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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 9, 2020 21:07:43 GMT -5
Sick of him yet?
More Fun Comics #74 (Dec, 1941)“I can see that from now on fighting crime will be my secondary problem! Eluding Percival will be the first!”  Synopsis: Receiving a panicked call from friend Tim Donovan that his help is badly needed, Jim Corrigan speeds to his home. Arriving to find the man gone, Corrigan suspects a prank. He doesn’t have long to consider the likelihood of this possibility for his supernatural senses soon attune themselves to the fact that someone is hiding in the back of his car. Deciding to give his unexpected passenger a bumpy ride, Corrigan races madly over rough terrain before getting out of the vehicle and pulling a gun on its now lone occupant.  And so, Jim Corrigan meets Percival Popp. Having appraised Corrigan as “of all the detectives on the force… you are the most intelligent of the lot”, Popp offers him his services as a “Super-Cop!” (or “a combination of Sherlock Holmes, Mes. Arsene Lupin, and Superman, eh?” as Corrigan puts it). Corrigan wisely turns out the opportunity to team-up with this dabbler in criminology but as we learn upon witnessing the wild haired, bespectacled young man clamber up the side of police headquarters to eavesdrop on The Chief, Popp is not so easily dissuaded. Learning that Corrigan has been assigned to investigate the disappearance of Harlow Johnson, Popp decides to lend a hand. Just as he's gathering the details behind Johnson’s disappearance from the missing man’s family (walked into a room, vanished without a sound, no sign of struggle) and comparing them with the details of Tim Donovan’s, Corrigan advises the missing man’s family to switch the lights out and hand. His reasoning becomes clear when in the darkened room, Corrigan tackles an intruder. When the lights are switched back on, Corrigan is holding Percival Popp aloft. Skeptical of his offer to help, Corrigan doesn’t sound optimistic when he asks the pest to solve the case. In a display of some ingenuity however, Popp reasons that Johnson’s disappearance must have been preceded by a death threat. Looking though his desk, Popp locates just that – a note from ‘The Avenger’ informing Johnson that ‘You are doomed!’ Conceding that Popp has uncovered something of importance, albeit “unwittingly”, Corrigan takes off, transforms into The Spectre, and invisibly suspends Popp from a tree when the latter attempts to follow his detective alter ego. Although The Spectre races through the air, it isn’t quite clear where he’s heading – after all, he doesn’t know where or if The Avenger will strike again. That little detail is taken care of however, when The Spectre’s occult senses inform him that Daniel Walker has placed a call to the police requesting their help after being threatened by this mystery killer. Off to Daniel Walker’s place then. Meanwhile, Popp has freed himself from the tree and headed to police headquarters in search of Corrigan. Although he doesn’t locate his man, he does overhear two officers discussing the call from Walker which Chief Wiggums has chosen to ignore. Chalking the call up to “overwrought nerves”, it seems as if the threatened man’s life is now in the hands of Popp and Spectre. Speaking of whom… The Spectre has arrived at Walker’s residence and concealed himself through his power of invisibility. Recalling that Walker, Donovan, and Johnson all served on the board of Stratton Utilities, The Spectre’s train of thought is momentarily broken when he watches as Walker is zapped by a ray which flashes from a nearby lamp. “The Avenger has struck!!”, notes the grim ghost. As it turns out, Percival Popp hasn’t been exactly idle while this has been going on. We discover that he’s arrived upon the scene in time to witness Walker’s disappearance from a window outside his home. Popp leaps into the room, is caught in the ray, and The Spectre gives chase. Arriving at the other end of that beam, Popp is taken prisoner and hooked up to a machine designed to electrocute him. His executioner? Mortimer Crandall. Crandall was a scientist employed by Stratton Utilities until dismissed “because of [his] absurd theories!” which explains why he’s targeted those board members, who, incidentally are still alive, though prisoners of the mad man. Not a prisoner though? The Spectre. When Crandall attempts to electrocute Popp, he discovers that the apparatus isn’t functioning. Investigating the machine, he receives a kick in the backside from The Spectre who, although he hasn’t yet rendered himself visible, the scientist guesses is the cause of the attack. Materializing, The Spectre suggests that since Crandall already knows of him, he should also know that freeing his captives is the smartest thing he could do at this point. Revealing the panel behind which the men are hidden, Crandall presses a button and displays his prisoners to The Spectre while simultaneously placing him under hypnotic control. “I order you to kill them!” And it looks like The Spectre intends to do just that as he heads towards the men.  Having either been forgotten about or dismissed as unimportant, Popp has hidden himself behind a machine in Crandall’s lab from where he’s been watching these going ons unfold. Out of desperation, he trips The Spectre as he approaches his targets. Thankfully, the fall has brought the dark knight back to his sense and he is now free to crack Crandall on the jaw. Not satisfied with that though, The Spectre streaks through space with Crandall in tow and drops him off at “The Nebula of Truth”. According to The Spectre, this nebula is capable of cleansing “you of your evil fallacies!”