Preview: ‘Spector: Incorruptible’ – One Robo-Cop Against A Corrupt City In The Final Collaboration Between John Wagner And Carlos Ezquerra

by Richard Bruton

Specter’s a sci-fi cop procedure that moves fast, piles on the intrigue and looks, but of course, absolutely perfect…

First of all, another mention of just how good Dan Cornwell’s cover to this one is. High concept stuff done beautifully, such a striking image.

As for Spector itself, let’s lead off with the 2000 AD PR, as that pretty much nails what you can expect:

‘Just a few years into our future, faced with unsustainable levels of corruption within the branches of city government, and a police force that is equally rotten, Spector is created. A robot detective, untainted by corruption and beyond bribery, Spector is charged with cleaning up the city. But it is an uphill battle, as many people currently in positions of power want the robot to fail.’

Yep, there you go, the incorruptible outsider cop fighting the good fight. That’s the bones of Spector.

But onto those bones, John Wagner’s delivered one of his perfect procedural tales, the sort he does still so perfectly with Dredd, but also something a bit more lightweight in tone, almost the style of his classic Strontium Dog tales.

And yes, I know that’s really simplifying things. After all, Wagner’s a writer who could bring absolute comedy, ridiculousness, and farce to Dredd, and go serious and social in his Johnny Alpha stories. Wagner, as is befitting one of the all-time great comic writers (and it really is about time more people were saying that), can write absolutely anything and write it beautifully. But there’s still, in my mind at least, the shorthand that Wagner’s Dredd’s beer to the serious procedural and his Strontium Dogs to the more fantastical action adventure.

And Spector? Well, reading it as one here, it’s has a middle ground feel, maybe leaning more to the fantastical action adventure, but still full of the procedural nature of things. Essentially, it’s a damn fine self-contained thing that has no pretense about it, it just is what it is.

Fortunately, what it is is rather good.

Of course, it’s not all about Wagner, not at all. This was, sadly, the last thing that the great Carlos Ezquerra worked on before his death, in fact, it was Ezquerra’s concept that he took to Wagner. He only completed the first couple of episodes, but that still establishes, perfectly, the tone of the thing, sets the look and the style. Damn, I’d have loved to be in a world where King Carlos got to see this through.

And I’ll go out on a limb and say that Cornwell would say just the same. But no, Carlos passed, the story was going to either go unfinished or another artist would have to have the unenviable task of following on from a master. Kudos to Cornwell, he took it on and gave us a great looking piece of work, one that did Carlos’s creation proud.

It’s a Wagner and Ezquerra creation – the final Wagner and Ezquerra creation – and it’s a fine, fine piece of classic sci-fi, a classic cop drama, never taking itself too seriously but still spinning out a cracking little self-contained thing. And special mention to Dan Cornwell for picking up where Ezquerra sadly had to leave it, and for doing such a bloody good job.

SPECTOR: INCORRUPTIBLE

Written by John Wagner

Art by Carlos Ezquerra, Dan Cornwell

Colours by Dylan Teague

Letters by Jim Campbell.

Spector created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra

Published on 23rd April 2025 by 2000 AD