Welcome back to Comics Odyssey! We’re publishing on a Friday but I expect we are returning to regular scheduling next week (paid extras dropping Tuesdays, regular episode dropping Wednesdays).
Henry Brown was travelling on the day we recorded this episode so Hannah Rose Williams jumped in to help us explore this fascinating comic book from the 1990s. Tag along as we look into the dark and supernatural world of DC’s The Spectre. This is an episode from the widely lauded John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake’s run. It’s a standalone horror story titled “A Rage in Hell.” The conversation takes us into interesting spiritual territory and we even discuss the theological ramifications of the story’s events.
Time Stamps
Here’s the revised list with no links:
00:00 — Intro, greetings, and support/subscriber shoutouts.
02:06 — Hanna’s animation work and a short discussion about learning by making imperfect work.
04:05 — Main topic introduced: The Spectre omnibus, focusing on issue #5 rather than the whole book.
05:29 — John Ostrander’s background, religious upbringing, and the comic’s theology/religion themes.
11:22 — Cover discussion and opening setup of the story A Rage in Hell.
12:19 — The story’s core plot begins: a buried child, a kidnapping, and the initial crime-thriller setup.
15:55 — Jim Corrigan/Spectre enters the case and the discussion shifts into supernatural detective work.
20:09 — First trip into the afterlife and the visual style of the art.
22:09 — The descent into hell, including the father/abuser imagery and the swastika symbolism.
24:03 — Meeting Shathan at the bottom of hell and the negotiation/conflict with the Spectre.
28:17 — Big confrontation: the Spectre’s wrath, the devil’s temptation, and the “loaded question” exchange.
30:33 — The soul is recovered, the kid is dug up, and the story resolves.
33:39 — Final reaction to the issue, including pacing, mood, and overall effectiveness.
39:17 — Broader discussion of the Spectre run, Vertigo-era context, and future reading plans.
44:08 — Bonus discussion of covers, glow-in-the-dark production, and additional Spectre stories/comic history.
47:26 — Wrap-up, and closing remarks.
