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| Doctor Thirteen | |
|---|---|
 Doctor Thirteen art by Cliff Chiang. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics//Vertigo |
| First appearance | Star Spangled Comics #122, (November 1951) |
| Created by | Unknown (writer) Leonard Starr (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Terrence Thirteen |
| Notable aliases | Ghost-Breaker |
| Abilities | His skepticism makes him somewhat resistant to magical effects. |
Dr. Terrence Thirteen, known simply as Doctor Thirteen or Dr. 13, is a fictional character in comic books set in the DC Universe. The character's first published appearance is in Star Spangled Comics #122, (November 1951).[1]
Fictional character biography
Dr. Thirteen is a parapsychologist who investigates reports of possible supernatural activity with the goal of proving them to be hoaxes.
Dr. Thirteen debuted in his own feature within the pages of Star Spangled Comics, from issue #122 (November, 1951) through issue #130 (July, 1952). The character next appeared in Showcase #80 in 1969 as a supporting character in the Phantom Stranger story and then as a regular character in the Phantom Stranger series that began later that year. Early issues featured a few new pages of story and art that framed reprints of the two characters' old stories.[1]
Dr. Thirteen's stories are set in the DC Universe, where many stories involving the supernatural also are set. In the limited series The Books of Magic, John Constantine explained to Timothy Hunter that because Dr. Thirteen does not believe, magic and the supernatural truly do not work for him.[2] His daughter, Traci Thirteen, is a sorceress, a fact he finds most upsetting.[volume & issue needed]
In the first issue of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers limited series Zatanna, Dr. Thirteen was said to have been dating the title heroine, believing her to be just a very talented stage magician. While exploring a mystical realm with Zatanna and others, he accepted what was happening but explained it in terms of physics, rather than magic. During this exploration everyone, except Zatanna, including Dr. Thirteen were 'killed'.
Post-Infinite Crisis, Dr. Thirteen lives with Traci in Doomsbury Mansion,[1] still working as a paranormal investigator.[3] In the eight issue limited series Tales of the Unexpected, Dr. Thirteen united with other characters from canceled series, including Genius Jones, I...Vampire, Anthro, the Primate Patrol, Infectious Lass from the Legion of Substitute-Heroes, Captain Fear from a 1970s feature within the pages of Adventure Comics, and the Haunted Tank in a story that repeatedly broke the fourth wall and commented on the then-current state of DC Comics and its continuity. Dr. Thirteen's group fought the Architects, the four writers who were heavily involved in the direction of the DC Universe titles at the time — Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid — to convince them to include them in the new Universe.[4] [5]
The character's next appearance within a DC Comic is unknown at this time.
References
- ^ a b c Wallace, Dan (2008), "Doctor Thirteen", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 107, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
- ^ The Books of Magic #2
- ^ Tales of the Unexpected #1
- ^ Tales of the Unexpected #5
- ^ 13 part interview spread across the Internet
External links
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