. The visit has its desired effect upon Crandall who, as demonstrated through his destruction of his own equipment, has now become a force for good. Donovan, Johnson, and Walker are dropped off at home and advised by their savior to “henceforth give a talented man every break!” As for Popp? Well, as Corrigan learns while walking alone from headquarters some time afterwards, Popp isn’t far behind. “I just want you to know that I’ll always be at your side to aid you!” Resigning himself to his fate, Corrigan thinks “I can see that from now on fighting crime will be my secondary problem! Eluding Percival will be the first!” And there we seemingly have the new status quo for these adventures. Thoughts: This is the issue I was dreading – the debut of Percival Popp. If any character didn’t need an Urkel-like comic relief sidekick to lighten his adventures it’s The Spectre. A horror comic… but with pratfalls. Dark, merciless vengeance… and slapstick. The two simply don’t mix. Now having read the start of this new era, I have to conclude that I find Percival Popp to be… an ABSOLUTE DELIGHT!! Laughs! Thrills! Adventure! He promises it all and BOY can he deliver! Well, OK, not quite. The fact is that Percival Popp is here to stay for the duration of the Golden Age. I don’t think he’ll be appearing in All-Star Comics and I know that he’ll be sitting out at least one upcoming issue of More Fun, but the fact remains that with The Spectre ending his run with issue #101 of More Fun, there are more Popp tales ahead of us than solo Spectre ones in the past. My familiarity with the character prior to reading this issue stems from the two issues of More Fun Comics reprinted about 20 years back as part of DC’s Millennium Edition line – issue #73 and #101. Coincidentally or not, issue #73 featured our first look at Popp by way of a ‘coming next issue’ blurb and issue #101 featured our last. Neither were very flattering portrayals of the character and served to highlight all that was wrong with the creation – the goofy look, the cheap laugh nature of the character, the all too obvious desperation to be thought of as outrageous and zany serving only to make the character all that more off-putting – but for this single issue? He’s not terrible. A few points in his favour: - He isn’t a bumbler or a bungler. He does pick up the first clue in the story and is the only officer other than Corrigan himself who recognizes the danger Walker is in. In fact, he moves even quicker than The Spectre does when Walker vanishes. - So far, he isn’t really The Spectre’s sidekick, but Jim Corrigan’s. The Spectre fighting side-by-side with this goofball is one thing, but Jim Corrigan? First of all, he’s doing pretty well at eluding Popp and secondly, the idea of Corrigan being constantly irritated isn’t that bad considering the fact that hard-boiled, two-fisted detectives of the pedigree he belongs to, should have a chip on his shoulder. Of course, if it should develop that Corrigan can’t help but laugh at Popp’s antics (the way characters often did I guess to encourage readers that this sort of stuff was actually funny), this is going to grow old fast, but Corrigan’s gotten a little too cheery for me of late and if this returns some of that earlier tough guy persona, then at least that’s something. - If it weren’t for his diminutive, skinny, pointy haired, large eyes and nose, oversized glasses appearance, you could almost mistake Popp for a believable character. He gets stuck in a tree sure, but only because The Spectre stuck him there. He gets knocked down by Crandall, but only because he thought he was the only thing standing in the way between him and his prisoners. He’s a pest no doubt, but he hasn’t really done anything yet that makes you think of him as clumsy, stupid, or entirely useless. So, I don’t mind the character as of yet, but man, another twenty-five or so more appearances of this guy? Who knows? Thoughts not having to do with Percival Popp – The Super-Cop: In issue #69, Chief completely dismissed a call he received from a threatened man as “some guy with a powerful imagination who is getting scared silly over nothing!” Next moment, the caller is murdered. In the previous issue, Chief got a call about volcanoes appearing in the middle of the city and found the claim to be valid. Here, he gets another call from a man who’s been threatened and disregards him as having “overwrought nerves”. What does it take to convince this idiot of the seriousness of a death threat? Honestly, he’s is Chief Wiggums! When Corrigan enters the home of his friend Donovan at the start of the story, he takes note of his servant. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” Whodunnit stories don’t usually work in comics given the brevity of the tale – there are only so many characters, clues, red herrings you can introduce in ten pages after all. Nevertheless, setting the servant up as a likely suspect in the disappearance of Donovan is a nice bit of sleight of hand on Siegel’s part. The lamp trick is just a reworking of the plant trick from More Fun #69 where a common household item turns out to have been repurposed for some sinister plan. I mentioned in an earlier review that having one’s inventions misused by another doesn’t really get the inventor off the hook regardless of his own benevolence. Grow a brain in a jar to save lives? That’s all well and good, but if the brain decides to run amok you can count on a bullet to the chest by issue’s end. Here however, Crandall is a genuinely nasty piece of work who The Spectre nevertheless decides to set free after rewiring his brain so that he’ll now be a force for good. The Spectre even chides his victims for not giving him a chance the first time around despite his attempt to kill them. It’s a nice acknowledgement that given the fact that The Spectre can eliminate evil from mens’ minds (either through his own abilities or by way of a trip to The Nebula of Truth) he doesn’t really need to kill his enemies or even imprison them to fight his war on crime. So as it stands now, I can’t say I’m really optimistic about the future of this series. While not as bad as I anticipated, Popp is designed to be an obnoxious character and I see no reason why such a trait will grow on me over time. Still, as a change of pace, it wasn’t terrible, but as the template for how things will stand going forward…? I guess we’ll see. |
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Post by MWGallaher on Apr 10, 2020 8:56:39 GMT -5
The line comparing Popp to Superman reminds me of how many little bits from this run were echoed in Fleisher and Aparo's 70's run. I know that Fleisher says he read the back issues in preparation for those issues of Adventure and intentionally re-used things that Siegel and Baily had done. While this may not be one of those intentional bits, and may even be pure coincidence (Fleisher may have stopped reading the back issues before Popp), but he famously had Corrigan make a wise crack comparing reporter Earl Crawford to Clark Kent, implying, as this story might be interpreted to do, that Superman is a fictional character in the Spectre's universe.
