Set Description:
Synopsis: This collection contains high-grade examples of all 23 books in this set. Nineteen of our books are 9.8s and 22 are highest graded examples in the census. A perfect score in this set under the current census would be 20,085, so this set is 98.8% there.
Background: The Spectre debuted in More Fun Comics #52 (February 1940) when hard-boiled cop Jim Corrigan, on his way with his fiancée Clarice to their engagement party, is murdered by thugs who stuff him into a barrel filled with cement and then throw it into a body of water. His spirit is refused entering into the afterlife, however, and he is sent back to Earth by an entity referred to only as "the Voice" to eliminate evil.
The Spectre seeks bloody vengeance against Corrigan's murderers in grim, supernatural fashion. One of them was turned into a skeleton upon touching him. Corrigan soon creates his signature costume, breaks off his romance with Clarice, and continues to live as Jim Corrigan, assuming the secret identity of the Spectre whenever he is needed.
The GA Spectre was a charter member in the first-ever superhero team, the Justice Society of America in All Star Comics. Jim Corrigan is resurrected in More Fun #75 (January 1942), after which the Spectre's ghostly form enters and emerges from Jim Corrigan, functioning independently of him. The Spectre made his last Golden Age appearance in 1945.
DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz revived the Spectre and returned him to the role of an avenging undead spirit, beginning in Showcase #60 (February 1966), which is the initial issue of this set. Under writer Gardner Fox and penciller Murphy Anderson, his power was vastly increased and at times he approached omnipotence. A 1987 magazine retrospective on the character said this revival had been initially announced as a team-up with Doctor Mid-Nite. After a three-issue try-out in Showcase, the Spectre appeared in Justice League of America Issues #46–47 in that year's team-up of the JLA and the JSA.
The Spectre subsequently co-starred with the Silver Age Flash in The Brave and the Bold #72 (July 1967). The Spectre was then given his own title, premiering in December 1967, while simultaneously making another appearance in The Brave and the Bold #75 (January 1968), this time teamed with Batman. In The Spectre, the creative credits varied widely over the 10 issues published, with introduction of then-newcomer, Neal Adams, who drew Issues #2–5 and wrote Issues #4–5. For its final two issues, the comic became in effect a horror anthology, with the title character being little more than a narrator in several short stories. The Spectre title suffered from the same problem that vexed the Golden Age series: writing meaningful stories using a character who was virtually omnipotent.
The end to this era came at the climax of another JLA/JSA crossover, when Doctor Fate frees the Ghostly Guardian from a crypt in time to block a collision between Earth-One and Earth-Two caused by an alien device planted in the Red Tornado II. The Spectre's body is torn apart when Doctor Fate creates a massive explosion to destroy the device and return the colliding Earths to their own dimensions.
The end to this era came at the climax of another JLA/JSA crossover, when Doctor Fate frees the Ghostly Guardian from a crypt in time to block a collision between Earth-One and Earth-Two caused by an alien device planted in the Red Tornado II. The Spectre's body is torn apart when Doctor Fate creates a massive explosion to destroy the device and return the colliding Earths to their own dimensions.
Our Collection: We started this set in 2018 after acquiring what was then the single highest graded Spectre #1 (it’s now 1/2 highest). Five years later we completed this set when we acquired a 9.8 copy of Adventure #437! I’m not sure these books will ever be that valuable, but still feel a sense of accomplishment in locating them all, as we acquired them pretty much one book at a time. Currently, there is only one book out there, which would improve this set, not bad.
2024 Update: There were no books acquired in this set during the year, but I did add back covers to each of our books in this set. Honestly, there have been almost no changes in the census in this title since I last looked, and there is still only one book out there that would improve this set, the single highest graded Spectre #9 9.8. We did have three single highest graded books ourselves, but both out #1 and #6 have been tied in the census. Fortunately, our Showcase #61 9.8 still stands alone atop the census, so no other set with their choice of every other book ever graded by CGC in this set could top ours. It is a pretty short set and not the most monumental title, but it is a sweet set of books.
Current Stats:
23/23 Books
19 9.8s-All Highest Graded
4 9.6s-3 Highest Graded
14 WP
8 OW/W
1 OW
22 Highest Graded
1 Second Highest Graded
3 Pedigrees
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