Wraith of the Spectre #2 (of 4)

   I’d read the first issue a while back. I don’t think I’ve put its review up yet as I still have a massive backlog. However, for those of you who don’t know, Wraith of the Spectre was a 1988 miniseries that reprints the 1970s series that ran for about a dozen issues of Adventure Comics. This Spectre was a return to the golden age hero created by Jerry Siegel of Superman fame.

In the 1940s, the Spectre was a cop named Jim Corrigan who died and was raised from the dead. He was tasked with defeating all evil on earth and often employed some gruesome methods. By the 60s, the Spectre was more of a cosmic being and since he was like 1% away from being as powerful as the Almighty, his usage in the DC Universe was sparing.

Here writer Michael Fleisher and artist extraordinaire Jim Aparo turned the Spectre into ½ gritty cop drama and ½ EC Comics tribute. Spectre does some crazy things to bad guys, like turning them into wood and then slicing them with a buzz saw or into a giant burning Roman candle. I loved it!

For 1974 DC, the writing is superb. The art is even better. I love Jim Aparo’s work. Next to Neal Adams, I consider him the definitive Batman artist. Now, I can saw with much certainty- Aparo is the definitive Spectre artist.

I can’t wait for the next 2 issues!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.