“Follow me … for I am The Phantom Stranger!” So said the logo of one hep early-’70s DC series. And at least one character took those words to heart—Dr. Terrence Thirteen, professional Ghost-Breaker. Yes, when Doc 13 wasn’t shadowing the spookily garbed supernatural superhero around in the book’s feature stories, he followed him as the star of his own occultish backup feature. BACK ISSUE decided to debunk the debunker by hunting down the only men who could reveal what made Dr. Terry and Marie Thirteen tick—Phantom Stranger’s writers.
A DOCTOR OF DATA
The year 1951 was quite a year for entertainment: The King and I premiered on Broadway; Bedtime for Bonzo, starring future US President Ronald Reagan, hit the silver screen; and CBS presented the first color TV broadcast … viewed only by network executives since color TV sets had yet to be introduced to the American public. In the world of comics, Osamu Tezuka, father of manga, introduced his most famous creation, Astro Boy. On a lesser note, it was also the year that saw the haphazard creation of DC Comics’ protagonist Dr. Terrence Thirteen, a parapsychologist and investigator of reported supernatural activity. Thirteen was an orphan of a character, created by artist Leonard Starr and an uncredited writer to replace the “Captain Compass” feature. Imagine a less bumbling, more intense Clark Kent and you get the vibe of this neurotic paranormal investigator. The character’s first published appearance arrived in Star Spangled Comics #122 (Nov. 1951), where he toplined his own feature through #130 (July 1952). For generations, the Thirteen family’s less-savvy neighbors had hated and feared them, suspecting supernatural goings-on—but in reality, the Thirteens were thoroughly devoted to science and rationality. Thus, when the family patriarch died and appeared to come back in spirit, son Terry Thirteen, with his wife, Marie, set out to dispel the occurrence. That set the tone for the series, in which the married Thirteens investigated ostensibly occult-like situations, only to arrive at some mundane explanation. Following his Star Spangled run, Dr. Thirteen’s next appearance did not arrive until nearly 18 years later when the character turned up in Showcase #80 (Feb. 1969) as a supporting character in a Phantom Stranger story. When the Stranger received his own series that year, Dr. Thirteen made the leap as the character’s nemesis.
PHANTOM GETS A FOIL
The Phantom Stranger was one “weird hero” (see BACK ISSUE #15 for proof!). Dressed like a cross between the Spirit and the Phantom of the Opera, the Stranger operated somewhere between the passivity of the Watcher, old radio man-of-mystery the Whistler, and the crime-busting heroics of The Shadow. More often than not, he would merely materialize and disappear, long enough to forewarn characters of the consequences of their actions. Like a buttinsky Rod Serling, he might occasionally interfere.
“I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts”… …or monsters, or demons, felt DC’s resident Ghost-Breaker Dr. Terrence Thirteen, seen in the foreground in this detail from page 13 of Phantom Stranger #3. The headshot of the Stranger himself came from the character’s first issue. Art by Bill Draut. TM & © DC Comics.
60 • BACK ISSUE • Monsters Issue
by
er Michael Aushenk