Magazine Review: The Spider #85: The Council of Evil

Magazine Review: The Spider #85: The Council of Evil by Norvell Page

While Richard Wentworth, the Spider, is well known for having a policy of “shoot first, take no prisoners” towards criminals, he doesn’t always kill. If a crook is knocked out or otherwise incapacitated, the Spider will merely brand their forehead with a spider mark from his special ring and leave them for the police. Most of those branded take the hint and stop committing crimes, or at least move out of town in the hopes that the Spider won’t bother to track them down. So it comes as a bit of a surprise when Dick is about to brand a mobster, notices something odd about the forehead, and wipes off makeup to discover this criminal has already been branded!

The Spider novels have been reprinted in several different editions; this version was the 90s edition from Pulp Adventure Inc. It opens with an introduction from John Jakes (The Kent Family Chronicles) talking about the lurid blurbs that would advertise the Spider stories, making it look like this time for sure the villains were the worst ever, and the odds were stacked against the Spider, and maybe this time Richard Wentworth would not prevail.

And indeed, things do look grim this time. What initially looks like a simple grocery store protection racket turns into a full-scale slaughter as mobsters open up with military-grade weapons and vehicles. It turns out there’s a council of evil behind this, composed of criminals who’d previously faced the Spider and survived. Their leader, Moulin, is a bit shocking, as Dick is sure he’d actually killed him by blowing up his motorboat.

Everything up to this point has been “rehearsals.” Moulin’s plan involves something called “X-Day” which will allow all the Council members to become multi-millionaires in one swift stroke. He’s even made plans specifically to counter the Spider!

The most innovative part of the plan is provided by Bennington, the most despicable of the criminals. He’s a radio preacher who has been running a pension scam that preys on senior citizens. He’s convinced his listeners that the city of New York should be funding this pension and calls on them to perform a lay-down strike. Impoverished elderly clog the streets and subways, bringing the city to a halt. And due to the nature of the strikers, the police can’t just brutally force them out of the way.

It wouldn’t be a Norvell Page (writing as Grant Stockbridge) Spider novel if Richard Wentworth had all his resources intact. Competent police commissioner Kirkpatrick is replaced with a less intelligent and more hostile officer thanks to the Council’s political pull. Faithful Sikh warrior Ram Singh is put out of commission with a broken leg. Chauffeur Jackson spends most of the story captured. Nita has amnesia for the middle third of the story. And at the climax, the Spider himself has been heavily drugged and can barely move or shoot.

As a result, for much of the story, the Spider is forced to accept the help of a group of boys who’ve formed a Spider fan club, especially their leader, the brave but green Bill Sanders.

This is all exciting pulp action, with plenty of violence and urgency.

Nita once again shows why she’s one of the best female love interests in the hero pulps. She may have an extended “damsel in distress” moment, but as soon as she’s in her right mind again, she’s fighting, driving and shooting to protect the now helpless Dick, even donning the Spider’s costume for a while.

There may be a logic lapse or three in here, but it doesn’t matter for this kind of story. Great stuff!

There’s a puff piece “A Message from the Author” allegedly by the editors having a meeting with “Grant Stockbridge” talking about how he hopes that the Spider stories will help fight crime.

The issue ends with “God Bless America!” by Arthur Leo Zagat. It’s one of his Doc Turner stories. Doc was an elderly pharmacist living in a run-down part of New York primarily inhabited by immigrants (he’d seen several waves) who helped them with various problems using his keen intellect and acquired wisdom.

In this story from 1940, Doc Turner initially doesn’t pay much mind to a French woman’s suspicions of the German butcher down the street. After all, the butcher’s been in America since 1910 and basically lives for his shop. But when the woman suddenly dies in the street, Doc begins to think. Especially since he’s learned that the old factory not far from the shop is going to be producing a vital military part.

It turns out the butcher has been forced to cooperate with Nazi agents using the old “ve know you haff relatives in Chermany” squeeze. But in the end, it turns out that the butcher is a patriotic American.

This is by far the worst Doc Turner story I’ve read, relying much more on coincidence than sleuthing, and blatant, clumsy propaganda. The actual action is exciting, but Mr. Zagat could do so much better.

Still, the main story is excellent, so if you stumble across this issue, it’s recommended to fans of action hero pulp.