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 10, 2020 10:58:29 GMT -5
The line comparing Popp to Superman reminds me of how many little bits from this run were echoed in Fleisher and Aparo's 70's run. I know that Fleisher says he read the back issues in preparation for those issues of Adventure and intentionally re-used things that Siegel and Baily had done. While this may not be one of those intentional bits, and may even be pure coincidence (Fleisher may have stopped reading the back issues before Popp), but he famously had Corrigan make a wise crack comparing reporter Earl Crawford to Clark Kent, implying, as this story might be interpreted to do, that Superman is a fictional character in the Spectre's universe. Although he only completed three volumes in the series (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman), I believe that Fleisher had intended to write an Encyclopedia on The Spectre at some during the 1970's. Though nothing was ever published, it's quite possible that he had at least finished reading the run before the project was abandoned. Even if he didn't, as you note he did read quite a bit of it in preparation for his Adventure Comics run. More Fun Comics #75 has something happen to Corrigan which is far too similar to what will happen to him again during the Fleisher run to be coincidence. For this reason, I'm sure Fleisher read that issue if nothing else. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 11, 2020 21:53:49 GMT -5
All-Star Comics #7 (Oct-Nov 1941)
"This is the first time I've been faced with raising a large sum of money - and 100,000 dollars at that! Hm - it won't be easy!"
 Synopsis: Having just returned from a trip overseas, The Green Lantern reports to the rest of The Justice Society just what it is he witnessed in war-torn Europe and Asia. It’s a gruesome picture of orphaned children, starving families, and bombed out cities and villages which he paints for the team and little wonder why the assembled group quickly accepts their next mission – to raise $1,000,000 to support the charitable organizations which help tend to the needs of these innocent victims. Each member therefore is tasked with the mission of raising $100,000 individually (and Johnny Thunder has offered to raise three times that amount to compensate for the fact that the team numbers only eight) and The Spectre’s attempt reads as follows… Strolling the streets, Jim Corrigan wanders aimlessly wondering just how he can raise $100,000. Coming across an advertisement offering $5000 to anyone who can last one round with boxer Killer Krazter, Corrigan decides to get in the ring. If anyone has any qualms about Jim Corrigan using his occult powers to unfair advantage, rest easy - "The killer puts his thumb in Jim's eye, elbows him and uses every foul method". In other words, Corrigan is simply playing on Killer's terms. Not much of a match though - one left hook from the detective and Krazter goes down. Rejecting his manager's offer to extend his services to him, Corrigan is left with another $95,000 to raise. Did I say $95,000? I meant $85,000. You see, just as Corrigan leaves his match, he spots a group of bank robbers, uses his powers to freeze them in place, and picks up the reward of ten G's when he turns them over to the police.  $15,000 soon becomes $20,000 when Corrigan saves a pedestrian from being rundown by an automobile. The man turns out to be rich and hands Corrigan a cheque for $5000. Heading over to a brokerage firm, the detective uses his supernatural abilities to determine that by investing in Consolidated Asbestos, he can quickly double his take, and sure enough, that's what happens. When Corrigan invests his $40,000 in a "broken down nag", he walks away $10,000 short of his goal when Dust-Eater comes in first. "I'm beginning to believe I'll make my quota without any trouble." As if on cue, Corrigan stumbles upon a distraught looking Swami. Confiding in Mr. Money-Bags that he's lost his talent for "summon[ing] up spooks", Corrigan offers to help him out for $1000. That evening, an important client gets the pleasure of seeing The Spectre materialize at a seance. With that scam completed, Corrigan walks past a government building where he overhears some federal men discussing the impact striking workers over at The Wentworth Factory are having on defense. Heading over to the factory, The Spectre discovers that the workers are being riled up by a foreign spy when he reads the mind of said ringleader. As a courtesy to the workers who probably can't read minds, The Spectre compels the agent to repeat his thoughts... aloud. "Things are going fine! Defense work will be seriously impeded! My foreign leaders should be very pleased!" The stooge is thrown out and The Spectre's work here is done. Unfortunately, this is one problem he resolved without getting paid for it. No matter - the world's your oyster when you know when can locate all the buried treasure you want with but a thought. Unearthing a cache of riches whose total value isn't calculated but we're assured exceeds his goal, The Spectre portion of the tale comes to a satisfying conclusion. And hey, as a bonus he kills a bad guy who witnesses his discovery and tries to shoot him in the back.   