More Fun Comics #52
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMore Fun Comics #52 (February 1940) is one of the defining issues of the Golden Age, introducing the Spectre — DC's first major supernatural superhero and, in terms of raw narrative power, among the most theologically ambitious characters the medium had yet attempted. Where most of the era's new heroes were rooted in science or athleticism, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Bernard Baily built their protagonist around divine retribution: a murdered detective bonded to a cosmic spirit of vengeance dispatched by a disembodied heavenly Voice, establishing a template of horror-inflected superheroics that would not be widely revisited until the 1970s. The Spectre went on to become a founding member of the Justice Society of America — comics' first superhero team — cementing this debut's place at the structural foundation of the DC Universe. Its influence can be traced through every subsequent supernatural avenger in American comics, and the character has never permanently left DC's publishing slate in the eighty-plus years since.
In "The Studio Mystery," hard-boiled detective Jim Corrigan takes on a dangerous case that ends in his murder—only to be resurrected by a divine voice with supernatural powers. Written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Bernard Baily, this 1940 issue marks a pivotal moment in the character’s origin, as Corrigan returns to fight crime with a mission to stop Gat Benson and protect Clarice. The cover by Bernard Baily captures the noir tension of the tale, all in a 10-cent comic from the dawn of the Golden Age.
In "null," hard-boiled detective Jim Corrigan takes on a dangerous heist orchestrated by Gat Benson, only to be captured and murdered. When a voice from heaven declares his fight against crime isn't finished, Corrigan is resurrected with supernatural powers, determined to stop Benson and save Clarice.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 19 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Siegel scripted the Spectre feature independently of his usual collaborator Joe Shuster, who was fully occupied producing Superman material and whom National Comics effectively restricted to Superman-related work. The publisher assigned the script to writer-artist Bernard Baily, making this a rare case where Siegel wrote for a visual collaborator he had not previously worked with; Baily consequently designed the Spectre's appearance himself. The cover date of February 1940 placed the debut at a moment when Siegel was arguably the hottest creative voice in American comics, having just co-launched Superman less than two years earlier, and the supernatural tone of the Spectre story reflected Siegel's prior interest in occult heroes, most notably his earlier co-creation Doctor Occult with Shuster. Some sources credit the co-creation solely to Siegel, characterizing Baily's role as that of a hired artist, though this attribution remains contested.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of The Spectre: police detective Jim Corrigan is murdered by gangster Gat Benson (stuffed in a cement-filled barrel and drowned), bonded to a supernatural entity by a mysterious Voice, and returns as a ghost with near-unlimited powers to fight evil.
- First appearance of The Voice (later developed as The Presence, DC's analogue for God), the divine authority who empowers and directs the Spectre.
- First appearance of Clarice Winston, Jim Corrigan's fiancée, who is wounded during the Spectre's debut adventure; Corrigan uses his new powers to heal her, then breaks off their engagement.
- Created by writer Jerry Siegel (co-creator of Superman) and artist Bernard Baily, who also drew the cover; Baily designed the Spectre's visual appearance. Note: some sources attribute the co-creation to Siegel alone, limiting Baily to his role as assigned artist.
- In his debut appearance the Spectre wears a bluish-gray cape; beginning with the very next issue he adopts his now-iconic green hooded costume.
- Final appearance of Wing Brady, a military-aviation strip that had run continuously since New Fun Comics #1 (1935), making #52 the end point for the last surviving feature to have premiered in DC's very first comic book.
- The issue also contains a Radio Squad story by Jerry Siegel featuring Sandy Kean and Larry Trent, and a Biff Bronson story in which the hero disguises himself as a mad scientist's robot.
- The Spectre's debut story ('Spectre!') was later reprinted in Secret Origins #5 (1973) — though with Jerry Siegel's credit erased from the reprint — and again in the hardcover Golden Age Spectre Archives Vol. 1 (2003), which collects More Fun Comics #52–70.
Cast · 10 characters
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Flash Comics #3 (1940)
Reprinted in Showcase #60 (1966), Sgt. Kirk #20 (1969), Secret Origins #5 (1973), The Golden Age Spectre Archives #1 (2003), Weird Secret Origins #[nn] (2004), DC Universe Secret Origins #[nn] (2012), Alter Ego #109 (2012), DC Universe: Secret Origins #[nn] (2013), DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection #90 (2016)
Key issues in More Fun Comics
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.