The Spider Versus The Empire State!

What a bumpy road we are on with this whole Democracy thing. Things that were unstated givens a decade aga now have to be hammered out in detail in public to make the point. No, you don't threaten to attack judges or their aides because you disagree with their decisions. No, you don't join with your allies and storm the halls of Congress to overturn an election which didn't turn out as you imagined it ought to have. Since the publication of this book featuring three Spider pulp sagas from the 1930's, rights have been stripped away from women in regard to their ability to control their own bodies. Medical care has been criminalized. A sliver of society which doesn't conform to traditional gender roles is under attack in state after state for simply wanting to be who they really are. Books have been banned in libraries and schools across the country because they might challenge children (and adults) with offbeat notions such as historically documented state-supported racial bigotry. In the face of this reality, I offer up a book. The Spider Versus The Empire State by Norvell W. Page is a trio of Spider pulp stories pitting the ultra-violent hero against a brutal police state established during World War II in New York City.

The advertising blurb on The Spider volume reads "They said it couldn't happen here." I used to think that too. But I've read the position papers and I've heard the relentless hateful rhetoric and I've seen political leadership quail in the face of implied threats of violence, and I've seen our institutions of jurisprudence waffle when confronted with a demagogue who won't shut up. Yeah, as it turns out it could happen here in these United States, and it is. There is still time to hold it back, but sadly at this point all we're doing is holding it back. We'll know more this time next year. 

On a lighter note, below are the cautionary covers for the pulps the trio of Spider stories originally appeared in. The story of a Fascist government seizing power in America and rearing up a police state might serve as balm for my troubled spirit in these unusual days. Fiction has that power, the power to free the mind, not confine it.
  

Norvell Page really hits it out of the park with this riveting adventure of The Spider. The first of three Spider novels dubbed "The Black Police Trilogy", this story relates how an unknown criminal called "The Master" and "The White Face in Mirror" brings to heal the entire state of New York by installing a corrupt Governor and unleashing on the populace an army of black-uniformed troopers known simply as The Black Police. These thugs use tactics and techniques out of the Middle Ages and any number of oppressive political regimes to render the people terrified to act.

The City That Paid to Die begins in slam-bang fashion as Richard Wentworth alias The Spider rushes to save his former opponent, Police Commissioner Kirkpatrick of New York City from the Black Police who under orders from Governor Whiting and a corrupt Legislature are taking over normal police operations in NYC and across the state in general. After several desperate battles The Spider heads to Albany to confront the Governor only to be driven away. He then sets about to set up a guerrilla operation to fight against the tyrannical forces, while his beloved Nita Van Sloan and his Sikh assistant Singh also join the fight.

The novel is action-packed and breathlessly paced as Wentworth is a veritable dervish of violence, killing Black Police left and right as he chances across them. He leaves the mark of the Spider on their foreheads, but fabricates the fiction that The Spider has given him permission to do so. The war rages for page after page until a dramatic climax brings Wentworth face to face with the Master, a secret criminal who manipulates the events from hiding and in disguise. The novel leaves things up in the air, as The Spider's victories, significant though they are, leave the tyrants in power still.

This is a thrilling adventure, but despite its pulp origins is one which smacks on many serious points. First published in 1938, the novel plays on the very real fears then abroad in the country that Fascism could well indeed rear up and squash the cherished freedoms of the United States. Sadly because of the rigors of the Depression, some folks had even called for such a dictatorial approach to help solve the ongoing economic woes of the nation.

The threat of such a tyranny in these United States seems a quaint idea, but many of the details of Page's novel put me sadly in mind of some recent events. While there is no Black Police army, made up of mostly criminals, abroad in the land today, police have become more and more militaristic over the last several decades as one allegorical war after another has been waged. The shakedown operations conducted from the offices of the Governor in this novel disguised as taxes do unfortunately make me remember how property is seized minus any court order when a drug bust is conducted. People don't demand the rule of law when it comes to dealing with lawless often because they cannot imagine how it might one day impact them too.

So, while the modern America does not in any serious way resemble the nightmare society described in this novel, it is with some reluctance that I do see echoes here and there, at least in part of what Page so ably describes.

The Spider At Bay is the second novel in the infamous 1938 "Black Police Trilogy" from Norvell Page. The action picks up a few months after the last novel which detailed how a criminal cabal had seized control of the state of New York. The Spider battled back against the "The Master" and his allies controlled from the Governor's mansion. The Black Police were criminals running roughshod over the people, stealing their resources through illegal taxation and intimidation and murder.