Thoughts: Though care is taken to establish Killer Krazter as an underhanded dirty fighter who is only getting his comeuppance when he loses his match and with $5,000 to Jim Corrign I can't say The Spectre earns all of his money quite so cleanly. Though crediting "intuition" with his ability to "guess" the outcome of a horse race, Corrigan really knows the truth is due to "a generous supply of occult power thrown in" as his thoughts confirm. Similarly, he games the stock market through an investment which brings in $20,000. And while we might assume that in The Spectre's world, swami's and spiritualists aren't the conmen and charlatans they are in ours, I can't imagine that whoever this seer's important client was, he paid to watch The Spectre fly around the room. That the seer even has $1,000 to spare to please a single client suggests that he's probably not in this line of work to help the misfortunate. All in all, this story felt more like a checklist of easy tasks for The Spectre to complete and as such, doesn't really satisfy. Seeing Corrigan simply stumble upon people who are all too willing to hand over large sums of money after walking in front of cars or as a reward for catching crooks is too paint by numbers to be a real page turner. This story feels like a series of piece meal events - I can't even really call them adventures - which might be somewhat fitting for an anthology title, but as its own entity, rather lacklustre. On an odd note - Corrigan is depicted as a blond in this tale. Actually, he looks nearly identical to Hour-Man's alter ego of Rex Tyler elsewhere in this issue, no doubt to the two sharing the same artist as well as the same hair color (for this yarn, at least). Hey, so what happens in the rest of this ish? Does the team raise a million dollars? Well... While the rest of the team bring in their promised share, Johnny Thunder screws up and returns to the meeting empty handed. Hiding under a table and hoping that everyone conveniently forgets about him doesn't quite work out when The Green Lantern wonders aloud where he's gone. Having to admit that he doesn't have the $300,000 he planned to bring in, Thunder takes offense when The Atom refers to his thunderbolt as a "piker" since even his magical pal seems to have taken it too easy for his liking this time around. "Say, you can't say that about my thunderbolt!" and with those magic "Say you" words, Johnny's subsequent rant about wishing that the team's three honorary members showing up with $100,000 a piece comes true. And who are those Honorary members anyhow? Why, Superman, The Batman, and The Flash. Yes, for the first time within a comic book story, Superman and Batman appear not only together for the first time, but with the rest of The JSA. They only appear for two panels, but, hey, it's history! The Spectre's contribution to this moment? To second the motion that the team give "a vote of thanks to our three honorary members for their assistance in this very worthy cause!" So, not a very memorable Spectre tale, but not one without its merits either.  |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 14, 2020 15:38:13 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #61 (Nov, 1940)  .... That whole “I’m being flung into space by an occult occurrence” bit? Even though it’s designed to draw out The Spectre’s fight with a human opponent who is no match for him, kind of has an appeal. I mean, why shouldn’t there be weird unexplainable things going on around someone like The Spectre? There are laws of nature in our world we can’t grasp, so why shouldn’t there be bizarre occurrences such as The Spectre being plucked by some unknown force and dropped one hour in the past? I certainly wouldn’t to see this happen all the time and certainly not with enough regularity that once he’s about to face off against the bad guy the reader expects something weird like this to happen, but as an occasionally side-track to the main story it might contain possibilities. I've been reading along, not really having much to add to what you've written up until now, but holy heck, what ws up with this story? It really feels like they were just out of ideas this time around: "Hey, let's have someone impersonate the Spectre. Oh wait, we already did that. Well then let's also have him whisked away from the climactic battle by a higher power! Oh wait, we've done that several times now. Okay, let's have him travel back in time for an hour. Why? Well why not? It won't really add anything to the story, it won't get explained, and there won't even be two Spectres once time catches up with itself, but, ya know, it'll fill pages. Man, the ring last issue felt like the "bored-with-this-premise" stunt to end all stunts, but we've apparently forgotten all about that now and still are just making sh*t up as we go, and it's less logical and more repetitive with each ensuing story. Geez. I can't decide whether my brain is thoroughly offended, or if I'm finding this delightful in an admiring-a-car-wreck sort of way. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 14, 2020 16:23:58 GMT -5
More Fun Comics #61 (Nov, 1940) .... That whole “I’m being flung into space by an occult occurrence” bit? Even though it’s designed to draw out The Spectre’s fight with a human opponent who is no match for him, kind of has an appeal. I mean, why shouldn’t there be weird unexplainable things going on around someone like The Spectre? There are laws of nature in our world we can’t grasp, so why shouldn’t there be bizarre occurrences such as The Spectre being plucked by some unknown force and dropped one hour in the past? I certainly wouldn’t to see this happen all the time and certainly not with enough regularity that once he’s about to face off against the bad guy the reader expects something weird like this to happen, but as an occasionally side-track to the main story it might contain possibilities. I've been reading along, not really having much to add to what you've written up until now, but holy heck, what ws up with this story? It really feels like they were just out of ideas this time around: "Hey, let's have someone impersonate the Spectre. Oh wait, we already did that. Well then let's also have him whisked away from the climactic battle by a higher power! Oh wait, we've done that several times now. Okay, let's have him travel back in time for an hour. Why? Well why not? It won't really add anything to the story, it won't get explained, and there won't even be two Spectres once time catches up with itself, but, ya know, it'll fill pages. Man, the ring last issue felt like the "bored-with-this-premise" stunt to end all stunts, but we've apparently forgotten all about that now and still are just making sh*t up as we go, and it's less logical and more repetitive with each ensuing story. Geez. I