Jim Corrigan is a tough-as-nails police detective. 
He is also the Spectre, an undead angel of vengeance.
He may seem unhappy with his lot, but approaches his ordained task with great creativity.
Great creativity.
Bottom line: Don’t fuck with the Spectre.
Seriously.I was eight years old when I first came across writer Michael Fleisher and artist Jim Aparo’s “Wrath of the Spectre” run in Adventure Comics, and the stories terrified and amazed me with their moralistic brutality and the graphic depictions of the Spectre’s brand of divine retribution.
It was the lone-wolf-versus-a-degenerate-society ethos of Dirty Harry’s world, married to both the absurd vigilante melodrama of the superhero genre and the ghoulish morality tales of the old EC horror comics. It worked extremely well, especially in the eyes of a kid raised on the predictable beats of stories where Superman goes up yet again against the likes of Terra-Man or Vartox.
While the stories may feel quaint to readers accustomed to the more sophisticated fare of Infinite Crisis or Civil War, these horror tales in superheroic drag still make for an entertaining and occasionally (mildly) shocking read. DC Comics, rumored to be uncomfortable with the subject matter, cancelled the run after ten issues. The remaining plotted but not penciled installments in the series were later completed by Aparo and printed in a miniseries collection of the entire run, titled Wrath of the Spectre, in 1988. The whole shebang has since been given the trade paperback treatment for your convenience and reading enjoyment. Highly recommended.
Royal Trux – The Spectre (from Cats & Dogs, 1993) – From the half of Pussy Galore that didn’t go on to become the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, here’s a short-but-sweet slice of rootsy lo-fi rock that reminds me of something X might have recorded if they debuted in the early 90’s.
The Psychedelic Furs – The Ghost in You (from Mirror Moves, 1984) – Richard Butler always struck me as Johnny Rotten’s dreamier, art school-attending older brother.
New Model Army – Vengeance (from Vengeance, 1984) – NMA is a hard band to pin down. Arguably punk rock, but one can also hear elements of postpunk and protest folk in the mix. It’s been years since I’ve given this track a listen and I had forgotten how dour the band sounded. Crass’s material comes off as light-hearted in comparison.
Play Dead – Judgement (from Company of Justice, 1985) – More forgotten 80’s goth music. The tribal drum beats are pretty swell, even if the rest of the song is fairly generic genre material.
It was the lone-wolf-versus-a-degenerate-society ethos of Dirty Harry’s world, married to both the absurd vigilante melodrama of the superhero genre and the ghoulish morality tales of the old EC horror comics. It worked extremely well, especially in the eyes of a kid raised on the predictable beats of stories where Superman goes up yet again against the likes of Terra-Man or Vartox.
While the stories may feel quaint to readers accustomed to the more sophisticated fare of Infinite Crisis or Civil War, these horror tales in superheroic drag still make for an entertaining and occasionally (mildly) shocking read. DC Comics, rumored to be uncomfortable with the subject matter, cancelled the run after ten issues. The remaining plotted but not penciled installments in the series were later completed by Aparo and printed in a miniseries collection of the entire run, titled Wrath of the Spectre, in 1988. The whole shebang has since been given the trade paperback treatment for your convenience and reading enjoyment. Highly recommended.
Royal Trux – The Spectre (from Cats & Dogs, 1993) – From the half of Pussy Galore that didn’t go on to become the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, here’s a short-but-sweet slice of rootsy lo-fi rock that reminds me of something X might have recorded if they debuted in the early 90’s.
The Psychedelic Furs – The Ghost in You (from Mirror Moves, 1984) – Richard Butler always struck me as Johnny Rotten’s dreamier, art school-attending older brother.
New Model Army – Vengeance (from Vengeance, 1984) – NMA is a hard band to pin down. Arguably punk rock, but one can also hear elements of postpunk and protest folk in the mix. It’s been years since I’ve given this track a listen and I had forgotten how dour the band sounded. Crass’s material comes off as light-hearted in comparison.
Play Dead – Judgement (from Company of Justice, 1985) – More forgotten 80’s goth music. The tribal drum beats are pretty swell, even if the rest of the song is fairly generic genre material.
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