As this second novel unfolds the whole struggle has become a full-fledged war. Richard Wentworth, The Spider himself, or at least pretending to be in this story leads his troops known as "The Commander". The battles rage in a New York almost reduced to Medieval standards though the fight is waged with modern weapons.

One of the most insidious weapons is a plague similar to leprosy unleashed on the people. In a weird bit of propaganda the rumor is spread that only those who struggle against the Black Police will contract the disease. Needless to say it makes the ability to gain support difficult. Some help from the outside does appear in the form of a G-Man by the name of Miller.

The Spider even manages to slip out of the state to meet with The President of the United States but since the veneer of authority still clings to the Governor's Black Police forces, the PotUS  is limited in what he can do. The Spider returns to his people only to fall victim to the evil forces. But that's not the end of the struggle.

This novel really reads almost like some fantasy adventure, there's a distinct ancient feel to the nature of the struggle. The Spider and his forces seem much like Robin Hood and his Merry Men, with Nita Van Sloan becoming Maid Marion. There's even a priest named Father Flower who serves the rebels.

The Plague too gives the story an ancient feel and the idea that modern people would believe the hokum about how it was contracted seems weird until you take a moment and remember that even today folks still fall all too quickly for demagogues who claim that all manner of calamities are the result of some moral failing.

New York seems almost like a pocket universe in this story, apart from the greater U.S., a land of death and mayhem and murder. Page's relentless storytelling doesn't let the reader pause to reflect much. But I was put much in mind of what it must be like to try and survive in modern day Syria, a land torn by endless struggle left alone to fight it out
   

The Scourge of the Black Legions from the November 1938 issue of The Spider is the third and final chapter in what is called "The Black Police Trilogy". In the previous two novels we were introduced to the evil "Master" who uses corrupt politicians to seize power in the state of New York and bring about a tyrannical rule which uses extortion, biological warfare, and blatant murder to terrorize the populace and under the disguise of constitutional authority hides these crimes from the federal government. In those two novels Richard Wentworth pretending to be The Spider leads a rebel force against the Black Police forces, trying time and again to discover the identity of "The Master" and dispose of him.

In this final installment the pacing is very much like an old-fashioned movie serial, with an episodic plot that takes the Spider from danger to danger with not much aside from the rigors of plotting to connect them. He confronts poison gas in a dungeon, then runs from a cascading deluge, and such as that. The overall impression is one of ever-increasing momentum leading the finale which does reveal the secret of "The Master" and does resolve to some extent the wild and ferocious events.

The story does reach a satisfying resolution, though as is often the case with these romps, the chase is superior to the payoff. The picture of society painted by Page's trilogy is a grim one indeed. Clearly there was a nervousness in the country about the future fabric of society if the wrong people came to power. The creators saw what was happening in Europe and they certainly felt that it could indeed happen in America. There is speculation that The Spider's battle against the Black Police is an adapted tale originally intended for Operator #5 's epic "Purple Wars" series. It's suggested that Norvell Price was considered as a replacement and produced these stories, then when the publishers went another way, used them in The Spider. 

While it likely will not happen in the uproarious fashion detailed in his unruly trilogy, we should all realize that the comity and good order we take for granted is far more fragile than we imagine.

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The Spider And The City Of Doom!

In Baen Books second and final Spider volume titled The Spider - City of Doom we get three more vintage Spider yarns from the heyday of the pulps the 1930's and 1940's. These tales are drawn from nearly a decade of Spider adventures. As with the previous volume, we are treated to an amazing Jim Steranko cover with one dynamite interior illustration as well.  

The City Destroyer was published in early 1935 and offers up a wild and ferocious tale of the death of thousands of citizens as a villain has got hold of a secret formula that destroys the integrity of steel resulting in the collapse of great buildings and famous bridges. The death toll is beyond imagination and only penetrates my psyche since I've seen such villainy in the attacks on New York nearly a quarter century ago. What was the fruit of a wild imagination, became a stark and deadly reality of the modern world. 

