I like that point.  It struck me as a nice moment having Corrigan shopping for a television set a couple of issues back - not very Spectrish but how else is he going to get up to the date news?  Strange to think that someone might get a visit from The Spectre all because of which news item Walter Cronkite decided to lead off with that evening.

Adventure Comics #439 (June 1975) "The Voice that Doomed... The Spectre"




Author:  Michael Fleisher
Artist:  Jim Aparo


Synopsis: Gwen Sterling is kidnapped at the bank. Why? She just is. It's Gwen - this is what she does for a living. The Symbiosis Liberation Army is now holding her hostage after gunning down the bank manager. Jim Corrigan gives too late to prevent her latest kidnapping, but The Spectre has followed them to their hideout where a flag adorned with the image of a three-headed snake hangs on their wall. Man, they're really going to regret having put that thing up in about thirty seconds. So - Gwen bound and held prisoner; The SLA opening the bag containing the stolen (or "liberated") money; The Spectre aware of all of this. The Spectre pops out of the bag; bad guys are, like, "Huh?"; snake on flag comes to life; the three members of The SLA are crushed to death.

There's something a little different this time around though. A flippant "it's your funeral" comment made by one of the criminals and directed at The Spectre triggers a morbid, "I never had... a funeral" thought from the hero. We've seen such asides from The Spectre here and there before, but there's a bitter persistence this time around - a lingering inability to dislodge the unhealthy acknowledgement of his station in life(or death) from his frontal lobes. His thoughts continue as the executions begin.

"I don't even have a grave... to call my own--! It is ironic that although your lives are mockeries of the very meaning of humanity... even you shall enjoy the eternal rest that has been denied to... The Spectre!"

Reverting to his human form, Corrigan unties Gwen and takes her home (using the dead crooks' vehicle to do so which is kind of badass, actually). Though the ride is presented as brief, it must feel interminable to Corrigan as, once again, Sterling broaches the subject of marriage and the detective has to re-explain:

- "dead man"
- "pretending [I'm] alive"
- "eradicate all evil"
- "It's better if I just go".

So the pair part. Gwen sobs. This time however, it's Corrigan who can't let go of the subject as the evening finds him pacing his room as he contemplates his purpose.

"I can't go on this way! I can't way! Other men have wives and families! They get to experience the pains and joys of life! And when they die, they are granted the everlasting peace of eternal rest! But I have none of those things! I'm not alive... or dead! I'm some sort of lifeless thing, doomed to carry out some kind of awful, unearthly vengeance that I can hardly even understand!"

He looks to the sky.

"Please, release me from my mission! Let me be a real man again! Let me marry the woman I live! Please!"

Though he doesn't hear it, a response is given. From above, an astral light shines.

"When you awaken, Jim Corrigan, the humanity you thirst for shall once again be yours! Perhaps the mission I gave you... is beyond the fulfillment of any one man! Perhaps being alive again will bring you happiness! I hope so!"

The next morning, a "peculiar" sensation is the only hint that something is different in the life of Jim Corrigan. Any inner searching however is put off by a phone call advising the detective that one of Corrigan's most wanted, Nick Shawn, has been cornered on Broome Street. Given Shawn's disreputable work for gangster "Ducky" McLaren, Corrigan is eager to make the catch and thinks nothing of accomplishing this in the simplest - and therefore, most dangerous - way possible - through a frontal attack up a fire escape fully within the malfeasant's eyeline.

"Lieutenant, don't! You'll get yourself killed!"

Thankfully, this officer, like his partner who dismisses the headstrong lawman as "weird" doesn't know that Jim Corrigan is none other than... oh, wait.

"His bullets can't hurt me! Later I'll say I was wearing a bulletproof vest or something!", thinks the detective as he makes his approach.

Predictably, Corrigan is spotted, shot, and stunned to discover that he is bleeding. A moment later, he tumbles backwards over a railing and lands in the street with three bullets inside of him. Clinging to life, he is ambulanced away and spends the next week hovering "between life and death". Eventually, he awakens and is treated to a scolding from his Captain.

"The doctor tells me you're going to survive, in spite of your best efforts to commit suicide! Just what do you think you are anyway -- immortal? You-- Your shot killed Shawn! He's dead! Let me tell you something, Jim! You came awfully damn close to becoming a ghost yourself!"

