust at his uncontrollable weeping in a tale I shudder to recall as..." The Cry-Baby Crimes!" And the villain actually goes by the name of The Cry-Baby. Man, I wish he had some other name to go by - can you imagine how stupid I felt typing "As Percival Popp comes face to face with The Cry-Baby...", "When The Spectre bursts in on The Cry-Baby...", "The Cry-Baby schemes to..."? Honestly, if I had to make a choice between being caught reading this story while riding the bus or being caught reading Fat Albert tentacle porn while attending a funeral, I truly think I'd rather be caught doing the latter. "Is that a comic called ' The Cry-Baby Crimes!' you're reading?" "What? No! It's, uh, Fat Albert tentacle porn! Yeah, that's the ticket!" So... what am I talking about again? OK, right, here's the thing. I don't actually mind the idea of a criminal who has a glandular problem which forces to cry at all times. A criminal who commits his robberies in the open under cover of a public which can't help but weep uncontrollably isn't a bad idea, actually. In fact, over at Fawcett, Bullet-Man and Bullet-Girl went up against a similar foe named The Weeper. As if burdened by the knowledge that life is vicious, cruel, and unfair, The Weeper did his best to open people's eyes to this fact by ruining their lives whenever he could. Destroying a little girl's doll after catching sight of the smile on her face; murdering a window washer for singing a pleasant tune as he worked; surrounding himself with only the gloomiest of men at all times; and yet, weeping at his own contributions to making the world a worse place to live in - there was something almost profound about this character who hated the hypocrisy of happiness in a world of sorrow but was just human enough to regret his inability to rise above lashing out at others. The Cry-Baby however, shares none of this depth. Just as Fox couldn't be bothered to remember the name of The Spectre's city and so applied the arbitrarily assigned handle 'Culver City' to his locale, he doesn't even attempt to give his villain any background or psychological depth to enhance his tale. In fact, when one of The Cry-Baby's men asks "But Cry-Baby, why are you always so sad?" the criminal genius responds "Who knows? I was born weeping... and I shall weep when I die!" Aside from the mention of the glandular defect he's been afflicted with, there's nothing explaining anything. Perhaps the oddest thing about this entry, is the role-reversal undergone by The Spectre and Percival Popp for it's Popp who has to explain to Spec how The Cry-Baby got everyone to weep. It's also Popp who comes up with a plan for catching the crook and it works. Meanwhile, The Spectre's trick of using Popp as bait with which to lure Cry-Baby and his gang, succeeds in netting only a couple of his men. What with The Spectre going up against a criminal whose moniker is The Cry-Baby and proving himself pretty useless when compared with the results produced by Percvial Popp, this may very well be the best Spectre story so far as long as you're reading it on The Bizarro World.
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Post by MWGallaher on May 27, 2020 10:22:02 GMT -5
Brutal takedown of this one, chadwilliam!
I don't have much to add, but one detail that I thought was curious: after Popp rejects Jim's request, the Spectre leaves Corrigan's sleeping body to arrange his plan with Percival. Why depict it that way, rather than, say, leaving Corrigan dining with Clarice, or Jim simply transforming into the Spectre? This implies to me that Jim would possibly be unaware of the scheme, which could potentially serve a more intricately-crafted story, but which of course plays no part whatsoever here. Fox continues to tell us that "The Spectre and [Jim] are one and the same" while introducing lots of things to suggest that they are, in fact, separate beings with separate consciousnesses. Even in the 60's, Fox refused to try to nail this relationship down, and it's one of the most frustrating things about the strip.
Whoever the artist is on this, assuming he's a Baily ghost, sure does seem to like including paned windows in his work. There is a pretty cool panel with the Spectre striking at Cry-Baby while passing intangibly through a window, but everything else is rather mundane.
Reading this story also reminded me that I was always confused when I was little by stolen/lost jewel stories and films and tv shows that always referred to the fakes as "paste". I had some vague mental impression of jewels made out of some paste-like material that dried into a pretty finish, but I couldn't imagine how that would work for anything except maybe pearls. So for the first time in my life, I finally looked it up and found out that "paste" means "leaded glass" in the jewelry world.
