The Spider, Master of Men! #3

by Grant Stockbridge (pseud.), Norvell W. Page

First introduced in 1933, The Spider starred in 118 novels, had his own pulp magazine, and appeared in two motion picture serials produced by Columbia Pictures. An exciting combination of Batman and the Executioner, The Spider was the inspiration for the legendary Spider-Man. This edition contains Death's Crimson Juggernaut and The Red Death Rain.

Genres: Pulp, Thriller, Horror

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

Reviews

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

At some point, two “full-length” novels from The Spider magazine were reprinted in The Spider: Master of Men! #3. Their inclusion in said volume was somewhat fortuitous because both had similar themes. In both cases, the Spider (vigilante who posed as a super-criminal prior to “The Shadow” and “The Green Hornet”) finds himself at a loss in dealing with a criminal mastermind. In both cases, circumstances cause the Spider to be cut off from his alter ego’s usual assistance from his friend, Stanley Kirkpatrick, the Commissioner of Police (actually, rather likely to have been the model for Batman’s friendship with Commissioner Gordon since there is some legal precedent for a settlement based on Batman taking a robot army story from a Norvell Page). In Death’s Crimson Juggernaut, Kirkpatrick is made helpless with regard to offering assistance to Philip Wentworth (the Spider’s not-so secret identity); in Red Death Rain, Kirkpatrick actively foils the Spider’s efforts and seems to be on a deadly vendetta against the criminal/vigilante. In the first, the Spider is framed for massive murders related to numerous disasters and an insurance fraud while, in the second, the Spider is framed for massive murders associated with another type of commercial gain. Ironically, part of the plot in the second “novel” in the volume is tied to deaths “caused by” smoking tobacco—even though the original publication date precedes the Surgeon General’s report of the ‘60s by almost thirty years.

Both novels feature the classic pulp tropes. The protagonist accomplishes acrobatic stunts, shrouds himself in both elaborate and impromptu disguises, and infiltrates almost any venue at will. Strangely, there were two elements to these novels that, while typical of the literary genre of the era, I don’t remember seeing as many scenes of actual torture or depictions of near nudity in previous stories as occurred in these two. Most specifically, there is a scene in Red Death Rain where an orangutan’s mating ritual is intended to be fatally consummated with a female human being. It’s a horrific image with unsettling ideas of bestiality and rape underpinning the scenario. I hadn’t realized anything quite this lurid was printed in the pulps. I knew elements like this existed when the pulps were in their last incarnation (the “men’s magazines” prior to Playboy), but never really saw these elements in the ‘30s. I have been enlightened.

Another bit of culture shock for me was the “yellow peril” trope. I always enjoyed the rather racist tales of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu and the idea of a sinister Chinese mastermind creating global plots of espionage and horror to thwart the spread of western influences, but in Red Death Rain, there is a Chinese (or as the author often writes, “oriental”) element to the story that doesn’t really hold together. It feels much like Mastermind Template B is filled in with Yellow Peril Template A—even though the overarching plot doesn’t really require the Chinese trope because the motive for the plot doesn’t really fit the needed motivation for the Chinese antagonists.

It feels forced and that is what led to a downgrading of my usual rating for such stories. So, be ready for the Chinese mental and alchemical abilities, the sensuous and seductive Chinese maiden, the eunuch swordsmen who guard the harem, and the tong-like tattoos. They’re all there and more. Fortunately, there are enough “red herrings” in this one to keep one reading long after you “think” you know what’s going on. The overall mystery solution doesn’t make sense, but the journey is a fascinating ride.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third volume in the Carroll & Graf Spider series, collecting Death's Crimson Juggernaut from the November, 1934, issue, and The Red Death Rain originally published the following month. Curiously, they used the cover from the October, 1940, issue, illustrating The Council of Evil, on the cover of this book. Neither one was among the best I've read from the series, primarily because in both Wentworth is acting almost on his own the whole time, having been cut off from his friends and aides. The writing seems a bit more florid and campy than I remembered; for example, from the first story, Wentworth's walk across an island is described: "Slowly he made his way over the slippery reef against which the seas were beginning to thunder softly, sucking back with a slobbering moan among the up-thrust fangs." It's a real estate scam story which comes to a satisfying ending; I enjoyed it. The second one is not as good, laced as it is with racist and misogynistic overtones. One of the characters is raped to death by an orang-outing... I'd really suggest skipping it altogether and trying a different title from the series. A Chinese gang is poisoning people, dozens of whom die in disgusting and dramatic fashion; I was surprised at such nastiness being printed in 1934. There's one scene in the novel that really stuck out, though: Wentworth is in hot pursuit across a crowded square four days before Christmas where a crowd is watching Santa Claus and singing carols. A woman is overcome with criminally poisoned tobacco and dies horribly. The crowd panics and Wentworth fears that scores will be trampled in the stampede so he grabs a cornet and plays "Silent Night" and begins to calm the crowd by leading them in singing hymns. It's a terrific non-sequitur moment, a dash of humor and warmth in an otherwise largely dark story, but really isn't enough to save the book.

[Graham Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing better than a scenario that you know is written to scare you about the future. A hero that can do everything even when injured. Great action sequences and dialogue! Well worth reading even in 2024 (originally published in 1934!)

[Freder · Rating 2 out of 5]

With THE SPIDER, it's a case of diminishing returns. These stupendously trashy pulp hero novels are so bad that they're kind of fun -- at first. But the more you read, the more monotonous they get, and the more you wish that you could slip Norvell Page a tranquilizer or an antacid or something. In the end, I decided "Why would I read this garbage when I have unread SHADOW and DOC SAVAGE books on my shelf -- and so gave all my unread SPIDER paperbacks away to a student.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two by the master.