Doctor Spektor: Master of the Occult #1 (Dynamite)

Rating: 3/5 – Slow Start That Will Hopefully Payoff in the Next Few Issues.
by ComicSpectrum reviewer Adam Alamo.

I’ve always been a big fan of the old Gold Key characters (Doctor Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter, Turok) and was very excited when Dynamite decided to revive these characters. Much of the revamping and updating to the characters has been superb and I look forward to these books every month. The fourth character Dynamite revived, Doctor Spektor, is the only one with whom I was unfamiliar, but I was looking forward to this book too – it had Mark Waid as writer, so how bad could it be? The answer is – not too bad.

This first issue basically sets up the character and story. It is my understanding that Doctor Spektor’s character has been updated from his traditional portrayal. In this incarnation, he is a reality TV star! Unfortunately, that update seemed to be a bit outdated nowadays and thus seemed formulaic. Mark Waid is a master of characterization, though, so I look forward to seeing Doctor Spektor fleshed out a bit more in coming issues. The opening scene was also a bit long and drawn out. However, it did work to set up the story and eventually leads to some interesting happenings, including guest “appearances” by the other Gold Key characters. Is Dynamite trying to tie its line of characters together? Let’s hope so! The characters are all at opposite ends of the comic spectrum, so if there’s a way to link them together, it seems the way to do it is through the Master of the Occult. On art duties, I found the pencils by Neil Edwards generic and in some places could have used more detail. Considering the source material, my opinion is that the book would benefit from more stylized art.

Overall the book left plenty of interesting questions to be answered and set up what will hopefully be a fun ride. Though not as strong a start as the other characters in this apparent shared Gold Key universe, it did enough to bring me back next month. It was an OK start to a promising series and I’m hoping to see the payout of the seeds planted here in future issues.

Reviewed by: Adam Alamo
(adam@comicspectrum.com)
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