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Post by chadwilliam on May 27, 2020 18:24:40 GMT -5
Brutal takedown of this one, chadwilliam! I don't have much to add, but one detail that I thought was curious: after Popp rejects Jim's request, the Spectre leaves Corrigan's sleeping body to arrange his plan with Percival. Why depict it that way, rather than, say, leaving Corrigan dining with Clarice, or Jim simply transforming into the Spectre? This implies to me that Jim would possibly be unaware of the scheme, which could potentially serve a more intricately-crafted story, but which of course plays no part whatsoever here. Fox continues to tell us that "The Spectre and [Jim] are one and the same" while introducing lots of things to suggest that they are, in fact, separate beings with separate consciousnesses. Even in the 60's, Fox refused to try to nail this relationship down, and it's one of the most frustrating things about the strip. Whoever the artist is on this, assuming he's a Baily ghost, sure does seem to like including paned windows in his work. There is a pretty cool panel with the Spectre striking at Cry-Baby while passing intangibly through a window, but everything else is rather mundane. Reading this story also reminded me that I was always confused when I was little by stolen/lost jewel stories and films and tv shows that always referred to the fakes as "paste". I had some vague mental impression of jewels made out of some paste-like material that dried into a pretty finish, but I couldn't imagine how that would work for anything except maybe pearls. So for the first time in my life, I finally looked it up and found out that "paste" means "leaded glass" in the jewelry world. Great catch on The Spectre leaving Corrigan without interrupting his nap. Back when I used to wonder whether or not details such as this would ever be elaborated upon, I'd play the possibilities over and over in my head - If Corrigan or The Spectre is destroyed while separate, what happens to the other? Does Corrigan's left hand know what The Spectre's right is doing? I mean, if The Spectre dumps off a bunch of hoods at Police HQ as Corrigan starts his shift, does Corrigan know where they came from? If sleeping Corrigan is awakened to find a burglar in his home, can he transform into The Spectre to deal with the matter or does he have to wait for Spec to get back on his own? If yes, then doesn't that mean there are two Spectre's around? If no, does that mean Corrigan can die if his super powered self is elsewhere? Can they communicate with one another while apart? Of course, if we were to get answers to any of these questions, I suspect they would have come already. That bit where The Spectre moves throw a window without disturbing the glass reminds me of how Bela Lugosi's Dracula is introduced in his film. As he descends a flight of stairs it's clear that he's about to have to step through a spider's web and yet when the scene shifts to Harker and then back to Dracula, The Count is further towards the bottom and behind him is the undisturbed web - how did he pass through it without breaking it. Anyhow, it's a neat trick when The Spectre does it and the only reason I didn't bring it up here is because I mentioned in another review (my personal favorite play on this power is when he pulls a criminal through some prison bars without harming him or the bars). Now I'm going to have to look into what leaden glass is - thanks for the tip! |
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Post by chadwilliam on May 29, 2020 20:53:58 GMT -5
All-Star Comics #13 (Oct-Nov 1942) " Shanghaied into Space!"  Synopsis: At a meeting in Berlin, it is decided that The Justice Battalion must be dealt with even as Hitler and his Axis cronies concede that their seeming invulnerability makes them impossible to defeat. A decrepit, aged engineer suggests a solution to their dilemma. "I haff discovered a way to send a rocket to de moon! I can get it off de Earth! Once in de sky, wit' no atmosphere to form a friction, it vill go t'ousands of miles a second!" And so it's decided - shoot The Battalion into space and have done with them using the rocket this engineer has already prepared in anticipation of their agreement to the plan. With enemy agents sneaking into the cellar of the building housing the team, The Justice Battalion find themselves overcome when all air is sucked out of the room in which all doors and windows have been locked. Wonder Woman, Johnny Thunder, Starman, even The Spectre himself who the text informs us succumbs to the trap since "even he must prepare his lungs for lack of [oxygen] -- and for that he has no time!"   And so, each member is shot into space via their individually prepared rockets. Hawkman, to Saturn; The Sandman, to Uranus; Dr. Mid-Nite, to Neptune; Starman to Jupiter; The Atom, to Mars; Johnny Thunder, to Mercury; Wonder Woman, to Venus; and The Spectre, to Pluto where...  The Spectre's ship crashes into the solid ice of Pluto thus setting him free. Remarking to himself that he's never really explored the planet before, our champion decides to take a stroll. Stumbling upon a shaft leading into the bowels of the planet, The Spectre investigates to discover a fantastic city - actually, "a thriving metropolis" as described in the tale - located more than five miles deep. Skyscrappers, rockets, and seemingly its very own sky (not sure how that works) The Spectre hasn't been flying around long before he is fired at by a man in a rocket. Deciphering his attacker's language as being an off-shoot of that which is used in the Andromeda region of space, the man takes a softer approach to his target when he learns of his familiarity with that area. As it turns out, Pluto was once one of Andromeda's 16 planets until it was wrench from its orbit by The Earth's sun thus causing its descent into the freezing temperatures it suffers now. The man explains that while many Plutoians died trying to adapt to their new way of life, eventually the succeeded in the building the sub-world The Spectre finds himself in now. One problem though - a "fierce and warlike race" also living on the planet have been preying on the fellow's people. As a matter of fact, while this detail is being explained to the ghost, an army of these beings (basically just ordinary looking fellows in parkas) attack the underground city using hot air balloons as their method of transport (which doesn't make a lot of sense to me). They attack and The Spectre follow suits, punning "Have a glass of punch, fella" and "Let's play ax me another!" as he beats up the men.  Successful though The Spectre seems to be, disaster strikes when a council of elders determine that in assaulting the city, these furry attackers have damaged their surface dome. Meaning what exactly? Meaning "we all die!" As it transpires, with the heat and air previously bottled within the city now dissipating into space, things look bleek for the people of Pluto good and bad alike. The Spectre learns of their plight when his enemies begin falling over due to the lack of oxygen and locates the breach. Growing to tremendous size, he pours water from his rocket onto the crack which instantly freezes "as hard as steel". With that accomplished and Pluto's furred attackers now bound and secured, The Spectre heads off to space but not before extracting a promise from his foes that they will now live in harmony with their former targets. "We... will be friends", one of them announces. Assuring them that he'll be checking in on the planet from time to time, The Spectre flies back into space. With the rest of The Justice Battalion as successful in their efforts as The Spectre, the members of the team learn through an F.B.I. informant that the spies responsible for shooting into space have been tracked to a house on the outskirts of Washington. The team attacks, defeats their opponents, and rubbing salt into the Axis' wounds, Hawkman sends a radio message to Hitler informing him that "it might interest you to know we each brought back a scientific secret that will help humanity on our side of the fence!" As an added bonus, this tale is significant for Wonder Woman being made secretary of the team - an achievement celebrated with The Battalion linking arms and singing "For she's a jolly good fellow" to their team member.
