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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 20, 2020 0:44:25 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #97 (May-June 1944) "Nerves Take a Holiday!"
 Synopsis: Turning the tables on an intruder within his home through use of a blue light, neurologist, Hjalmar Dane succeeds in paralyzing the nerves of the wannabe stick-up man so as to render him wholly incapable of carrying out his robbery. A proposition is offered the interloper's way in which the gunman would be given use of the same ray which incapacitated him to carry out more successful robberies from here on out (minus Dane's take, of course). The offer is accepted and with it, grander schemes ahead. A bank robbery is successfully pulled off with the guard perplexed by the sudden inaction of his limbs. "Wh-What's... wrong? My arms and legs don't do what I want them to!" This isn't to say that all hope is lost however. Hearing of the theft whilst in his invisible form while paying a call to Police HQ, The Spectre thinks to himself "Popp's not around, but I'm glad I came anyway! This sounds interesting!" (Huh? So The Spectre is now disappointed not to bump into the pest he once jettisoned to a distant asteroid just to be free of him for a day?). With the ghost on the case and with a suspect to boot thanks to the attentive guard recognizing the voice of Tack Lawson, Spec pays the hold-up man's gang a visit where he confirms not only the hood's involvement in this new scheme, but that of Dane's as well. So where is Popp anyway? Well, taking a rest over in Fayette, Popp has decided he's earned himself a holiday. When we look in on the twerp we find him fishing. By one of those astounding coincidences which happen regularly only in comics, we learn that Fayette just happens to be where Hjalmer Dane's laboratory is located and where Dane's laboratory is located just happens to be where the criminal scientist happens to be. Deciding to look for a poor sap upon which to test his new ray gun, Dane stumbles across Popp and turns the device on the sap just as he's reeled in a fish. Popp collapses to the ground and experiences the same symptoms as all others who are thus far found themselves in the ray's path. Though Popp has no idea what's happened to him, when The Spectre arrives upon the scene after having followed Dane to Fayette (and naturally finding Popp as well), he realises that his partner's description of being bombarded by a blue light matches the details provided by the formerly striken bank guard and deduces that his prey must be close by. Sure enough, Spec locates Dane's lab and having dragged Popp along, watches as his pal inadvertently saves the day by stumbling all over the scientist due to his not yet having shaken off the effects of his ray when Dane threatens to blow everyone up with a vial containing a powerful explosive. "Percival, you're a hero! Clutching that man's arm to save everyone's life was superb! A hero... that's what you are!" In response, Popp demands an ambulance thinking that a compliment from The Spectre can only mean he's delirious.  Thoughts: A promising opening which doesn't really lead anywhere. Hjalmar Dane has a touch of George Zucco about him - always smooth, always calculating; brazen enough to gamble another's life with his freedom but possessed of such a calm and precise mind that makes you wonder who you are to question his motives, scruples, and odds of success. That Dane is allowed to effortlessly transition from caught off guard victim of a robbery to a criminal mastermind ordering the quivering wreck of his would-be assailant around so neatly is a nice little opening for a tale which opens with a noirish splash seemingly suggesting something more than the paint-by numbers tale it leads into.  Dane's main objective seems to be his sole objective - make money. To what purpose is never explained and if he has some twisted scheme in mind to achieve power through his ray he's keeping it to himself. World domination? Vengeance? Some greater experiment ahead which his blue ray is only a prelude to? No idea - he's simply a unique first rate scientist looking to become a typical third rate bank robber content with watching security guards and Percival Popp flop around like a fish. The Spectre doesn't bring much to this tale - an ok little moment where he uses his invisibility to confirm with Lawson's gang that Dane is, in fact, behind their crimewave as if it were one of the criminals present making the inquiry and not an eavesdropping superhero snooping for clues, but not really worth the price of admission. Odd that The Spectre should be disappointed to arrive at the station and not find Popp around - just another of Fox's continuity jolts where what would have once been a source of relief is now presented as a letdown. I guess Spec has simply grown accustomed to Popp's face. It would help explain his "you're a hero, Percival! A hero!" exclamation at the end of this tale. Perhaps he's feeling a bit of remorse over his not so long ago decision to invite the press over to photograph and publish his pal's picture in the paper with a block of cheese affixed to his head. I'm really starting to get the feeling that to The Spectre, Popp is but a pet. Not a great tale, but tolerable given The Spectre toning down his quipping for a change and Popp his idiocy. Four issues of the pair to go from here.