can't decide whether my brain is thoroughly offended, or if I'm finding this delightful in an admiring-a-car-wreck sort of way. And I think this is the major failing of a strip I otherwise enjoy for the most part - that Siegel doesn't seem to have any long term ideas for the series. By comparison, you can see that with Superman, Siegel is advancing and fleshing out ideas introduced early in the strip - how did the world discover that Superman had another identity, how did Lois transition from being unable to even look at Clark Kent without contempt to feeling genuine affection for the guy, how long can Lois go without beginning to suspect that Superman = Kent, etc. The Spectre all too often reads more like one of those 'Can you spot the difference between these two pictures' puzzles. Same formula every time, but with one or two things moved about at random only to be put back at the start of the next adventure. The "appeal" I mention of seeing these random cosmic hiccups interfere with The Spectre's ability to get from Point A to Point B is admittedly almost certainly due to Siegel being "bored-with-this-premise" and not because of any little mystery he's establishing this issue to pick up on later down the road, but I can see how it could have made for a compelling ongoing component of the run. It's already been established that The Voice will offer Corrigan a favour but with a catch ("I'll bring you back to life, but you'll be a walking corpse", "You can save your fiancee's life, but you'll miss out on eternal peace") and I think in light of this, it seems almost inevitable that Siegel intends to reveal that these weird going-ons are all part of a test to ensure that Corrigan is the right man for the job they've given him. "We'll give you unlimited power, but we're going to throw obstacles in your path from time to time to see if you have the courage and intelligence this responsibility demands". Now, unless Siegel has some late in the day plan to reveal that, yes, this was his intention all along, I think it's sadly safe to say that these obstacles are simply a manifestation of Siegel looking to meet a deadline, but the sad thing is, if I can come up with this sort of idea based upon what Siegel's already done, then it should be a cinch for Siegel. Of course, having his hands full with Superman may have resulted in Siegel simply forgetting what he's doing with The Spectre, but it feels like he's got all these great little possibilities here and there ("I love Clarice, but I have to make her hate me", "My best friend is after The Spectre and also starting to ask how Jim Corrigan keeps escaping seemingly certain death") and is just on the verge of doing something compelling when these ingredients only to forget where he's placed them. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 14, 2020 21:42:26 GMT -5
***OK, so although it should have been slotted between my reviews for More Fun Comics #72 and More Fun Comics #73, my post for All-Star Comics #7 came a little later than it should have. As a result, I'm going to now follow up with All-Star Comics #8 which should have immediately followed More Fun Comics #74. Having achieved that, things should back to their normal schedule. As has been noted already, The Spectre tales found in All-Star Comics don't seem to really reflect what's going with corresponding issues of More Fun and with the Popp-less tales destined for Spectre, that distinction seems likely to become even more clear as time goes on. SO! All-Star Comics #8 and then we'll get back on track...*** All-Star Comics #8 (Dec-Jan 1941/42)
"Don't let the things I've shown you here disturb you! This medicine, prepared by Dr. Elba, will make you forget them!" Synopsis: Discovering that their individual cases all follow the same pattern of having their main witnesses go mad before things can be brought to a close, The Justice Society accepts the aid of Doctor Mid-Nite who has discovered a cure (dubbed “Solution K”) for this malady amongst the effects of renowned animal scientist Doctor Able. Having already determined that a mysterious Doctor Elba has been working with criminals to render potential witnesses mad, each member sets off with Solution K in hand. Though details are scant on the lottery racket which The Spectre had previously attempted to hijack when his vital witness, Louis Scaloni, went mad, it is to the jail which holds Elba’s victim that our grim ghost heads at the start of his adventure. When The Spectre is unable to locate Scaloni within the prison walls, he decides to question the warden as to his whereabouts. Informed that he’s been turned over to the care of his sister at the orders of “Boss” Williams, Corrigan visits the address only to discover a vacant house. Not one to be discouraged however, Corrigan decides to pay a visit to the political bigwig himself. After forcing his way past his butler, the detective overhears Williams and a crony discussing Elba’s discovery. It is while demanding to know the whereabouts of Scaloni that Corrigan is knocked on the head by Williams’ man from behind. Feigning unconsciousness, Corrigan “revives” in time for Williams to offer to explain everything. Taking him on a tour of his home, Williams shows his prisoner a collection of police badges – “each belonged to some copper who had an accident – right after crossing my path!” Of course, this collection along with a gavel taken from a judge who “won’t need it anymore” is simply the prelude to the real prize in Williams’ home – an insane Louis Scaloni kept prisoner in a cell. With the tour concluded, Williams injects Corrigan with the madness inducing drug and this time, Corrigan feigns death. Dumped into Scaloni’s cell and unseen by Williams and his goon, Corrigan injects his witness with Solution K which has the desired effect. When Scaloni returns to normal, he is face to face with The Spectre. For his protection, Scaloni is left on a distant planet “which hasn’t been discovered by astronomers yet”. Shortly thereafter, a weird glow is spotted