Doctor Occult
Doctor Occult (sometimes dubbed the Ghost Detective, one time referred to as Doctor Mystic) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (known commonly as the creators of Superman), Doctor Occult is an occult detective and private investigator and user of magic who specializes in cases involving the supernatural. Doctor Occult first appeared in 1935 around the Golden Age of Comic Books. He was published by National Comics Publications and Centaur Publications within anthology titles. He is the earliest recurring, originally featured fictional character created by DC Comics that is still currently used in the DC Universe. He is commonly affiliated with the All-Star Squadron and has appeared occasionally in paranormal-related stories by DC and Vertigo Comics titles. Doctor Occult has appeared in a few official tie-in comic books and has appeared in one DC based video game which is established as within DC's multiverse canon. Publication history Mainstream version Golden Age titles The character first appeared in the anthology comic books series originally entitled New Fun (later retitled More Fun Comics) in issue #6 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in October 1935. He originally wore a blue costume and red cape. He was depicted as a supernatural detective, whose detecting style was very much in the style of Sam Spade, only with supernatural abilities with a supporting character named Rose Psychic and his butler Jenkins. Writers such as Les Daniels and others cited the character as what would be a prototype of Superman. He also appeared in Centaur Publications' The Comics Magazine #1 under the name "Dr. Mystic". This was the same character because his story, "The Koth and the Seven", began in The Comics Magazine and continued in DC's More Fun Comics #14–17 (issues also designated as vol. 2, #2–5). In this story, he travels to a mystic realm where he flies and wears a cape, making him the first caped comic book superhero. Doctor Occult made his last Golden Age appearance in More Fun Comics #32 in 1938. Bronze Age revival After years of obscurity the character was revived in the 1980s. He appeared off and on in All-Star Squadron (1985), a title set during World War II and on Earth-Two. Modern Age revivals The character had a featured origin story in one issue of Secret Origins in (vol. 2) #17. He appeared later in crossover comics such as Crisis on Infinite Earths (1986), Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic (1991), The Trenchcoat Brigade (alongside Mister E, the Phantom Stranger, and John Constantine) (1999) and "Day of Judgement" (1999) as part of the Sentinels of Magic. Reboot In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), Doctor Occult appears in Justice League Dark, Constantine, Secret Six and The Books of Magic comic book issues. The rebooted version was derived from Jeff Lemire and Mikel Janin. Other versions Doctor Occult appears in comic books outside of the mainstream DC Universe in what