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Post by MWGallaher on Aug 20, 2020 7:47:21 GMT -5
Apparently this story formed the basis for the now-lost Poverty Row film adaptation. I've dug up the one known still from the movie:  Strange that DC would drop the strip shortly before the film was released... |
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 20, 2020 10:33:37 GMT -5
Apparently this story formed the basis for the now-lost Poverty Row film adaptation. I've dug up the one known still from the movie: Strange that DC would drop the strip shortly before the film was released... This looks great! That is Percvial Popp! The Spectre? eh, not so much. Please tell me he's not wearing a speedo under that. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 20, 2020 13:45:40 GMT -5
Apparently this story formed the basis for the now-lost Poverty Row film adaptation. I've dug up the one known still from the movie: Strange that DC would drop the strip shortly before the film was released... I honestly can't tell if this is sincere or tongue in cheek. I'm a huge fan of Poverty Row and would have LOVED a film like this. In fact, I think I'd have more tolerance for Percival Popp on the silver screen than I do here. Heck, even Chad is counting down the remaining issues! |
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Post by MWGallaher on Aug 20, 2020 14:57:15 GMT -5
From what I can determine*, director William Castle had enjoyed working with actor Richard Dix on the Whistler, just before filming this, and was eager to cast him as Popp's "Ghostly Guardian". The film was titled "The Brain Ray", and it downplayed the connection with its comic book roots, since the strip had been discontinued by the time of its release.
The script didn't call for any super-heroics, with "The Spectre" acting more as a supernatural influencer than as an active crime-fighter, so the middle-aged Dix was able to stay under the hood and cloak for his fairly limited screen time in this already-brief 58-minute film. Promotional material proudly promises "eerie effects and hilarious hijinks". The little existing documentation makes no mention of Jim Corrigan, so this appears to have been based entirely on the post-Corrigan era of the strip.
According to the synopsis, Dr. Dane's ray has a variety of effects, with settings to freeze victims in position, throw them into flailing spasms, and weaken their muscles, all of which were exploited to comic effect via the ineffectual Popp character. Actor Willie Cannon, who played Percival Popp, was said to have been an influence on the better-known Arnold Stang, who had a similar look and style.
*(Purely from my own imagination--as I've mentioned before, I'm seeing lots of Poverty Row potential in these Popp stories, and it's fun to dream about what a Spectre film in that vein might have been like. I thought about dummying up a Spectre from an old wrestler photo, but I think it's quite likely they'd have just gone with a grim guy in a hood, with transparent special effects, so that's the way I faked it.)
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Post by MWGallaher on Aug 21, 2020 7:22:41 GMT -5
And now, back to reality and More Fun Comics #97, I do appreciate that Gardner Fox continues to occasionally offer up some pulpish concepts as he struggles with this strip. The idea of a nerve ray that causes you to lose control of your neuromuscular system is really kind of disturbing, moreso than the usual weapons that comic book super-villains come up with. Anything that too closely resembles real-life catastrophic diseases has a greater capacity to upset me than, say, a gun that freezes you in a block of ice, or mind control. Kind of a pity Fox spent this idea on The Spectre, who'd be completely invulnerable to the threat, and used it for comic purposes through Popp, and watered it down with all the "resting the nerves" vacation business. This would have been a much better threat for someone like Hour-Man, who might even become a threat to those around him losing control of his Miraclo-powered muscles.
