This is a review of The Spectre: Crime & Judgments, which collects the first twelve issues of John Ostrander (writer) and Tom Mandrake’s (artist) 1990’s run of the Spectre. It is no secret that I’m a huge fan of John Ostrander, the man responsible for the creation of Grimjack and the modern version of The Suicide Squad.
The Spectre is an older character who appeared in the Justice Society way back in the 1940’s. Basically, The Spectre is the Wrath of God. His purpose is to wreak vengeance on evildoers, and since he’s beaucoup powerful, he can do whatever he wants. The Spectre’s anchor/human host is Jim Corrigan, a cop killed in the 1930’s. Corrigan’s ghost still hangs around, even though sixty years have passed. Evil never sleeps, and neither does he.
My favorite issue of The Spectre features a trio of kidnappers who bury a child alive and die before they can reveal the child’s whereabouts. The Spectre storms into Hell and fights a devil for one of the kidnapper’s souls. When the kidnapper reveals the child’s whereabouts, the Spectre tosses him back into the eternal flames like a piece of garbage.
I don’t want to say a lot about the plot. If you are the type who’s easily triggered, I might skip this book. I myself had trouble reading the last four or five issues, but then again I’m a sensitive sort. The B-storyline features a character who mirrors the Spectre, in that he says he’s destroying evil. This character is also an enormous monster. Make of that what you will.
Great art, great writing. Highly recommended, especially if you like nihilistic horror.
Abandoned Places 