Corrigan scoffs at the notion informing his boss that he hasn't felt this alive in years. With his new lease on life, Corrigan pays a visit to Gwen Sterling who is shocked to see the man she has been stalking these many months with his arm in a sling. Her surprise soon changes to delight when Corrigan proposes marriage and with a passionate kiss, Sterling accepts.

Meanwhile, word of Corrigan's recovery has reached the ears of "Ducky" McLaren who vows that Corrigan "ain't gonna live long enough to marry nobody" (actually, he's simply repeating what his rubber duck has apparently told him - look, the guy's nuts, OK?)

To be Continued

Thoughts: Quite a few developments, but I'm not sure they can be described as "developments" since such a term suggests progression, which in this case...

I have no idea what Corrigan sees in Gwen Sterling. She's attractive and obsessed with him, but I'd like to think that Corrigan isn't as superficial as that. Why Sterling is so obsessed with Corrigan isn't explained either. That he is also the grim Spectre; a supernatural agency carrying out acts of gruesome vengeance upon the scum of the Earth barely seems to register with this dim bulb. You'd think she'd have a million questions, reservations, opinions on this not so trivial detail, but nope - in this issue in fact, after bearing witness to The Spectre killing three terrorists, it is to the arms of Jim Corrigan that she races for consolation from the fearful sight of "that... that snake! It was horrible!". I mean, she knows he's The Spectre - this has already been established - does she not connect the dots between The Spectre - Snake - Jim Corrigan? eeuughhhh.


As for Corrigan, I wonder if there's some Reverse-Stockholm Syndrome at play here. That is, rather than being a hostage conditioned into identifying with his captors, he is instead an authoritative figure who identifies with the people he rescues. Given that Sterling can't go outside of her home without being held hostage, converted into a cult, used as bait for The Spectre, or nearly murdered, I'd have to think that she would be Corrigan's ideal woman if Reverse-Stockholm Syndrome weren't something I just made up.

And since I'm on the subject of things I didn't like about this story...

"Ducky" McLaren. Corrigan is freed with The Voice's eliminate all evil decree, nearly dies, gets engaged, and despite all these 'shockers' the story ends with a gangster playing second-fiddle to a rubber duck. Imagine hearing from a friend that 'Man, you're not going to believe this latest Spectre yarn', deciding that you can't wait to read the issue in question and so skip to the last page, to see 'QUAK! QUAK!' Come on Fleisher, you've got all this going on and this is your big fade out scene meant to entice us to come back next issue?


Still...

Fleisher does have a great tale here. It's affecting - Corrigan's plea to The Voice is powerful and beautiful. Having just clearly laid out Corrigan's bitterness at the hand he's been dealt by The Voice (Marriage? "Oh, that's a great idea! Nothing I'd rather hear than the pitter-patter of little zombies running around the house!") as he rides with Gwen (in a scene which calls back to Corrigan's first even adventure when he has to explain that he doesn't even breath) a softer but still no less hardened side shows itself when he apologizes for venting but has to remain adamant that they can never be together. There's a smooth transition of emotions here which moves quickly but doesn't leave one with the feeling that they've missed some important nuance in the psyche of Jim Corrigan. He would be a completely different man if this one in a million sequence of events hadn't captured him in its web, but he can't be and it's too painful to think of anything else. And yet...

That evening he looks up at the stars in desperation and lays his soul bare. With slumped shoulders but eyes searching for a glimmer of hope this is Jim Corrigan as we've never seen him - sensitively aware of the emotions which have been denied him and delicately asking for a second chance and he has to ask delicately because the man he wants to be isn't this hardened soul he's become. It's touching - how could a direct look at a soul laid bare be anything else?

Even The Voice's speech is similarly stirring - a higher power acknowledging that perhaps it has placed too heavy a burden on one man's shoulders - even the "hope" that Corrigan finds happiness is not a feeling you'd expect from an all-knowing entity which shouldn't have to hope for anything since such an emotion involves guesswork. Yet, Corrigan's plight has unearthed a perhaps long overlooked aspect of humanity in God itself. Like I said, beautiful.


