The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #17
Published and © by Gold Key (Western), October 1975
Title: “Bride of the Walking Dead”
Synopsis: Dr. Spektor and companion Lakota Rainflower head to England to rescue Spektor’s distant cousin from zombies.
Writer: Don Glut
Penciler: Jesse Santos
Review: There are hints of a really good comic here but writer Don Glut never quite pulls it together. Dr. Spektor and love interest/colleague Lakota Rainflower bear a patina of interesting, but never feel like fully fleshed-out characters. (Lakota is largely relegated to the damsel-in-distress role.) And the story feels more like an info dump about zombies and voodoo than a legitimate threat. Credit to Glut for not overwriting; he uses fewer words per page than many of his contemporaries. The writer trusts the art to carry some of the storytelling, and artist Jesse Santos is up to that task.
Grade: B-
Cool factor: Jesse Santos is solid – and sometimes striking – storyteller.
Notable: First appearance of Anne Sara.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a Whitman edition of this issue.
Character quotable: “It’s insane! Why would a hotel owner living in modern-day England want to practice voodoo?” – Lakota Rainflower, realizing something may be amiss
Editor’s note: This review was written July 7, 2024.