by Williams coming from Scaloni’s cell… Investigating, he and his men find The Spectre waiting for them. Pulling Williams through the bars without disturbing them, The Spectre turns his attention on the man’s cronies. Developing second thoughts on this course of action, The Spectre suggests that he have Corrigan arrest them instead. “But -- he’s dead!” Apparently not as the detective enters the room and knocks the man out cold. With that done, Corrigan returns to headquarters and in return for “a week’s vacation with pay” announces that he’s going after “Boss” Williams. Though discovering that he left things a little too late when he finds that Williams has committed suicide in his cell, all is not lost when into The Chief’s office walks a hale, hearty, and most importantly, sane Louis Scaloni ready to tell all. And with that, The Spectre heads off wondering how the rest of the team is doing. How do they do? Well, once again, Johnny Thunder has his Thunderbolt bring the team (along with two new members Dr. Mid-Nite and Starman) to his rescue as Elba is about to inject him with his drug, they find the missing Doctor Able in the same room into which Elba has just run, Doctor Mid-Nite assumes that Able’s been Elba’s prisoner all this time, Able calls him a fool for not realizing that he’s both men – “It’s the same name spelled backwards!”, and Elba/Able accidentally stabs himself with his needle and falls out a window. The team happily welcome their new members. Thoughts: Nice to see that although he won't be appearing on any more covers for More Fun (tiny corner box aside), The Spectre is prominently displayed here.  Once again, Corrigan is depicted with blond hair. I wonder if this could be chalked up to The Spectre simply forgetting small details like hair color when he transforms back to Corrigan. Colorist error more likely. Scaloni asks The Spectre not to forget him after he’s deposited him on some distant planet. Wise words given what happens in the next issue of More Fun Comics, but we’ll get to that in time. In something of a return to form, Corrigan exhibits a surly roughness that we haven’t witnessed since the early days of this series. Williams’ butler doesn’t even get a full sentence out before Corrigan is shoving him against the wall and when the detective does come face to face with the Boss, he grabs him by the collar and starts demanding answers. Even the punch he later delivers to Williams seems to have a lot more force to it than his usual blows. Once again, we get something that’s a little grittier here than in The Spectre’s main titles. I like it – Corrigan should be fairly uncouth and irritable. I also like The Spectre literally pulling Williams in through the bars of his cell without disturbing the bars. I wouldn’t feel too sorry for Williams though – this is, after all, a nasty piece of work who has clearly murdered a lot of police officers. Even wanting to hang on to Corrigan’s body after he believes he’s died is a rather gruesome touch you don’t ordinarily see within these pages. Williams showing Corrigan around his macabre museum reminded me of the film " The Most Dangerous Game" in which a crazed hunter shows off his human trophies to the men he intends to hunt. Had this been a longer tale, I suspect that we might have seen Corrigan be forced to run a similar gauntlet to the one endured by the hero of that picture. I enjoyed this one. Corrigan is a hardboiled, two fisted engine of justice and The Spectre’s witness protection program involves being hidden out on the farthest reaches of space. Even the eerie glowing light emanating from Scaloni’s cell is a nice touch. If this seems like a brief story to you, you’re right. It’s only a six page yarn likely due to the extra space this issue required for its back-up – Wonder Woman’s first appearance. It doesn’t have anything to do with The JSA story serving as it does as a solo tale, but I think it justifies the brevity of this Spectre entry.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 15, 2020 7:48:31 GMT -5
And I think this is the major failing of a strip I otherwise enjoy for the most part - that Siegel doesn't seem to have any long term ideas for the series. By comparison, you can see that with Superman, Siegel is advancing and fleshing out ideas introduced early in the strip - how did the world discover that Superman had another identity, how did Lois transition from being unable to even look at Clark Kent without contempt to feeling genuine affection for the guy, how long can Lois go without beginning to suspect that Superman = Kent, etc. The Spectre all too often reads more like one of those 'Can you spot the difference between these two pictures' puzzles. Same formula every time, but with one or two things moved about at random only to be put back at the start of the next adventure. Absolutely. I'd love if, once you are done with these reviews, you create a list of "essential" Spectre stories -- the ones you get after boiling off all the repetition, contradiction, and filler, because I LOVE this premise but absolutely struggle with reading one story after another. Too bad. You had such high hopes for Siegel with All-Star #1. And, of course, this was considered a disposable art-form by most until the late 1960s. No one expected anyone to collect and analyze them years later. They were intended for folks seeking cheap amusement, and in an era before folks were saving/collecting these (let alone reprinting them), I think publishers assumed that most of what readers were paying for each issue was another opportunity to see a cool hero in action; the actual conflict and writing was just window dressing. At least that's my unsubstantiated assumption about these early stories. Obviously, Will Eisner and a handful of others disagreed. |
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Post by beyonder1984 on Apr 15, 2020 8:23:29 GMT -5