And does this synopsis sound familiar to any of you? It should. Corrigan rushing headlong at an armed gunman in front of his compatriots is a scene taken from More Fun Comics #54 when he does the same thing in this installment. Even his fellow officers murmuring to themselves how strange this event was is duplicated here. Additionally, in that same issue, The Spectre is given the option of achieving eternal rest after The Voice determines that "your mission is too gigantic for one individual". Showing a rather Machiavellian side however, The Voice's offer carries the catch that should The Spectre accept this generous offer, Clarice will die since no one will be around to prevent the bullet which is racing towards her from hitting its mark. Likewise, there's something nasty about The Voice giving Corrigan his humanity back and not letting him know which, of course, sets him for the three bullets he takes the next morning. Still, the fact that he survived those and the subsequent fall into an alley suggests that The Voice remained invested enough in its former pledge to ensure his survival so kudos for that.


Let's see, what else?

We're back to 'Adventure Comics' for the title of this magazine - nary a 'Weird' in sight.  Actually, that change took effect as of last issue - I just forgot to catch it then.

First panel - Columbo is prominently on the scene, front and a little to the right of centre chatting with someone else whom I sure has to be someone but gosh darn it if I know who.  It's a cute little touch by Aparo, but it does have me wondering what happened once the shooting began - did he just run off screaming?

Second time that Fleisher has been inspired by the Patty Hearst SLA kidnapping to include it in his story.  Really heavy handed dialogue as a result.  



and, ummm... yeah, that's about all I've got for this one.  

Oh, and making the most of a great moment - I really like Fleisher having Corrigan idly consider his half-baked "ah, I'll just say I had a bulletproof vest on or something afterwards" excuse followed by "Well, here's Shawn, hm.  Wonder what I'll have for dinner to- BANG! BANG!  What the Hell?! Why am I bleeding?!" bit.  It's like Clark Kent jumping out of his window ready to change into Superman when, "uh oh, I forgot I lost my powers.  What do I do now?!" Great way of extracting shock from  an audience that already knows what's going to happen but is dying to see how the good guy deals with it.  

Looking forward to the next - and final (kind of) - issue of Fleisher's run.

I believe that Fleisher had been told that his own decision to progress his narrative from issue to issue was somewhat unusual for this period.  It was a compliment he hadn't anticipated since he hadn't considered any other way of presenting these tales.    

Great catch on Aparo's contribution to these efforts as well.  There's a very genuine flavour to his artwork - I can't help but feel as if I were to walk down the street the month these comics were released those would be the styles I see being worn on the street, the slouches I'd get from those ending their nine-to-five jobs, the intensity of the sunlight, the amount of wear and tear on the buildings, etc.  For all I know, Aparo could have gotten it completely wrong, but after reading these stories, there's no way you couldn't convince me that I've walked down these streets and brushed shoulders with these people four or fives years before even being born. 

Wrath of The Spectre #4 (August 1988) "The Arson Fiend and... The Spectre!"

Script: Michael Fleisher
Art: Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo

Synopsis: Corrigan is already at the scene of a blazing inferno when this tale begins. His question concerning the origin of the fire has to wait for an answer for while he seems to suspect arson - at the hands of "Freddy 'The Torch' Fisher" - the detective's attention quickly turns to the mother and child trapped on the seventh floor of the tenement building which, frankly, The Fire Chief feels won't be put out until "some dead bodies" show up.

Unfortunately, neither the roof nor a net can be used given the danger this would pose to the firefighters and things look bleak for the pair. Turning to respond to a bitter remark from Corrigan, The Fire Chief finds that the lawman has vanished. A shaft of light however, appears and leads the woman and child towards the ground where an audience watches in wonder. Amongst their number is reporter Earl Crawford who is certain that he's just borne witness to the awesome power of "The Force". Once again though, his editor isn't convinced and reminds his employee that he neither believes in "magic gangplanks" nor is he running a "science fiction magazine". Instead, he wants Crawford to investigate the string of arsons of which the one he just witnessed was merely the latest. He isn't alone in his investigation.

At the Valley of Death, The Spectre searches for a departing soul and requests an audience.

"If there be any here who died in last night's tenement fire, I would speak with you...!"

Locating just such a victim, The Spectre confirms that the blaze was not accidental and was perpetrated by one, "Freddy 'The Torch' Fisher". The Spectre promises to avenge his death.



