{"id":33187,"date":"2025-06-26T08:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33187"},"modified":"2025-06-25T16:25:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T16:25:18","slug":"the-spiders-syndicate-of-crime-vs-the-crime-genie-volume-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/06\/26\/the-spiders-syndicate-of-crime-vs-the-crime-genie-volume-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spider\u2019s Syndicate of Crime vs The Crime Genie (volume 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Jerry Siegel <\/strong>& Reg Bunn<\/strong>, with Geoff Campion<\/strong>, David Sque<\/strong>, Jes\u00fas Blasco<\/strong> & various (Rebellion)
\nISBN 978-1-83786-173-6 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

I once again find myself in a quandary. When seriously reviewing something you must always keep a weather eye on your critical criteria. For me, the biggest danger when looking at comic collections is to ensure the removal of the nostalgia-tinted spectacles of the excitable, uncritical scruffy little kid who adored and devoured the source material every week in the long ago and long-missed.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, after thoroughly scrutinising myself – no pleasant task, as you can imagine – I can honestly say that not only are the adventures of the macabre and malevolent Spider<\/strong> as engrossing and enjoyable as I remember, but will also provide the newest, most contemporary reader with a huge hit of superb artwork, compelling, caper-style cops \u2018n\u2019 robbers fantasy and thrill-a-minute adventure. After all, the strip usually ran two (later three) pages per episode, so a lot had to happen in pretty short order.<\/em><\/p>\n

A triumphant beacon of Rebellion\u2019s Treasury of British Comics line, The Spider\u2019s Syndicate of Crime vs. The Crime Genie<\/strong> is the latest offering in what I hope will be a complete revival of the UK\u2019s most marvellous vintage comics fantasies (bring on Smoke Man<\/strong>, Tri Man<\/strong>, Gadget Man & Gimmick Kid<\/strong> – we can take it!). Gathering material from peerless weekly anthology Lion<\/strong> and Champion<\/strong> spanning February 4th<\/sup> 1967- May 20th<\/sup> 1967, plus pertinent extracts from Lion Annual<\/strong> 1968 <\/strong>and 1969<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mystery criminal genius and eventual superhero The Spider<\/strong> debuted on June 26th<\/sup> 1965 and reigned supreme until April 26th<\/sup> 1969. He has periodically returned in reprint form and occasional new stories ever since. As first introduced by Ted Cowan (Ginger Nutt<\/em>, Paddy Payne<\/strong>, Adam Eterno<\/strong>, Robot Archie<\/strong>) & Reg Bunn (Robin Hood<\/strong>, Buck Jones<\/strong>, Captain<\/em> Kid<\/em>, Clip McCord<\/strong>), the moody malcontent was an enigmatic super-scientist whose goal was to be acclaimed the greatest criminal of all time. The flamboyantly wicked narcissist began his public career by recruiting crime specialists – safecracker Roy Ordini<\/em> and genteelly evil genius inventor Professor Pelham<\/em> – prior to a massive gem-theft from America\u2019s greatest city. He was foiled by cruel luck and resolute cops Gilmore<\/em> and Trask<\/em>: crack detectives cursed with the task of capturing the arachnid arch-villain.<\/p>\n

Cowan scripted the first two serialised sagas before handing over to comics royalty: Jerry Siegel (Superman<\/strong>, Superboy<\/strong>, The Spectre<\/strong>, Doctor Occult<\/strong>, Slam Bradley<\/strong>, Funnyman<\/strong>, The Mighty Crusaders<\/strong>, Starling<\/strong>), who had been forced to look elsewhere for work after an infamous dispute with DC Comics over the rights to the Man of Steel. His supervision of UK arachnid amazement began just as Britain and the entire, but less fab & groovy world succumbed to \u201cBatmania\u201d. In case you\u2019re not old, the term covers a period of global hysteria sparked by the 1966 Batman<\/strong> TV show, as the planet went crazy for superheroes and an era dubbed \u201ccamp\u201d saw humour, satire, and fantastic psychedelic whimsy infect all categories of entertainment. It was a time of peace, love, wild music and radical change, and I believe there were lots of drugs being experimented with at the time\u2026<\/p>\n