The perspective was true from the publishers and for most GA creators- that comic books were less reputable than sci-fi books, comic strips, and pulp fiction magazines. But superhero comic books always had its pulse on the zeitgeist and future trends, so although on the surface they were simplified pulps for youngsters they instantly evolved the genre and eclipsed it (Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel for instance were pop stars right out of the box). The action may have been a huge part, but so were the costumes, personalities, plot hook, and resolution. Young readers became entranced. Culturally as a whole they couldn't really collect or store them (Depression/WWII/space/cheap paper) yet even today we have surviving GA comics. It's the same mentality as 1950s kids putting Mickey Mantle rookie cards on their bicycle spokes. I think "disposable" may be us projecting into the past. Just some anecdotal stories: when I would talk comic books with readers from The Greatest Generation who have now unfortunately passed away, their eyes would light up when recalling their comic book heroes of youth. And they would discuss "that one issue where..." not the fight scenes. Superheroe stories/plots were serious business and memorable for readers, and the proof is the letter pages in the early Silver Age DC comics when fans were writing in upset about why Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern were forgotten. The readers were paying attention at continuity and logic even if the creators were not. Not all were just mindless infants looking at the pretty panels (different art standards), although due to the high number of comics sold, many were. Speaking about Siegel in general, Marv Wolfman said Jerry's strength was in full-length Superman issues, not the short stories. So I get that many GA stories may not hold up to the modern reader's eyes- then again neither do early 1990s Marvel/DC/Image- but context is king. We basically need to see these comics with the eyes of a kids from the 1940s- which is an impossible task. Otherwise, we resort to critiquing them from 2020 as sound like archaeologists who project the present to the past and make incorrect judgments. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 15, 2020 13:20:20 GMT -5
And I think this is the major failing of a strip I otherwise enjoy for the most part - that Siegel doesn't seem to have any long term ideas for the series. By comparison, you can see that with Superman, Siegel is advancing and fleshing out ideas introduced early in the strip - how did the world discover that Superman had another identity, how did Lois transition from being unable to even look at Clark Kent without contempt to feeling genuine affection for the guy, how long can Lois go without beginning to suspect that Superman = Kent, etc. The Spectre all too often reads more like one of those 'Can you spot the difference between these two pictures' puzzles. Same formula every time, but with one or two things moved about at random only to be put back at the start of the next adventure. Absolutely. I'd love if, once you are done with these reviews, you create a list of "essential" Spectre stories -- the ones you get after boiling off all the repetition, contradiction, and filler, because I LOVE this premise but absolutely struggle with reading one story after another. I think that's a great idea. Hopefully there are a few essential ones still to come. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 15, 2020 13:35:19 GMT -5
The perspective was true from the publishers and for most GA creators- that comic books were less reputable than sci-fi books, comic strips, and pulp fiction magazines. But superhero comic books always had its pulse on the zeitgeist and future trends, so although on the surface they were simplified pulps for youngsters they instantly evolved the genre and eclipsed it (Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel for instance were pop stars right out of the box). The action may have been a huge part, but so were the costumes, personalities, plot hook, and resolution. Young readers became entranced. Culturally as a whole they couldn't really collect or store them (Depression/WWII/space/cheap paper) yet even today we have surviving GA comics. It's the same mentality as 1950s kids putting Mickey Mantle rookie cards on their bicycle spokes. I think "disposable" may be us projecting into the past. Just some anecdotal stories: when I would talk comic books with readers from The Greatest Generation who have now unfortunately passed away, their eyes would light up when recalling their comic book heroes of youth. And they would discuss "that one issue where..." not the fight scenes. Superheroe stories/plots were serious business and memorable for readers, and the proof is the letter pages in the early Silver Age DC comics when fans were writing in upset about why Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern were forgotten. The readers were paying attention at continuity and logic even if the creators were not. Not all were just mindless infants looking at the pretty panels (different art standards), although due to the high number of comics sold, many were. Publishers seemed to have been notoriously slow in picking up who their audience were and what was working and what wasn't. They had a hit with Superman from the get-go but waited until issue 19 to make him their regular cover feature. I've found at least one letter in a Superman column from the 60's in which Weisinger actually chides a reader for still reading comics as an adult ("Aren't you getting a little old for these things?") when I'm sure it was, if not as common as it is today, not terribly unusual. Why were The Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern forgotten? Because DC assumed that few of their readers would even remember a character from 1951 when they rolled out a new version in 1956. I do know that an upcoming issue of More Fun does end with readers being asked to write and tell them what they think of Percival Popp so it's interesting that they were canvassing their audience for feedback at a time that they also seemed to be making random changes here and there. The fact that Popp would continue makes me wonder if such changes really were so arbitrary - maybe kids actually liked the guy. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 15, 2020 14:39:08 GMT -5