The Spider and the Faceless One is from 1939 and pits the Spider and his allies against Munro for the first of three encounters. Despite being the initial encounter, this story feels as if the two have already met, but that's not the case as far as I can make out. Munro is a murderous villain with a cadaverous mug who is running a fire protection scheme and killing hundreds. He seems a step ahead of Richard Wentworth pretty much though out this whole misadventure though as must be, justice is dealt eventually. Whereas the deaths of thousands was the stuff of early tales, the death of single woman in a car brings the emotional high in this story. 

The Council of Evil is from late 1940 and pits The Spider against old foes who have banded together to commit slaughter and high-end robberies. They are led by a man Spider believes to be dead. This is a story which sees Wentworth assisted by a gang of young boys who fancy themselves as part of a Spider Club of sorts. This story also has the bizarre notion that mobs of old folks being used as ruse to assist in the nefarious schemes of the villains. The Spider is robbed of his aids for the most part as Nita is stricken with amnesia and Chief Kirkpatrick is replaced with a cop who is even more committed to hunting down The Spider and slapping him behind bars. 

(The real "Grant Stockbridge" Norvell Wordsworth Page)

These three novels are bracketed by an alluring pseudo-biographical yarn about Norvell Page and has him battling Nazis who are out to kill him to claim a bounty offered by a rather surprising source. Cameos are the order of the day with famous writers, actresses, and industrialists putting in quick appearances. 

This a great package and a wonderful way to get a heady sample of The Spider. 

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The Spider And Robot Titans Of Gotham!

The Spider - Robot Titans of Gotham is a 2007 collection of vintage pulps properly decorated with an outstanding Jim Steranko cover. Steranko also supplies a nice black and white image for the front of the book. Two of the pulps here are from Popular Publications' The Spider. The third is a real oddball titled The Octopus. More on that later. 

Satan's Murder Machines is the first of the two Spider yarns here and it is a doozy. The city finds itself under siege by giant robots who emerge from the cold dank waters of the river and raise havoc with property and the population. It's a desperate fight from the get-go as Richard Wentworth as the Spider really struggles to find a way to contend with the menace. That is until he remembers to fight on his terms and not his enemy's. 

This Spider story is remarkable in three ways. The story was lifted pretty much intact and used in an early 1940's Superman Sunday comic strip titled "The Bandit Robots of Metropolis". The creators of the Superman story keep many of the elements from the Norvell Page's novel, including the giant robots of course, but also that these menaces hide in the rivers surrounding the city. 

These robots look a great deal less menacing than those on the cover of The Spider dedicated to the all-too similar threat. The similarity was so great that the folks at Popular Publications sued the folks at DC (a rare turnabout for that bunch I bet) and won in court. But that was not the end. 

The idea of giant robots threatening Metropolis and in fact stealing at the behest of their mad maker was lifted and used to fantastic effect in the Fleischer Studios production of Superman cartoon "The Metal Monsters". This is one of the best of these excellent animations and has always been one of my favorites. 

The robots in this cartoon can fly, something none of the metallic menaces in the Spider novel nor the Superman cartoon strip could do. That delightful image of these sleek robot creations in air not only thrilled me and many other fans, the cartoon thrilled one fan in particular. To watch this seminal Superman cartoon, check out this link.  

Kerry Conlan was inspired by "The Mechanical Monsters" to create his own six-minute computer rendered adventure about giant robots which fly into the great modern cities of years gone by and march down the boulevards with no regard to the defenses of mankind. This six-minute animation titled "The Mechanical Monsters" became the seed for the feature film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. (For more on this film see today's earlier post.) Norvell Page's little Spider pulp novel sure had some legs it seemed. To get a look at this six-minute "movie" check out this link. 

The second Spider novel in this handsome volume is Death Reign of the Vampire King about a plague of vampire bats which descend from the blackened skies to wreak deadly havoc on populations. These vampire bats carry a toxin on their fangs which makes them even more dangerous, a single bite resulting in death. Many hundreds if not thousands die as the leader of his menace reveals himself. He seems to be a flying "Bat-Man" himself and proves particularly difficult for The Spider to confront as the threat moves its way across the United States well beyond the borders of a single city. 

This novel was adapted several decades ago by Tim Truman for Eclipse Comics in a trio of Spider square-bound comics. Truman redesigned The Spider quite a bit for this comic book appearance. These are handsome volumes to be sure. 

