Adventure 439 – The Spectre gets engaged, and the Green Arrow chapter of SSoV
Adventure 438 (June 1975) begins a 2-part story that concludes the Spectre’s run. It is based, oddly enough, on the 2-part origin story of the Spectre in More Fun Comics, but Mike Fleisher puts a different spin on the tale, with art by Jim Aparo.
After rescuing Gwen Sterling yet again, Jim bemoans his fate, to be a living dead man, and the voice that empowered the Spectre (God?) decides to fulfill his wishes, and brings him back to life, although Jim does not realize this.
The following day, he pursues a gunman with no thought to his own safety, but gets shot and wounded in the process, to his great surprise, and delight.
Realizing that he has gained his life back, he proposes to Gwen. But the story ends with a note of danger, as the mobster “Ducky” plans vengeance.
The story concludes next issue.
Lee Elias returns to draw the Green Arrow chapter of the Seven Soldiers of Victory tale. A great choice, as he has no problem duplicating the look he gave the character back in the day.
The story is a fairly silly one, enlivened by the art. Two crescent moons, the waxing and the waning, get into a fight at Father Time’s Inn, due to an eclipse that prevented one from being seen, and the fight threatens to draw in other heavenly bodies, until Green Arrow proposes that the two crescents merge and substitute for a full moon.