Also of note, one of the thugs figures out that it must be The Spectre when an invisible man hits him. Spec's M.O. is way more well-known among the underworld than it ought to be, so we've got to assume that Popp is blabbing it while he promotes himself as The Spectre's partner, right? Probably a few issues ago when he had that promoter hyping him?
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 21, 2020 10:04:25 GMT -5
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 22, 2020 0:39:54 GMT -5
And now, back to reality and More Fun Comics #97, I do appreciate that Gardner Fox continues to occasionally offer up some pulpish concepts as he struggles with this strip. The idea of a nerve ray that causes you to lose control of your neuromuscular system is really kind of disturbing, moreso than the usual weapons that comic book super-villains come up with. Anything that too closely resembles real-life catastrophic diseases has a greater capacity to upset me than, say, a gun that freezes you in a block of ice, or mind control. Kind of a pity Fox spent this idea on The Spectre, who'd be completely invulnerable to the threat, and used it for comic purposes through Popp, and watered it down with all the "resting the nerves" vacation business. This would have been a much better threat for someone like Hour-Man, who might even become a threat to those around him losing control of his Miraclo-powered muscles. Also of note, one of the thugs figures out that it must be The Spectre when an invisible man hits him. Spec's M.O. is way more well-known among the underworld than it ought to be, so we've got to assume that Popp is blabbing it while he promotes himself as The Spectre's partner, right? Probably a few issues ago when he had that promoter hyping him? Having Popp be the blabbermouth who is spilling all of Spec's secrets is a good idea, but the downside is that having anyone believe anything he has to say gives a certain amount of credibility to a character who seems designed to be continually dismissed and mocked. Of course, comics have never been consistent in this regard - "A UFO landing in Metropolis you say? Great Caesar's Ghost that's impossible! Now, where is that imp from the 5th dimension, Mr. Mxyzptlk? Kent's to interview him in the bottle of city of Kandor for tomorrow's edition!" - and it's possible that people just accept Popp as a dimwitted fellow who The Spectre just happens to decide to team-up with all the time, but I think it's more a matter of Fox assuming that the characters in his stories know the same thing as the readers outside of them without considering how this could be possible. Nevertheless, Popp does spill the beans in More Fun #91 when he lands in a moving car, starts attacking crooks, and remarks "Nice going, Spectre!" to his partner which invites a "Spectre?... I'm gettin' out of here! That guy's bad enough when you can see him!" response from one of the hoods. For a self-promoter though, Popp has been doing a pretty lousy job considering the fact that I don't recall any non-criminals recognizing him as "that guy who hangs around with The Spectre". Puppets coming to life around Popp? There's no "I'll bet this is your ghostly pal's idea of a joke!" accusations in the air. The Spectre showing up to protect a rich comedian's valuables after Popp arrives? No notion of "I had heard you guys were partners or something" or anything like that. Your comments about how disturbing a neurological disorder being forced upon an unsuspecting public should be really underscore the differences between The Spectre now and The Spectre then. In the past, this would have served as a prelude to something larger - a pandemic with hospitals and possibly even mental sanatoriums overflowing with people tied to beds opening the tale, Corrigan investigating, and The Spectre taking over when the pair realize that supernatural forces are at work here. Nowadays though, it's simply a portend of Popp being inconvenienced while fishing which is portent to Popp stumbling over the criminal and saving the day. Where are the planets being thrown around? Where are the grim fates The Spectre doles out unflinchingly to sociopathic madmen? Where are the unrelenting odds hammering down upon our ghostly guardian? Where Popp is getting smacked in the face with a fish is now, I guess. |
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Post by MWGallaher on Aug 22, 2020 5:46:43 GMT -5
...For a self-promoter though, Popp has been doing a pretty lousy job considering the fact that I don't recall any non-criminals recognizing him as "that guy who hangs around with The Spectre". Puppets coming to life around Popp? There's no "I'll bet this is your ghostly pal's idea of a joke!" accusations in the air. The Spectre showing up to protect a rich comedian's valuables after Popp arrives? No notion of "I had heard you guys were partners or something" or anything like that. Spoiler Alert--just wait a few more issues! As always, you are surely correct that Gardner Fox isn't putting as much thought as you and I are into questions like how any of the characters know much of anything about The Spectre, and that he's writing as if they know whatever the readers know. To be fair, that's how most superhero comics have always operated, and I'm paying it a lot more attention than I ever have as we try to "put flesh on the ghost" here. The ongoing ambiguities and vaguaries and lapses in logic, consistency, and continuity are just too tempting for someone raised on superhero retcons, continuity implants, and after-the-fact explanations. Unless The Spectre himself is spreading the word, there's nothing else we've got other than Popp's well-established self-promotion to resolve the origin of public awareness of The Spectre's nature. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 27, 2020 11:56:54 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #98 (July-August 1944) "Cartoons of Crime!"
