Book Review: Death Reign of the Vampire King

    The Spider, a Master of Men stands with the pantheon of pulp heroes that includes but is not limited to Doc Savage and The Shadow.  It is from these characters that our famous comic book heroes descended.  Like Superman?  Read Doc Savage.  He did it first.  Like Batman?  Read The Shadow or The Spider.  They were doing it years before.  They are heroes of a different time; often rich, powerful, and self-guiding.  These are not men held by the hand of fate, but men who shape the world according to their own will.  If Tom Brokaw wrote incessantly about vigilantes instead of WWII vets, this would be his ‘Greatest Generation.’

    Death Reign of the Vampire King is my second Spider novel but is apparently from four years earlier than the first one I read, Satan’s Murder Machines.  The Spider is still a well established figure in the battle against super-crime, donning his disguise and laughing while villains burn.  He’s got his trusty, lusty lady Nita and his daring Hindu sidekick Ram Singh.  And somehow a network of spies and associates everywhere he needs them to be.  And this time, he’ll draw on them all as he battles a fiendish foe who uses poisoned vampire bats to commit mass murder.

    Sadly, I don’t enjoy the Spider as much as The Shadow, to whom he bares a striking resemblance.  Generally, I don’t think Norvell Page’s writing is up to snuff, too frequently descending into almost groan inducing melodrama, not to mention plot twists that defy logic or reason.  But there’s sure some crazy creativity.  I think one problem he runs into right off is that The Spider and his alter ego Richard Wentworth aren’t distinct enough.  Sure, Wentworth is a rich playboy, but his well known hobby is fighting crime.  And everyone seems to know that he’s The Spider…except when they don’t.  Unlike The Shadow/Batman, where pretty much nobody suspects who he really is, because Lamont Cranston/Bruce Wayne is such a foppish and spoiled child of privilege, Wentworth spends much of his time helping the police as some kind of Holmesian advisor.  So when he dons the disguise, it seems almost as an afterthought or aesthetic choice.

    Alas, though I love the genre and the era, I’m not finding myself in love with the character of The Spider.  I’m not done.  I still have four more novels in my possession that I will read one of these days.  But right now, I’m in no hurry to pick one up again.

Death Reign of the Vampire King
Author: Norvell Page
Publisher: Bean
ISBN: (one of three novels collected in) 978-1-4165-5574-2

-Matt

Dork Art: Francavilla's The Spider

Francesco Francavilla posted this nifty Spider image on his Pulp Sunday blog.  Gorgeous as usual.

--Brad

Comic Review: Marvel Noir

Daredevil Noir
Author: Alexander Irvine
Artist: Tom Coker
Publisher: Marvel Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 9780785121541
Pages: 112

    Reminding me a bit more of pulp adventure stories than noir, this is still a moody book with some evocative art.  The murder and gangland war is all spot on, and there’s some good revenge hunting.  There’s even a nice femme fatale.  But Matt Murdock’s ultra-senses still seem more at home with The Shadow or The Phantom than with Sam Spade or Skip McCoy.

Punisher Noir
Author: Frank Tieri
Artist(s): Paul Azaceta & Antonio Fuso
Publisher: Marvel Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 9780785132769
Pages: 112

    This does some really interesting stuff in re-writing the Punisher’s origin, starting with the first world war, and bringing it up to the dawn of World War II.  Corruption and violence rule, and out of this bloody battlefield called New York, someone will rise and strike back.  Some cool and some weird twists await as the story unfolds.
    However, it is an origin story, and generally speaking, that’s just something I don’t need to read or view again.  Origin stories are played out for this reader.  I’d prefer they would just get to the meat of things.  Still, for an origin story, it’s pretty good. 
    The artwork is fine, if unmemorable. 

Luke Cage Noir
Author(s): Mike Benson & Adam Glass
Artist: Shawn Martinbrough
Publisher: Marvel Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 9780785135456
Pages: 112

    By far, the best of the Marvel Noir series that I’ve read, it also captures the spirit of noir better than any of the others.  It isn’t pulp adventure, it’s just a straight up, gritty taste of the underworld.  An ex-con for a lead, plenty of dangerous folk, murder, and  betrayal.  And it doesn’t just play with the story of Luke Cage.  More than the others, it reworks the very concept, making it much more in keeping with the genre.  This is NOT a superhero story.  As I read it, I was constantly reminded of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins.
    The art looks good, but isn’t particularly special.  But this is a strong and worthy comic that crime fans should read.

    Overall, the Marvel Noir line is an interesting idea that seems a bit lost.  It’s really more Marvel Pulp.  I didn’t even bother reviewing Spider-Man Noir, as it’s hardly even a step removed from The Spider or Doc Savage, with almost no noir to it at all.  But I think the line was a cool idea, and I hope maybe it found enough of an audience to get another round sometime, maybe with some characters that fit the genre a bit better, like Nick Fury, Misty Night, Silver Sable, or some others.
    And heck, I’d love to see them keep putting out Pulp versions of their characters.  A pulpy version of Black Panther or Reed Richards could be a blast. 
    And on an art note, I kind of wish they’d gone with black &white for the Marvel Noir line.  Sure, sometimes the look was still very dark and shadowed, but black & white just looks so right.

-Matt