The Phantom Stranger makes his debut in DC’s Phantom Stranger #1 (June 1952) and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. The character is unnamed and not given an origin, simply appearing across 3 different stories of people encountering supernatural events. In each story, he debunks the supernatural aspects as hoaxes and solves the […]
Read More »
Although Batman was first called “the Dark Knight” in Batman #1 (1940), writers for DC were also using the nickname to describe their own heroes, as seen here for the Spectre and Starman from October 1942.
Read More »
The Spectre enters a battle with an enemy that seems to verge on the cosmic level in More Fun Comics #70 (June 1941).
Read More »
The Justice Society of America debuts in All-Star Comics #3 (November 1940). In its first incarnation it consists of a whopping nine characters across Detective Comics Inc and All-American Comics (still separate companies at this point): The Flash, the Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Spectre, Doctor Fate, Sandman and Hourman, with Johnny Thunder thrown in […]
Read More »
In Mystic Comics #4 (June 1940), Timely Comics Inc (later Marvel) introduces the first costumed female superhero, Black Widow. Claire Voyant is a spiritual medium who is overcome by evil powers while performing a seance. She puts “Satan’s curse” on the family who later die in a car crash. The surviving brother murders Claire and […]
Read More »
Only a couple months after introducing the Spectre to More Fun Comics, DC introduces readers to Doctor Fate, another magic-wielding superhero in More Fun #55 (April 1940). Doctor Fate was Golden Age creation by the prolific Gardner Fox (writer) and Howard Sherman (artist). Doctor Fate had a love interest, Inza, but no other background for […]
Read More »
In More Fun Comics #54 (March 1940), the Spectre‘s powers continue to be revealed: allowing bullets to pass through him, projecting a duplicate, turning invisible, exploding bullets. In this story, a voice from the afterlife relents and gives the Spectre a chance at eternal rest… of course Jim Corrigan refuses in order to save his […]
Read More »
The Spectre‘s costume was revealed in-story during More Fun Comics #53 (February 1940). The original setup was that Detective Jim Corrigan is dead, but still walks the earth, and he made the costume in order to fight crime.
Read More »
January 1940 also saw the debut of DC’s latest superhero, The Spectre in More Fun Comics #52. The Spectre was created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily. Although the Spectre appears in full “costume” on the cover and on the splash panel, in this first story we don’t get to see him in his green […]
Read More »