The perspective was true from the publishers and for most GA creators- that comic books were less reputable than sci-fi books, comic strips, and pulp fiction magazines. But superhero comic books always had its pulse on the zeitgeist and future trends, so although on the surface they were simplified pulps for youngsters they instantly evolved the genre and eclipsed it (Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel for instance were pop stars right out of the box). The action may have been a huge part, but so were the costumes, personalities, plot hook, and resolution. Young readers became entranced. Culturally as a whole they couldn't really collect or store them (Depression/WWII/space/cheap paper) yet even today we have surviving GA comics. It's the same mentality as 1950s kids putting Mickey Mantle rookie cards on their bicycle spokes. I think "disposable" may be us projecting into the past. Just some anecdotal stories: when I would talk comic books with readers from The Greatest Generation who have now unfortunately passed away, their eyes would light up when recalling their comic book heroes of youth. And they would discuss "that one issue where..." not the fight scenes. Superheroe stories/plots were serious business and memorable for readers, and the proof is the letter pages in the early Silver Age DC comics when fans were writing in upset about why Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern were forgotten. The readers were paying attention at continuity and logic even if the creators were not. Not all were just mindless infants looking at the pretty panels (different art standards), although due to the high number of comics sold, many were. Publishers seemed to have been notoriously slow in picking up who their audience were and what was working and what wasn't. They had a hit with Superman from the get-go but waited until issue 19 to make him their regular cover feature. I've found at least one letter in a Superman column from the 60's in which Weisinger actually chides a reader for still reading comics as an adult ("Aren't you getting a little old for these things?") when I'm sure it was, if not as common as it is today, not terribly unusual. Why were The Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern forgotten? Because DC assumed that few of their readers would even remember a character from 1951 when they rolled out a new version in 1956. I do know that an upcoming issue of More Fun does end with readers being asked to write and tell them what they think of Percival Popp so it's interesting that they were canvassing their audience for feedback at a time that they also seemed to be making random changes here and there. The fact that Popp would continue makes me wonder if such changes really were so arbitrary - maybe kids actually liked the guy. Comic sidekicks seem to have been all the rage then in comics, strips, and in the movies, often in the serials, too, so as much as you or I don't care for him, he may have been seen as a plus for the strip's popularity. My guess is that the trope started to diminish in popularity after World War Two. Flash picked up Winky, Blinky, and Noddy in the summer of '42; GL was joined by Doiby Dickles in April of '41; Ma Hunkel was around in 1940. Now that I think of it, as part of the search for non-superhero genres that would sell, DC turned at least two of its anthology titles into humor comics. Leading went from the Seven Soldiers of Victory to funny animals in its Summer 1945 issue, #15; and More Fun cover-featured its humor strips beginning with 102, the March 1945 issue. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 15, 2020 15:02:24 GMT -5
Why were The Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern forgotten? Because DC assumed that few of their readers would even remember a character from 1951 when they rolled out a new version in 1956. This was also standard practice in the film industry at the time. I touch upon it a bit in my Bela Lugosi thread, but you find titles and even entire premises getting recycled less than a decade later with the assumption, in an age before home video or even television, that no one remembers anyway. |
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Post by electricmastro on Apr 15, 2020 15:04:21 GMT -5
The perspective was true from the publishers and for most GA creators- that comic books were less reputable than sci-fi books, comic strips, and pulp fiction magazines. But superhero comic books always had its pulse on the zeitgeist and future trends, so although on the surface they were simplified pulps for youngsters they instantly evolved the genre and eclipsed it (Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel for instance were pop stars right out of the box). The action may have been a huge part, but so were the costumes, personalities, plot hook, and resolution. Another successful character from the time would also have to be the more “realistic” Blackhawk, having also gotten a movie serial in 1952!  |
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Post by electricmastro on Apr 15, 2020 15:11:07 GMT -5
Why were The Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern forgotten? Because DC assumed that few of their readers would even remember a character from 1951 when they rolled out a new version in 1956. My understanding is that Julius Schwartz wanted a more science-based Green Lantern as opposed to bringing back Alan Scott, whose version of the Green Lantern is a version which many people by their reckoning would likely conclude is more magic-based. I presume that rather than re-invent Alan Scott, they decided to re-invent Green Lantern altogether, and Hal Jordan was the result of that. |
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