Background Spider (pulp fiction)

1 background

1.1 supporting characters
1.2 enemies
1.3 spider s seal , weapons
1.4 master of men

background

the spider created in 1933 harry steeger @ popular publications direct competition street , smith publications vigilante hero, shadow. though similar, spider millionaire playboy richard wentworth, had served major in world war i, , living in new york city unaffected financial deprivations of great depression. ninth pulp has him last surviving member of rich family.

wentworth identified spider enemies in number of earlier novels , arrested police escaped, adopting disguise , associated alias tito caliepi. spider s earliest costume consisted of simple black domino mask, black hat , cape. later in pulp series, vampire-like makeup appeared , face mask grizzled hair; hunchback added terrorize criminal underworld spider s brand of violent vigilante justice. (actor , comedian harold lloyd had used similar mask, lank hair wig, , hunchback in comedy film dr. jack (1922)). caliepi begged, utilizing wentworth s talent violin.

at times, wentworth ventured underworld disguised small-time hood blinky mcquade in order gain needed information. scotland yard, wentworth known rupert barton , held badge of inspector services rendered; fifth novel held rank of lieutenant in fbi.

wentworth himself, according fifth story, 5 11 tall, , had grey eyes , old battle scar on head flare @ times of great stress. accomplished pianist , violinist, , drove lancia. speak fluent hindustani , talk ram singh in latter s own language, little fear else understand. page s wentworth psychologically vulnerable , suffered frequent bouts of fear, self-doubt, despair , paranoia.

the stories involved bizarre menace country , criminal conspiracy, , extremely violent, villains engaging in wanton slaughter of thousands part of nationwide crime sprees: pulp magazine historian ed hulse notes spider novel death tolls routinely ran thousands . master criminal of stories unmasked in last few pages. stories ended wentworth killing villains , stamping corpses spider mark. first 2 novels written reginald thomas maitland scott, slow paced, author brought in. later stories published under house name, grant stockbridge; of spider novels written norvell page. other authors of spider novels included donald c. cormack, wayne rogers, emile c. tepperman, , prentice winchell.

the cover artists spider magazine walter m. baumhofer debut issue, followed john newton howitt , rafael de soto. spider published monthly , ran 118 issues 1933 1943. 119th spider novel manuscript had been completed not published until decades later, rewritten mass-market paperback retitled characters (see paperback novels section, below).

the spider sold during 1930s, , copies still valued modern pulp magazine collectors. hulse has stated today, hero-pulp fans value spider more single-character magazine save shadow , doc savage.

supporting characters

nita van sloan, wentworth s longtime fiancée, aided him. though close man , wife, know never marry , have family, wentworth believes unmasked or killed spider, , wife , family pay price. in issue #100 story, death , spider , wentworth expected die. nita disguises herself spider few times, covering wentworth when has been injured.

ram singh, sikh (originally hindu), wenthworth s fanatically loyal manservant; deadly knife thrower , carries several knives him, including deadly kukri. ram singh never views position servant demeaning or negatively impacting self-respect, feeling serves man totally above other men.

sergeant ronald jackson, wentworth s chauffeur, had served under wentworth in world war , referred him major .

harold jenkyns wentworth s butler, elderly man has been in wentworth family s service long time.

police commissioner stanley kirkpatrick or kirk , wentworth s main ally/antagonist, suspects wentworth spider can never prove it.

professor ezra brownlee, inventor , wentworth s old war colleague, features heavily in spider novels; killed in dragon lord of underworld (july 1935). brownlee s son makes appearances afterward, taking on late father.

enemies

despite spider s tendency kill enemies, encounters several foes more once, such fly , munro, master of disguise. storylines featuring struggle against single villain lasted several consecutive issues, such spider s four-part battle against living pharaoh , spider s three-part battle against master , black police. among enemies encountered once predecessors of costumed super villains of comic books, such judge torture, red feather, bloody serpent, brain, emperor of vermin, red mandarin, silencer, , wreck. names of 2 spider villains, bat man , iron man, later adopted dc , marvel comic book superheroes.

the spider s seal , weapons

one of spider s distinguishing features calling card. wentworth leaves red-ink spider image (like drop of blood) on foreheads of criminals kills, others not blamed. in sixth novel (1934), spider imprints red sign on gold ring need can use taking kirkpatrick (where wentworth find out it). during same time period, in same benign fashion, , perhaps inspired spider s calling card, lee falk s long-running 1936 syndicated comic strip hero, phantom, left distinct skull mark in faces of enemies fought, made ring wore. spider s seal, however, concealed in base of platinum cigarette lighter , invented professor brownlee. spider carried thin silken line (his web ) had tensile strength of several hundred pounds.

brownlee invented lethal , silent air pistol spider used quiet kills. acted sort of on-call technical wizard wentworth, whom looked upon being close son. wentworth had gun in 1 of shoes in issues, used twice issue 5.

wentworth master of disguise; in small steel case of burglar tools carried under arm, had make-up kit (and in novels) spider s eye mask.

in timothy truman s 1990s comic book adaptation, brownlee created web-lee , non-lethal stun pistol fired projectiles erupted spider web-like mass, inundated microscopic barbs of frozen curare.

like shadow, spider s usual weapons of choice pair of browning .45 caliber m1911 automatic pistols; crack shot , shot kill. however, not shoot in law enforcement, although under orders shoot kill him on sight.

master of men

the spider s by-name master of men , indicating had voice commanding enough many people bidding. wentworth imitate other people s voices. when imitated kirkpatrick s voice, give orders lesser policemen during stakeout, during 1 intended capture spider, himself escape. wentworth not above disguising himself cop escape when surrounded policemen.