Review by Frank Plowright
Spector is seen as the answer to a police force ingrained in corruption in the late 21st century. He’s a state of the art robot whose metal construction gives him an immediate advantage, allied with state of the art deduction skills and an offbeat personality.
John Wagner’s had a fondness for slightly wonky robots from the earliest days of 2000AD, and Spector enables the introduction of another favourite theme of Wagner’s, the comedy noir detective and tough guy. This, then, is well-trodden territory for the writer, and it’s apparent in the smooth funny dialogue, part Damon Runyan narrative, part sitcom misunderstanding.
The opening two chapters are Carlos Ezquerra’s final comics work, once again completely creating a world. Distinctively retro hovering cars indicate a connection to the early Mega-City One, but it’s slight, and Ezquerra adheres to the noir mood by toning down the excessively bright colour he’s fond of. The cast are distinctive apart from Spector himself, a rugged stock personality in a trenchcoat. Sadly, having developed the look, Ezquerra died, and it’s left to Dan Cornwell to complete the series. He’s under-rated and excellent, incorporating Ezquerra’s distinctively rough look without slavishly adhering to it, developing his own portrayals and designing some great technology of his own. The memorable cover is also Cornwell’s work.
Police corruption is the theme uniting episodes that can be enjoyed as individual stories. Spector and his chosen partner have the support of the District Attorney after dealing with the previously ineffective Anti-Corruption Squad’s chief, and they set about their jobs energetically.
There’s a point where it seems Spector is only going to be a solid crowdpleaser with an appealing lead character and Wagner diving deep into familiar territory, which would be fine given his consistent quality, but he rises above. There’s no cynicism and optimism prevails, which is a card Wagner rarely plays, yet he sells it without excess sentimentality leaving a fitting memorial for Ezquerra’s legacy.