The third and final novel in this collection is not in fact a Spider novel at all. Rather it's a reprint of a notorious one-shot pulp titled The Octopus. I'll tell you right now, the cover misrepresents the threat quite significantly. Nonetheless this is a hair-raising misadventure as a strange deadly hero dubbed "The Skull Killer" tries to fend off the threats of the villainous Octopus, who is using agents to spread a malignant and repulsive plague among the population. This plague transforms the human body into a dark parody and makes the sufferer slave to the whims of the Octopus and his minions. The action of this one is centered on a few different hospitals as the Skull Killer is a doctor when he is not killing hoods. 

There is apparently a sequel of sorts to The Octopus titled strangely The Scorpion. I've never read The Scorpion so I cannot give a first-hand account of how it ties in exactly, but as I understand it the menace from The Octopus returns under a new name to confront the Skull Killer. This one has no modern reprint that I'm aware of, and if you do let me know. I'd love to read this one. 

One offbeat sequel was created in comic book form. Here's a link to World of Monsters where you can enjoy that weird and wild underground comic. Thanks John who first told me about this comic in the comments below. 

So that's the first volume of Baen Books attempt to bring The Spider to a modern audience. It's a handsome effort, with quality craftsmanship all around. There will be a second volume, but that's for next week. 

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The Web Of Crime!

Audiences have always cottoned to heroes who are resolute and have the courage of their convictions. The Shadow was such a hero, and he was rough and tough and very successful, so much so that imitators came into being. In The Spider, a vintage pulp hero published originally by Popular Publications beginning in the 1930's they found a hero who was not afraid to take the law into his own hands like The Shadow, in fact he was quite ready and willing to hand down death sentences to those he deemed worthy.  The Spider as written by Norvell Page and others is the best of those, following the model but being just different enough to garner his own following. This month I want to spend some time with The Spider and explore his grim menacing world. Thanks to publishers like Moonstone, Baen, Vanguard and others, there is a lot of great Spider material out there, from reprints of the original pulps to new novels and short stories, and even comic book and movie serial adaptations. Below are some of the works I'm hoping to get to this month. 

But The Spider did not fight crime alone. There are plenty of other vigilantes who took a bite out of crime and I'd like to visit and revisit with some of those distinctive agents of justice. See below for a chamber full of options such as Lone Justice, The Black Beetle, Monstermen, and The Dreamwalker. 

And sometimes telling the difference between the good guys (or gals) and the bad ones can be a little difficult. Hardboiled dicks come in all genders it seems as we see with the classic It Rhymes with Lust by Arnold Drake and Matt Baker, Fiction Illustrated's Schlomo Raven by Tom Sutton and Chandler by Jim Steranko, Ms. Tree- Deadline by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty, and Johnny Dynamite by Pete Morisi. 

And crime can strike anywhere, even the "most magical place on the Earth". So, it seems only appropriate to check out the devious doings of Mickey Mouse's arch enemy The Phantom Blot. The Blot debuted in the Mickey Mouse comic strip but proved popular enough to even get his comic book series from Gold Key in the 1960's. 

Crime makes for good anthologies as well as evidenced by DC's Greatest Detective Stories Ever Told and The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics. Both tomes have delightful surprises between their mysterious covers. 

And look for an overview of the early career of Marvel's famous crime crusher, the Punisher. Frank Castle rose to fame in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man and took the world by storm, shot by shot. These early tales allow a reader to enjoy the evolution of Marvel's toughest character. 

And I want to take a little time tomorrow to talk about the late great Steve Ditko who gave us two of comics most relentless crime fighters in The Question and Mr. A. Mr. A's stories have most recently been gathered together in the pages of Avenging World. 

And I mentioned Max Allan Collins earlier. He's a fecund writer of mysteries of all kinds and some of the ones I enjoy most are a trio of stories he fashioned which take a look at infamous crimes committed within the comics community, or perhaps might have been. 

And then there's more film such as the hard-nosed Blade Runner which adapts Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick with gritty determination. Also on hand is the somewhat more tongue-in-cheek trio of tales about Trancers which features a tough as nails detective named Jack Deth of all things. Also look for the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow a strange movie which has an even more bizarre connection to The Spider. 

That's a lot on my plate this month of Thanksgiving, and there's more I haven't mentioned. But we in America like to eat hearty during this month. So, strap in and come with me down some pretty dark crime alleys at Dojo this month. But be sure to keep your heads down amigos, the bullets are flying. 

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