More Fun Comics #52 (1940)
by Jerry Siegel & Bernard Baily
If you had to guess the series where you would expect to see the first appearance of the first ghost superhero who happens to be the agent of God’s wrath… “More Fun Comics” would rank pretty low.
Jerry Siegel hopefully doesn’t need much introduction.
Bernard Baily, on the other hand isn’t as famous but he was already featured as an artist on Action Comics #1 (he wrote the Tex Thompson serial). The Spectre is probably his most famous co-creation, but we’ll see him again creating Hourman.
He drew basically every genre from the 40s to the 60s, but his most striking work is probably in 50s horror stories. This masterpiece of a cover is just one example.
Our protagonist is hard boiled detective Jim Corrigan, who we first meet dunking a friend’s head in the sink.
(apologies for the quality of the scans, these are the best I could find)
He gets a tip about a robbery, which he stops with his fists.
Fun Spectre fact: he’s really into fashion.
This is important because it’s the same evening his love interest, a wealthy socialite, is going to publicly announce their engagement.
She tracks him down at the hospital where he’s taken the criminals he beat up (!!!), and she’s not happy about him skipping the announcement.
Our hero, ladies and gentlemen!
This incredibly healthy relationship is interrupted by criminals seeking revenge.
These guys don’t joke around: they trap Corringan inside a barrel full of cement (!!!) and dump him into the river.
Up to this point, this has been a typical and frankly boring pulp story. But this is where it distinguishes itself: Corrigan is taken into Heaven!
Fun Spectre fact: this is considered the first appearance in DC Comics by God.
Corrigan is unceremoniously sent back to Earth, where he can’t die because… well, he’s already dead.
Fun Spectre fact: he could fly before Superman could.
(at least in the comics)
You’d think the shock of having died minutes ago would make testing your abilities less important.
And the story ends with Corrigan phasing through a wall to get back to rescue his fiancée.
More Fun Comics #53 (1940)
by Jerry Siegel & Bernard Baily
The Spectre has his second cover, despite the fact that in the story he doesn’t have his costume yet.
Conveniently, his fiancée faints just in time to avoid seeing weird stuff.
And this is where the horror aspect of the story starts to kick in.
The first criminal dies of a heart attack after just SEEING Corrigan…
…and the other two find themselves unable to harm him.
I’m glad to see that the Spectre dealing with his enemies by unleashing terrifying transformations was there from the beginning!
He can already do whatever the plot needs…
…which apparently doesn’t include stopping the criminal from shooting his fiancée!
Not-So-Fun Spectre fact: he’s first superhero to have his love interest murdered.
OR IS IT?
How much of a ghost is he, really, if nobody can tell the difference from when he was alive?
The police arrives, and I guess the first guy wasn’t really dead? The guy who got turned into a skeleton sure is!
And then Corrigan dumps his fiancée. Allegedly to protect her from the truth, but from what we’ve seen, he might be sincere!
Not the best time to think about that, Corrigan!
Fun Spectre fact: despite his PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS, he sew his costume himself!!!
And so, after a bit of angst…
…we end with the Spectre vowing to end crime.
It’s been 83 years since this story was published. He’s basically omnipotent, what’s taking him so long?
Lots of other comics besides the Spectre. On issue 52 alone, there were another EIGHT full stories!
Historical significance: 8 /
The Spectre is an important part of the DC mythos.
Silver Age-ness: 0 /
The horror is tame when compared to future Spectre stories, but too much for the Silver Age.
Does it stand the test of time? 5 /
In terms of atmosphere, a few scenes are still quite memorable. Unfortunately Corrigan himself comes off as rather unlikeable, and of course there’s no tension whatsoever when he’s already dead and can do whatever he wants. Still, while the angst comes a bit late, it’s more than you typically get in the Golden Age.
How close is this to the modern character? 5/10
It’s been a while since the Spectre lowered himself to petty criminals, plus his actions feel a bit mechanical here. Still, like I said the horrific transformations are already here, plus the fact that Corrigan wasn’t a nice person before his death will be considered in future stories.
The Spectre would feature on More Fun Comics covers for more than a year, passing the torch to Doctor Fate. And of course he will be one of the founding members of the Justice Society.
But his decline begins soon: 1941’s More Fun Comics #74 introduced the bumbling “Percival Popp, the Super Cop”, who keeps getting more and more space in the series.
It gets worse in 1943’s More Fun Comics #90, where Corrigan enlists in WWII (!!!).
By this point Corrigan and the Spectre could exist simultaneously (!!!), leading to the fact that Corrigan leaves his own series!!!
Instead, PERCIVAL POPP becomes the protagonist, with the Spectre being invisible for everyone except the bumbling idiot.
YEP. THIS HAPPENED.
The Spectre would be one of the first members of the Justice Society to fade into obscurity, with his last appearance being in 1945.
He would return in 1966 on Showcase #60 thanks to, who else, Gardner Fox.
This would lead to a 10 issue series, lasting from 1967 to 1969…
…but his claim to fame is probably Adventure Comics #431 to #440, where the fantastic Jim Aparo artwork goes all in on the horror.
The Spectre was not technically allowed to kill in this period, but if you were his target?
YOU WOULD WISH HE COULD KILL YOU.
Seriously, these are just SOME of the punishments he inflicts.
Post-Crisis, he had a pretty solid 31 issue series from 1987 to 1989…
…but to me THE definitive version will always be the 62 issues of Volume 3 (from 1992 to 1998), all written by John Ostrander. It’s an incredible series full of introspection and horror, an exploration of morality and religion, full of lore and atmosphere.
And it ends with Jim Corrigan relinquishing his role as the Spectre, ascending to Heaven.
But SOMEONE has to take the role of the Spectre, and that role was fulfilled in 27 issues of volume 4 from 2001 until 2003. And the new Spectre would be Hal Jordan, after his death.
It’s probably a controversial opinion, but I think Hal should’ve stayed the Spectre instead of coming back as Green Lantern.
His series was rather good (being written by DeMatteis helps!), and quite frankly there are more Green Lanterns more interesting than Hal.
The Spectre would remain without a host for a while, until the position was taken by Crispus Allen: a Gotham City detective.
I have not read a single comic featuring him so I have no opinion; as far as I can tell, he’s still the current host of the Spectre.
Aside from brief reunions with the Justice Society, the Spectre tends to show up in crossovers where he’s either used as a deus ex machina, or where a deux ex machina is brought up to avoid having the Spectre fix EVERYTHING.
That’s the problem that has plagued the Spectre since the Golden Age… it’s pretty difficult to write a story for an all-powerful guy who literally works for God.
But then again John Ostrander managed to do it in a 62 issue series that is criminally underrated, so I guess it’s only a matter of time before someone else figures out how to write him.