Synopsis: Assigned to Paul Binny's Studios to watch over the big payroll scheduled to arrive, Percival Popp falls asleep on the job even as crook Muscles O'Mara and his men prepare their forged passes designed to get them inside the studio and out with the funds. Luckily, Popp awakens in time to catch the robbers in the act and finds himself face to face with Rollin' Rodent and two other members of Binny's stable of cartoon characters. As the name might suggest, Rollin' Rodent is a blue skinned Micky Mouse stand-in but with an Astro Boyish hairstyle in place of the ears. The rest of this menagerie is an anthropomorphic Elephant named Dinky and a big dog whose handle is Willie and who resembles Disney's Peg-leg Pete (also known as Black Pete). Less pleasant than their on screen counterparts (at least I'm guessing they are) the trio knock Popp around as Rodent helps himself to Binny's money - money which the rodent feels rightly belongs to him. "How would you like to be cooped up on a movie screen all the time? You make money for people, but don't get any yourself!"  So with that, Rodent and his associates head off for The National Bank after commandeering a car, with Popp attempting to give chase on foot. Fortuitously, Spectre shows up, listens with disbelief to his pal's tale, but verifies the yarn when the pair arrive at the crime scene in person. The Spectre loses the upper hand against his cartoon opponents when, after returning Dinky the Elephant to the studio, the ghost returns to find the remaining pair using Popp as a hostage and threatening to do him in should Spec follow. The Spectre acquiesces to their demands and Popp is taken back to Binny's studio where Rollin' Rodent and the pseudo-Pete begin to drown him in a giant bottle of green dye. Muscles O'Mara and his boys watch Popp as he sleeps safely in a chair dreaming all of the events cited up to now. Entering the building by stealth, we watch as The Spectre watches them. Using his invisibility to his advantage (though how much more of an advantage does The Spectre really need?) the phantom manipulates a life sized model of Willie to pummel the gang senseless. Though he's doing fine on his own, Popp joins the revelry when he awakens and starts swinging punches at O'Mara and his men promising to do the same to Willie for what he tried to do to him. Once the gang has been taken down, Popp turns his attention to Willie, but finds only an immobile doll made of sawdust and not the talking, fighting two-fisted engine of vengeance which had been brought to life by The Spectre. Popp deduces that his spirit pal must be involved, Spec intones that he is, and after explaining that he found Popp asleep when he entered the room, the goofy little detective finally realizes just how much of the preceding events were a dream. Things aren't a total loss however - for having captured O'Mara and his men, Binny rewards Popp with three full scale replicas of Rollin' Rodent, Dinky, and Willie. "I couldn't stand that! I'd be dreaming of 'em every night... Take 'em away!" The Spectre watches on from the back with his hand covering his amused expression (or a belch).  Thoughts: A couple of interesting details about this one. First, "Cartoons of Crime!" actually opens the comic rather being relegated to the back for a change. Second, the tale is ten pages long as opposed to the usual seven and a bit or so. Not sure why this is the case, but it suggests a certain amount of faith in the strip which hasn't been seen in quite a while. Perhaps another story missed its deadline and Fox was given more room for his tale, but I'm still surprised to see The Spectre and Percival Popp open the show for a change. Well, Percival Popp and The Spectre, I guess. Probably the most whimsical tale we've seen in these reviews thus far. Paul Binny is a stand-in for Walt Disney and Rollin' Rodent and Willie are proxies for Micky Mouse and Peg-Leg Pete respectively. Cartoon characters coming to life is a trope which has already been employed with Superman (with Funny Face in Superman #19 for one), but there's something different in