SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN PART 6

APRIL 10TH, 1972 - JUNE 17TH, 1972
JUNE 19TH, 1972 - SEPTEMBER 9TH, 1972
SEPTEMBER 11TH, 1972 - NOVEMBER 25TH, 1972
NOVEMBER 27TH, 1972 - FEBRUARY 3RD, 1973
FEBRUARY 5TH, 1973 - MAY 19TH, 1973
By Al Williamson & Archie Goodwin

Corrigan's next story arc perfectly represents simultaneously the most frustrating thing about the Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson run, and some of the best of their work. The frustration kicks things off. As is the case more often than not, we're jumping into a new storyline cold turkey, with no mention of what went on before. When last we saw Corrigan, remember, he had returned to the United States with Lushan, and had thwarted Doctor Seven's plan to find a financial backer for his terrorist organization, Triad. Any rationally functioning brain would expect to see Corrigan dwelling on such a high-profile adventure as the next arc begins. But no, Corrigan has totally moved on. He's now at Cape Meridian to investigate threats against the first U.S. space station -- which is fine on its own, but he should at least be thinking a bit about Seven as the adventure opens.

I know I'm beating a long-dead horse at this point, but it's just such a letdown to read a serialized comic strip that isn't really serialized, especially when I know, from their work on STAR WARS in the eighties, that Goodwin and Williamson are more than capable of producing just such a beast. Why they treat Corrigan in such a painfully episodic fashion is beyond me.

But on the plus side, as I mentioned above, the rest of the arc is actually quite good. The space station is bombed and three astronauts are trapped in a capsule orbiting Earth, with twenty days of oxygen and no way to make it home. What follows is a tense sequence as scientists on Earth rush to complete a rescue craft while Corrigan works to uncover the bomber, who he knows is operating from within NASA, before he can strike again. And the conclusion is somewhat surprising and exceptionally suspenseful.

So it's not all bad news -- and fortunately, Williamson and Goodwin keep the hits coming as the next arc opens. Corrigan is still in Cape Meridian wrapping up his investigation (let's hear it for inter-arc continuity!) when his wife, Wilda, is kidnapped by a face from his past: Joe Ice, the hitman from one of the earliest Goodwin/Williamson arcs in 1967. But Ice isn't out for revenge -- he's just doing a job and the fact that Corrigan is the subject of his mission is simply icing on the cake. Corrigan takes a leave of absence from the FBI in order to pursue Ice, and tracks him and Wilda to Morocco.

But soon after he arrives, Ice is on the move again, departing in a yacht owned by billionaire Lucien Omar. And aboard the yacht are Doctor Seven and Corbeau, his first partner in Triad. It seems that, after taking only a single arc off, Seven is back in action and looking for a new backer for the organization. This time it's Omar, and it appears he's going to stick around. Corbeau departs after their meeting, and Omar brings Ice, Wilda, and Seven to a Mediterranean island where he maintains an estate. Seven brainwashes Wilda to kill Corrigan when next they meet, and meet they do when Corrigan infiltrates a masquerade party at Omar's home. But Ice interferes and Wilda overcomes Seven's programming. Corrigan and Wilda escape the island, but Corrigan knows he hasn't seen the last of Triad.

And that is how you do a good story arc in a serialized strip! Continuity galore, from the return of Joe Ice to the return of Seven and Corbeau to the furtherance of the Triad storyline. When last we left Triad, it was still short a third partner and financial backer. Now it has one. Crossing one recurring enemy (Ice, though he technically wasn't recurring until just now) with another, Seven, is brilliant. And using Wilda as bait for Corrigan gives him a personal stake in the matter, forcing him to operate without the resources of the FBI as he works to rescue her. This is a really good storyline, and while I know not every arc can be an epic, I just wish more of them felt as important as this one does.

Next up is the plot you never knew you needed to see: Corrigan goes undercover to infiltrate a biker gang led by a guy dressed as a full-on viking in order to recover a biological weapon stolen from a government lab. Hey, even if I'm frustrated by their general lack of true serialization, I can't complain that Goodwin and Williamson aren't having fun with their premises. This is one of their better one-offs, however, as they fully embrace and run with the absurdity of it all, playing everything totally straight from start to finish.

Corrigan's hair has been getting longer over the past several arcs, and by this point he sports a full, thick mane of lustrous seventies locks, complete with some sweet sideburns. This look naturally helps him fit in as a "motorcycle savage," to use the words of one of his colleagues. Though in a funny bit, surely shoehorned in to placate readers who might take offense at the idea that all bikers are lawless maniacs, Corrigan pointedly tells his friend that "Outlaw gangs like Viking's aren't typical of cycle users." It reminds me of a bit in an old Spider-Man comic (which you can read about right here at NOT BLOG X) where Spider-Man notes that not all "skinheads" are white supremacists.

Next up, Corrigan's photographer neighbor gets involved with organized crime when accidentally gets some pictures of a gangster's coffin surreptitiously re-entering the country. But the criminal is actually still alive, and orders his men to destroy the prints. Corrigan comes to his friend's aid and the investigation wraps up with an FBI assault on the mobster's mountain cabin. This is a another good outing, crossing Corrigan's work over with his professional life. Anything that mixes up the tired "assignment of the week" formula is nice to see.

We close out this week's storylines with another bout against Doctor Seven. It seems Williamson and Goodwin knew they had a winner on their hands with the evil doctor, as they now utilize him often, at least once per year. Though this arc doesn't feature as much globe-trotting as in the previous Seven arc -- it's set entirely in a fictional South American country -- it still goes for a James Bond approach, this time somewhat emulating Sean Connery's first outing in the role, DOCTOR NO. Corrigan is aware up front that Seven is up to something here, having been tipped off by a fellow agent with a dying gesture, and so we readers know to expect him. But Seven is unseen for about half the arc, while Corrigan does some investigation, survives an assassination attempt or two, and so forth.

Eventually Corrigan makes it into Seven's mountain stronghold, where he finds that the doctor has constructed a machine to create earthquakes for a mysterious "client". Corrigan naturally foils the plot and Seven's fate is left up in the air once again.

Doctor Seven's machinations always bring out the best in Corrigan's creators, and this story is no exception. As noted, Goodwin and Williamson go "nearly full Bond" here, with Corrigan spending some time in a casino while wearing a tux, chatting with beautiful women (though obviously not doing any more than that due to his marriage), and foiling a Blofeld (or Cobra Commander)-esque plot to wreak global havoc. I would normally say at this point that Doctor Seven is a great antagonist, but probably best when not overused, but heck -- he could be the main villain of every arc going forward and I think I'd still like him just as much!