Saturday, April 03, 2010

Random Comic Book Splash Page: The Occult Files Of Dr. Spektor #18

Dr. Adam Spektor was one of the few original characters published by Gold Key to make any kind of lasting impact on readers. Created in 1972 by writer Don Glut and artist Dan Spiegle as a detective who investigated the supernatural (very much like Dr. Terry Thirteen over at DC Comics), Dr. Spektor premiered in the anthology MYSTERY COMICS DIGEST #5, but soon jumped to his own book, THE OCCULT FILES OF DR. SPEKTOR.

"Masque Macabre" was a full-length tale in the 18th issue of DR. SPEKTOR, penned by Glut (who wrote most if not all of Spektor's stories) and drawn by veteran Jesse Santos, who gave our bearded hero a foxy foe in this adventure set in Vermont--Spektor's Native American assistant Lakota!

While Spektor may have had its fans at the time, less than two years after this splash page was published, the character made his last appearance in GOLD KEY SPOTLIGHT #8 (probably an inventory story). THE OCCULT FILES OF DR. SPEKTOR had been canceled a couple of months earlier in 1977, and though the book produced one final issue five years later in 1982 (!), it was merely a reprint of #1. And Dr. Adam Spektor goes out with a whimper.

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