seeing a helpless dimwit such as Percival Popp knocked around, thrown against a wall, and nearly drowned in ink than the more evenly matched Superman go up against his comic strip counterparts. The characters act and look like who they're lampooning (though I don't know if the elephant is based on a Disney creation or was made up here) so I can imagine it would be weird for a kid in 1944 to watch Micky Mouse and his gang rob safes ("We got the dough!") and attempt murder ("Popp knows too much! We've got to liquidate him - in liquid!"). To me, it reminds of MAD's 1955 " Mickey Rodent" parody from issue 19 of that series with its warts and all look at the unshaven mouse.  Once again, another issue where Spectre plays with dolls (the third, in fact, with the previous two instances involving puppets). Sure, he does it to stop criminals, but seeing as how he could have just as effectively taken them down in his usual manner of smacking them around while invisible and letting them wonder just what's going on, I suspect that every time Spectre sees a doll laying around, he has to play with it. I have to wonder if The Spectre covering his mouth at the end of this tale when Popp refuses Binny's reward of the life size models isn't actually him concealing a curse. "Dammit Popp, I could have used those!" Well, I liked this one. It's not The Spectre, but it is Micky Mouse and company robbing banks and stealing cars so what can I tell you?
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Post by MWGallaher on Aug 28, 2020 8:30:28 GMT -5
In just about a year from here, DC would find itself much more heavily into funny animal comics, with Real Screen Funnies, Animal Antics, Funny Stuff, Funny Folks, and Leading Comics (Comic Cavalcade held onto superheroes a lot longer than I realized, changing from a hero anthology into anthropomorphics in October 1948). I see this installment as a harbinger of that trend. (I've always thought of the funny animals genre as not being exclusive to a particular medium, equally at home in film, comics, children's books, but this focus on film cartoons--admittedly easier to work into the script--points out that the creators of the time were very intentionally imitating film, not just appropriating the genre, as might be evidenced by DC's "Real Screen" Funnies). This story, as you suggest, is rather subversive, and is a good example of something comics have done frequently: using fantasy sequences to depict shocking events "but it's OK because it didn't really happen." (This technique was used extensively in one of my favorite obscure comics, Dell's Voyage to the Deep, but you see it a lot in early Silver Age Marvel comics, as well. I guess it came in really handy during the Comics Code era!) Very interesting observation on puppets and dolls, since there's more to come, even with only three installments left to go! |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 29, 2020 7:51:32 GMT -5
I have never had any patience for the "what if cartoons came to life?" trope so often used in lazy comic scripts, but it sounds like this one actually kinda' sorta' worked.
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Post by zaku on Aug 30, 2020 12:33:17 GMT -5
Uh, I've just found there is a post-crisis version of Percival Popp...  |
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 30, 2020 22:06:52 GMT -5
I've been wondering how I'll continue this thread following The Spectre's final Golden Age appearance and I think that in addition to continuing with the start of his Silver Age revival in Showcase, I'd touch upon the Percival Popp character who showed up during the Ostrander/Mandrake run during the 1990's series. Though not at all like the Popp covered within these reviews, the fact that a Post-Crisis Percvial Popp, The Super-Cop even exists, is something I think I should address once I've wrapped up with More Fun Comics #101/All-Star Comics #23.
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Post by chadwilliam on Sept 1, 2020 21:00:55 GMT -5
All-Star Comics #20 (Spring 1944) "The Movie That Changed a Man's Life!"