Thoughts: Since I mentioned above that this issue marks the moment when Wonder Woman becomes the secretary for The JSA I feel it important to point out that assigning this menial task to the group's sole female member while the men go off and fight was not actually a reflection of sexist attitudes towards women in 1942, but due to Wonder Woman's creator Charles Moulton not wanting anyone but himself writing her adventures. Though DC was happy to consent to this demand, Moulton was wearing himself too thin writing her adventures in her other titles, to attend to the matter here in All-Star. For that reason, she had to sit on the sidelines during this period. Not really pertinent to The Spectre, but I didn't want to add to the myth that DC felt that a woman's place was at home (well, in this instance at least). Moving on... Though I like the Axis forces frank concession that, "Look, we're never going to be able to kill these guys so let's just shoot them into space", that tip of the hat to stark reality is undone by just how easily a couple of Nazi's manage to overpower the entire team. I mean, you can't kill them, but simply by locking their doors and windows and sucking all the oxygen out the room, you can render them powerless? The Spectre too? And why does The Spectre not being prepared for an attack on his lungs render him vulnerable to their assault? Does that mean someone could just knock him out by sneaking up on him from behind and hitting him with a wrench? Could you kill him by shooting him in the back so long as you don't tell him in advance you're going to do this? I mean, sure, Fox had to get the team into those rockets and The Spectre was the weak link in this plan as the team's most powerful member, but the lack of effort he put in getting the ghost out of the picture is telling. "Only The Spectre can live without air, but even he must prepare his lungs for lack of it"? Why not just write "Only The Spectre can live without air, but, ah f**k it". I appreciated the brief intro we got in the tale to the plane Pluto itself - Discovered in 1930, blanketed with ice hard as steel, four billion miles from the sun - I like these details being brought to the fore even if I'm notoriously terrible at retaining them. However, while Fox doesn't continue his narrative along such an informative track, neither does he really bother to come up with much in the way of fantasy. I had expressed concern previously about the possibility that, with the advent of the War, we wouldn't be seeing much more of the unusual and strange in these tales. A trip to Pluto is certainly rife with fantastic possibilities, but Fox certainly doesn't seem interested in letting his mind run wild. A subterranean world beneath the surface of Pluto is a great set-up for a story, but I think credit for that should go to Jules Verne whose Journey to The Center of the Earth was clearly what influenced Fox here. What does Fox bring to the table? Well, not much. A Spectre who resorts to fisticuffs and lame jokes as his first and only course of action; villains who are described as "fierce and warlike" and "furred", but are just ordinary looking guys in furred parkas (fault for this may have to be left at the feet of Baily though Fox still isn't giving him much to work with); a glaring contradiction when The Spectre has to ask why all Plutonians are passing out when air is being sucked through a crack in the dome but is unaffected himself despite the start of this issue making a point of noting that The Spectre will be impaired by a surprise attack on his lungs. I liked Spectre's promise that he'll continue checking up on the planet just to make sure that the "furred" ones keep their word that they will no longer attack their newfound friends. The suggestion that from time to time, The Spectre will follow up on participants in previous adventures to see how they're doing, is a nice exception to the usual "out of sight, out of mind" mentality heroes seem to exhibit in situations such as these. Nothing else to remark upon here - just the feeling I've been getting that The Spectre is like someone else's child to Fox. He'll look after the kid, but don't expect him to raise, nurture, or even engage him that much.
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