Written by Doug Moench
Art by Gene Colan; Steve Mitchell; Agustin Mas; & Adrienne Roy
Cover Art by José Luis García-López
SUMMARY:
Entitled “Murder of My Mystery,” it was published by DC Comics for September 1987. Recently resurrected Jim Corrigan (now, a noir-ish private detective) investigates his own homicide, as it’s linked to his last case as a NYPD detective.
Rescued by the Spectre from demonic forces below the subway, Corrigan pieces together the hazy chain-of-events surrounding his killing of murderous thief Enrique Armas; the disappearance of mysterious Eric Zendiah; and his own murder, possibly by sultry blonde socialite Gina Belmont. Despite neglecting his secretary/girlfriend Kim Liang, Corrigan senses that he must reunite with a captive Spectre before their mystic bond is vanquished.
Deducing who (or what) truly killed him, the reunited Spectre-Corrigan duo confronts a demonic entity who has returned from the grave to settle an old score.
Note: Despite her prominence on the cover, Madame Xanadu appears only in a single-panel cameo.
REVIEW:
Putting a mystical bent on film noir, this story would have worked better had it actually been depicted in enigmatic black-and-white. Smartly book-ending the story with summaries (per Corrigan’s point-of-view), writer Doug Moench concocts a decent mystery where readers get a satisfying conclusion.
One oddity Moench includes is an unnecessary revamp of Corrigan’s younger (hipper) persona (i.e. repeatedly referring to the Spectre as “Moonface”). With the possible exception of Kim Liang, the other supporting characters make little impact. Even though this issue’s cast is minimally interesting, the art team’s top-tier efforts make up much of the difference.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Editor Dick Giordano has a full-page “Meanwhile …” column. Carrying over to the inside back cover, there is a two-page “Speculations” letters-and-answers column.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6½ Stars