 Synopsis: Having been plagued by a mysterious individual known only as The Monster, wealthy businessman Jason Rogers finds his path dovetailing neatly with The Justice Society's given their personal interest in this madman's various acts of terrorism. Beseeching the team for their assistance given the fact that it has been his factories, banks, and homes which have been targeted by the fiend, The JSA readily accepts his impassioned request. Presenting to the team plans of The Monster's forthcoming crimes which the reprobate has seemingly left in Roger's home following his latest break-in, the assembled group plot their own course of action after Rogers presents his own tale of woe to his would-be saviours. "It isn't just The Monster! I've always been jinxed! My life holds a mystery even the great Justice Society can't solve..." It seems that the business magnate's life has been headed on a downward spiral for the past 15 years. In fact, Rogers can trace the exact occasion on which thinks took a tumble for him. Following a picnic with his wife and friends during which Rogers tried out his movie camera, The Monster made his first appearance at one of his factories where he robbed the peaceful man of his payroll and gunned down one of his men. The following night, Rogers' wife turned on him while watching the footage of the picnic he had filmed. Shrieking in terror at her husband ("Go away! Go away -- I never want to see you again! AAGH--") Mrs. Rogers collapses due to the onset of a fatal heart attack. Puzzled and saddened by her death, Rogers realizes that he is truly alone in the world when he reflects upon the fact that the friends to whom he showed the same film also want nothing to do with him. Though offering to play the movie to The JSA, Hawkman decides that this will have to wait until after they've tackled The Monster. And with that, each member goes their separate ways with The Spectre heading to...  The Noonan Building just as it is rocked by a tremendous explosion. After rescuing the last occupant of the structure, The Spectre grows to gigantic heights and tosses the flaming wreckage "far into the cold of outer space". Returning to the fellow whom he has saved, the man identifies himself as Walter Noonan - architect and the "only real friend" of Jason Rogers. It was Rogers who believed enough in young Noonan to finance his schooling and set him up in the profession which has served him well in the years since their acquaintance began. Naturally, when The Monster (a wild haired, top hat and cloak wearing, large fanged, crazy eyebrowed, box headed, probably foul smelling, figure) approaches Noonan one day and declares "I hate Jason Rogers! You are his only friend! Either you become his enemy too -- or I will ruin you!" the architect turns him down in no uncertain terms. Recounting to The Spectre the fact that since then, The Monster has blown up one of his dams in response to Noonan's refusal to pay him $50,000 in protection money, the dark knight advises him to give in to his demands and inform him of writing of his intent to do so. "I must locate The Monster in order to defeat him!" Though aware that The Spectre is plotting a trap, just as he is aware of the rest of The JSA's plans, The Monster nevertheless arrives at Noonan's home to receive his tribute. When The Spectre doesn't interfere, The Monster informs his men that had he shown, "I'd have blasted Noonan right out of the world!" Cue a voice in the darkness which responds "That's just what I thought you'd do!" as the giant looming head of The Spectre appears on the hood of the gang's car. Driving into a subway tunnel in the hopes that The Spectre won't be able to give chase given his enormous size, the criminals' dreams are dashed when their pursuer restores himself to normal size and easily knocks The Monster's goons to the ground. The Monster himself unfortunately, escapes by leaping onto the side of an oncoming train and speeding away.  The rest of the story: And so it goes - The Monster's plans are squashed by the individual members of the team, but the hellhound himself evades capture. Reconvening at JSA headquarters, Rogers congratulates the team on their efforts and suggests that while The Monster hasn't yet been caught, now might be the time to address his second problem - that of the film which seems to carry a secret which has eluded Rogers himself. When Rogers attempts to play the movie, it is discovered that the film is in such a state that treatment is required for it to present an image. Excusing himself to attend to the matter, the team becomes concerned when their guest fails to reappear after a lengthy wait. Not managing to locate him in the darkroom, the team is taken aback by the sudden presence of the sneering Monster himself. "You can forget about your precious