Doing a little sleuthing of his own, Crawford discovers that despite some complicated paperwork likely designed to conceal the identity of the man benefiting from all of these acts of arson, it becomes clear "that every one of those razed tenements belong to one man, ruthless slumlord, Harrison DeMarco. Crawford decides to stake out the building he suspects is next to be reduced to ashes and sure enough, watches from a hidden vantage point, as Fisher arrives on the scene and begins his dirty work. Whipping out a camera, he also manages to catch a few pictures of what happens next.

Rising from the smoke, Fisher is taken aback by the menacing figure of The Spectre. Not knowing what to make of this being, the arsonist pulls out a gun, fires two shots directed at the apparition, but which inexplicably turn and hit him square in the chest. Down goes the killer and Crawford realises that he has it all on film. Back at Newsbeat, he smugly tells his boss just what he can expect to find when the film has been developed - "just Freddy Fisher torching a building and getting killed by that ghost I've been telling you about... feel free to call me as soon as you're ready to apologize for not believing me about the ghost!" Crawford leaves and sure enough, we seem to have photographic evidence of the existence of The Spectre.

However...

Crawford's boss suspects that his employer has faked the images and even possibly "murder[ed] Freddy Fisher and himself so he can blame it on his so-called spook!" He phones the police.



Crawford is arrested, tried, and convicted for the murder - his prints were on Fisher's gun, he had "been acting strangely for months! He seemed determined to prove, at almost any cost, that some strange ghost was going around exterminating dangerous criminals!", and while Newsbeat's photo developer can't swear that the pictures are fakes, to believe otherwise would mean "you've gotta believe in... in ghosts!" Crawford's Spectre explanation unfortunately, doesn't sway the jury who finds him not guilty by reason of insanity. As a result, he finds himself locked away in The New York State Asylum for the Criminally Insane and there's where we see him pondering his nightmarish set of circumstances at the story's close.

Thoughts: Glad to see the Earl Crwaford subplot picked up and actually given centre stage here. I would have loved to have seen a parade of witnesses pulled from previous issues - ie. the ladies present when The Swami was turned to glass, some of the people on the plane who could testify that, yes, a skeleton did appear in place of the armed madman at the start of this run, etc. - speaking on his behalf, but I guess Crawford didn't have much of an attorney speaking on his behalf.

Once again, Fleisher homages a Golden Age classic tale (specifically the one found in All-Star Comics #1) for his opening here. The burning tenement, the mother and child, the beam of light, and even The Valley of Death with the dark knight requesting to speak with one of the shrouded newly departed for information and uses it to good effect here. I believe that I remarked in my comments at that time that in addition to being a highly memorable event in the career of The Spectre, it was significant as an example of our hero using his powers to help others rather than to punishment some vile miscreant.





Though these stories were written back during the course of Fleisher's 1970's run, it has been pencilled for release in the Warth of The Spectre series whose first three issues collected the whole of his Adventure Comics run. Aparo's work here isn't as impressive as those previous installments, but gets the job done. His figures come across as stiffer and blockier than before and Aparo isn't as creative when it comes to placement and detail - camera angles tend to be head on or offering profile views from eye level and the offices of Newsbeat seem a little too neat and tidy for my tastes, but, hey, it's still Jim Aparo.

OK, so Earl Crawford has just received the punishment I suspect one might get in his position in our world. Does The Spectre know? Does he care? Stay tuned...

This is also the story used in Jules Feiffer's book, so Fleischer may have known it from that.


Yeah, I never warmed to DeCarlo inking Aparo toward the end of his career. It wasn;t bad, but it lacked the immediacy and style of Aparo doing the whole job himself. (Does anyone know if this was Aparo's choice or if DC wanted to have a seperate inker for some schedule/production reason?)

It was not Aparo's choice. I asked him about this and he claimed not to know why DC moved him over to pencils-only, but I got the distinct impression that he was holding back on some of the story. One thing about Jim was that he would never disparage his employers or anyone in the business. If there was, as I strongly suspect, any unpleasantness surrounding the changes in his assignments, he wasn't going to share it, nor would he publicly criticize Mike DeCarlo's inking. I didn't care for those inks, myself, and I always wondered why he got so consistently teamed with Aparo when other pencilers seemed to be assigned a bigger variety of inkers.
Aparo was explicitly complementary of Gerry Fernandez's inks on Green Arrow, and I infer from that that he was less satisfied with DeCarlo.

Aparo returned to doing inks briefly in 1992.