Spider #69 June 1939

by Grant Stockbridge, Radio Archives, Will Murray (Introduction)

Radio Archives Pulp ClassicsThe Spider #69 eBookJune 1939by Norvell W. Page writing as Grant Stockbridge Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks. Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940 The Spider — Master of Men! Richard Wentworth — the dread Spider, nemesis of the Underworld, lone wolf anti-crime crusader who always fights in that grim no-man’s land between Law and lawless — returns in vintage pulp tales of the Spider, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. Table of Meet the Spider!by Will Murray America’s Most Dangerous Criminal — An EditorialThe Full-Length Spider NovelRule of the Monster Menby Novell W. Page writing as Grant StockbridgeThe veterinarian's ambulance was jammed, not with afflicted animals, but with human beings — monstrously deformed, and driven out into the street by men with whips! Richard Wentworth beheld this horror, and realized that a new Reign of Terror had struck New York! For somewhere, hidden from the baffled police, was a new Underworld master whom men called the Wreck. Foully misshapen, he had twisted countless victims — by means of drugs and operations — into his own evil image. And with this nightmare army he was plundering Manhattan! No area was safe from his vulture's claws — not even the World's Fair! But Richard Wentworth did not fear to challenge this crime-master — and with the Spider's keen weapons began his fight to save a great metropolis from madness and death Doc Turner and the Winged Terror — A Doc Turner Storyby Arthur Leo ZagatDown upon Doc Turner's impoverished neighbors swooped sudden death. For Doc, who had dedicated his life to championing the poor, it meant a desperate duel with the mighty powers of evil and darkness The Web — A DepartmentConducted for the Spider by Moran Tudury Radio Archives Pulp Classics line of eBooks are of the highest quality and feature the great Pulp Fiction stories of the 1930s-1950s

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2013

About the author

Pen Name asociated with the pulp hero The Spider.

Reviews

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typically entertaining Spider novel, with the plot being driven by nearly non-stop action. In this one, the villian (known as "The Wreck") is kidnapping people and having them surgically made into cripples, then using threats against loved ones to turn them into a criminal army.

The Spider escapes from a death trap early on, then gets falsely accussed of trying to murder the police commissioner, then must both put a stop to the Wreck's plan to essentially loot New York City while also rescuing his girlfriend. There is a bit of a plot hole in that his usual sidekicks (jackson and Ram Singh) go missing early on and--unless I missed something while listening to the audio book version--are never accounted for. But overall the story is exciting and satisfying, with some unique action set pieces and even a quiet moment part-way through in which the Spider and the police commissioner discuss the moral dangers of vigilantism. Though I think the Shadow novels are better, I give the Spider points for talking openly about the possiblity of accidently kiling innocents while shooting it out with villains. Of course, this never happens and the Spider continues to expend hundreds of rounds of ammunition without killing anyone other than murderers, but its rare for one of the moral downsides of vigilantisim to be discussed at all within the novels of this genre.