Rogers! Start worrying about yourselves! I have you in my power! And this time you won't escape!" Attacking first, Johnny Thunder, and then waylaying The Atom and Sandman, The Monster lashes into The Hawkman as he describes his hatred for his twin brother, Jason Rogers. Seemingly capable of defeating the team singlehandedly through brute force (even The Spectre is floored when The Monster strikes him with a table) things look dire for our champions until a kick from Johnny Thunder knocks a ray gun The Monster intended to direct at the team so that the device fires and strikes the madman himself. Deciding that with their opponent defeated and with his rantings of being Rogers twin still unresolved, the team decides to watch the film which Rogers successfully restored before his disappearance. As the film plays, a rather scenic moment of a joyous Rogers standing next to wife becomes a tableau of nightmares as Rogers' face distorts grotesquely and becomes that of The Monster. At this point, Dr. Mid-Nite deduces his secret. "The Monster spoke the truth - he and Jason Rogers were twins, but while The Monster had a mind - he never developed a body! ... Although Jason Rogers was unaware of The Monster's existence, The Monster could inhabit his body whenever he wished, changing Jason's physical characteristics! At those times, Jason's mind became a blank!" As realization dawns upon the team, so too does it strike Rogers himself who isn't quite dead and who has changed back to his usual form. With his secret now known by he himself, he dies contentedly knowing that The Monster can harm no one any longer. "Meeting adjourned!", declares Hawkman. Thoughts: The 1932 Fredric March Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde film utilized a clever technique to effect Jekyll's transformations into Hyde - March's skin would be darkened but filtered through a colored lens which wouldn't pick up on the different shading. As Jekyll began to change, the lens' filter would be removed thus making the Hyde make-up apparent and allowing the physical alterations of his features to happen right before your eyes without cutting away. I wonder if this technique inspired Fox to pen his tale of a man whose Good/Bad transformations was given away through infra-red light. But what of The Spectre portion of this comic? Strangely, it harkens back to the early days of the run in a way which the strip hasn't in quite some time. There is almost a poetry to the way Fox describes The Spectre's ability to grow large enough to tower over the city - "As a supernatural being, the dark knight is not bound by mortal rules: by will alone, he balloons to gigantic size!" "Supernatural being", "mortal rules" - this is a superhero in a room full of superheroes who nevertheless manages to stand apart from the others because his powers are otherworldly in origin. In the previous issue, The Spectre grew to larger heights with the narrative reading as follows: "Then as Armand Baulaire followed in amazement, he saw The Spectre swell to incredible proportions". It's a little too perfunctory - a feat which might be accomplished by any being with a powerful ring or magical thunderbolt or super pill - here though, Fox presents the hero as unique even in a comic full of extraordinary individuals. What really caught my eye, was the little assurance Spectre gives the burning building as he chucks it into space. "Out there you can harm no one!" It's one of those declarations you find more in the early years of comics - those bits where the hero isn't really speaking to anyone (I mean, I don't think the building is listening to him) but serves as an acknowledgement of how grand the moment being presented is. Had this scene taken place over in More Fun, I can imagine Spec shouting something like "Touchdown!", but here his remark sounds like The Spectre of old - everything he says should be important, ominous, and dire since when The Spectre speaks, judgement is being cast. One can detect the mocking tone in his voice when he observes that in his gigantic size, "the city seems no larger than a toy". He is a protector to us, but we might as well be fleas regarded with affection to him. And once again, and perhaps for the final time, The Spectre pulls the old but not recently used trick of enlarging his head so that it fills the windshield of a criminal's car while he offers a portent of their downfall. "Now you can't hurt anyone -- except yourselves!"  And no, I don't really buy that The Monster could evade The Spectre by leaping onto the side of a speeding train. Afterall, The Spectre has just reminded us that he's capable of growing to a height which makes the city look like a toy - but for the sake of the story, I'll let it slide. This was a really good one.
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