I have posted previously on The Black Spectre, a recent New Pulp hero created by Roger Alford. I had received the first of a trilogy giving the origin of this character, and have gotten the second and third volumes: No Victory Without Scars and Vengeance Awaits at the Door. These have recently become available in print from Black Hood Press, and are also available as ebooks. There are two prior works, but they are still only available in ebook format.
The Black Spectre is a mix of pulp hero and comicbook hero with a bit of a Batman inspiration (though I see a little bit of another comicbook character as well). It’s a balancing act: Is this a pulp hero, or is this a comicbook hero in prose format? I think he is more of apulp hero, but I do see the comicbook elements.
The Black Spectre is really millionaire Brent Gregor. His father, the district attorney, was targeted by mob thugs and killed, his mother injured and later dies in an insane asylum (when he’s in college), and Brent was injured and confined to a wheelchair.
In the first book, we learned how Brent obtained the means to become the Black Spectre, and not just walk again, but to take action against the mobsters who killed his father and hold Terminal City in their grip.
We were also introduced to other, secondary characters, such as reporter Vicky Ross who wants to make her mark as a crime reporter and gets involved in matters. But she is not a potential love interest for Brent (yet?). He seems to want to rekindle things with aviatrix Abigail Wentworth, whom Brent had met in college. And we have Brent’s butler, who is the only one who knows his secret. We are also introduced to a couple of cops in the second story, who will also be involved in the third book.
After the action of the first book, which had an impact on the mobsters, things heat up with further shakeups. The Black Spectre adds to this, but the problem is Brent is still learning his way. He needs to understand how he can use his abilities and take action, which he finally does. But at the end of the second book, he is injured and must seek refuge while mobsters are looking for him. Further, he needs to have a reason to go after the criminals then just revenge for his parents.
At the same time, Vicky is digging into the shake up in the underground, how the two cops are involved, while also dealing with failing health from what happened to her in the first book. All of these various story threads come together in the third volume, though not everyone will come out okay at the end.
We also get various flashbacks to the past, let’s us know more about Brent and others connected to him.
These volumes wrap up the origins of The Black Spectre. I hope to check out the other works at some point, and hope they are also make available in print form. This is another interesting New Pulp hero to look into.