British comics were not immune, and a host of more conventional costumed crusaders sprang up in our traditionally un<\/strong>conventional pages. Scripted by the godfather of the genre – and an inveterate humourist – The Spider<\/strong> skilfully shifted gears without a squeak and became a superhero, battling in rapid succession The Exterminator<\/em>, Crime Incorporated<\/em>, The Silhouette<\/em>, Dr. Mysterioso<\/em>, The Android Emperor<\/em>, The Infernal Gadgeteer<\/em>, and The Crook From Outer Space<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Played out for months at breakneck rollercoaster pace, each monochrome story positively bulged with imaginative ingenuity, manic combats and crazy inventions peppering wide-eyed British kids with a bizarre conception of the USA. The strip grew ever more popular and by the time of this epic encounter demanded a full 5 pagers per episode, in a periodical where one or two pages a week was the norm. At the height of its creativity The Spider embraced full on surrealism in the tale as petty convict and recently escaped fugitive from a chain gang Steve Gurko<\/em> finds a bottle with a djinn inside and strikes the deal of a lifetime…
\n\"\"
\nGifted with unlimited wishes, Gurko and the Genie go on a crime rampage and draw The Spider\u2019s attention, leading to a protracted war of fantastic creatures against the arrogant hero\u2019s ingenuity and inventions. A masterpiece of illustrative wonderment displaying Reg Bunn\u2019s incredible gift for visualisation, the lengthy campaign finds The Spider, Pelham & Ordini facing hyper-enlarged insects, banishment to other eras, ancient warriors, terrible titans, wicked wizards, an army of modern mobsters, monstrous disembodied limbs, legions of trolls and giants, swarms of flying \u201cstingers\u201d, invading transdimensional \u201cmonstrogs\u201d, erupting volcanoes, rampaging dinosaurs, missing links and Gurko himself willingly transformed into a super-heated \u201cSun-Man\u201d…
\n\"\"
\nEventually, when he\u2019s fed up with Gurko\u2019s insipid uninspired ideas, the immortal genie turns on his Master and sets out to punish the infernal humans who have constantly escaped and humiliated him, and then the war gets really wild. Ultimately however, The Spider\u2019s brain proves too much for ancient mystical brawn, especially after the increasing incensed apparition angers fellow mystical immortal Queen Lana of Valley of the Doomed<\/em>…<\/p>\n

It could have all ended there, but for the haughty Spider rebuffing her amorous advances and offers of alliance…<\/p>\n

The climax comes when the retrenching genie mind controls the police as his new army and sets colossal arachnids on the hero, only to fall for a slick piece of conceptual sleight of hand and return to his own specialised \u201cglass house\u201d…<\/p>\n

The months-long miracle war concluded, there\u2019s still space for some extras, beginning with comic romp \u2018The Spider and the Stone of Venus\u2019<\/em>. Illustrated by David Sque (The Skid Kids<\/strong>, Roy of the Rovers<\/strong>, Scorer)<\/strong> for Lion Annual 1968<\/strong> and set when the Spider was seeking to shed his villainous, past it sees rival arch fiend Mister Mastermind<\/em> frame him for a jewel theft and regret his folly very much indeed…<\/p>\n

A year later an untitled Spider text story – lavishly adorned with Geoff (Battler Britton<\/strong>, Captain Condor<\/strong>, Typhoon Tracy<\/strong>, The Spellbinder<\/strong>, Captain Hurricane<\/strong>, D-Day Dawson<\/strong>) Campion illustrations – revealed how an army of assassins play on their enemy\u2019s immense ego and successfully invade his castle as a film crew seeking to record his greatness for history. Sadly for them, even the Spider isn\u2019t that<\/em><\/strong> vain…
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\nAlso from Lion Annual 1969<\/strong>, a second treat sees comics master Jes\u00fas Blasco (Steel Claw<\/strong>, Tex Willer<\/strong>, Buffalo Bill<\/strong>, Cuto<\/em><\/strong>, Capit\u00e1n Trueno<\/em><\/strong>) limn a brutal war of wills and inventions as a fascistic tyrant threatens civilisation with his super weapons only to fall to the Spider\u2019s boldness and amazing arachnid arsenal…<\/p>\n

Completing the vintage treats is a full colour cover gallery, a Crime Syndicate pinup by Campion from Lion Summer Special 1968<\/strong> and creator biographies. This compilation of retro\/camp masterpieces is jam-packed with arcane dialogue, insane devices and outrageous antics that are perhaps an acquired taste. However, no one with functioning eyes can fail to be astounded by the artwork of Reg \u201ccrosshatch king\u201d Bunn which handles mood, spectacle, action and Siegel\u2019s frankly unbelievable script demands with captivating aplomb.
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\nThis titanic tome confirms that the King is back at last and should find a home in every kid\u2019s heart and mind, no matter how young they might be, or threaten to remain. Batty, baroque and often simply bonkers, The Spider<\/strong> proves that although crime does not pay, it always provides a huge amount of white-knuckle fun\u2026
\n\u00a9 1967, 1968, 1969, 2024 Rebellion Publishing IP Ltd. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jerry Siegel & Reg Bunn, with Geoff Campion, David Sque, Jes\u00fas Blasco & various (Rebellion) ISBN 978-1-83786-173-6 (TPB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. I once again find myself in a quandary. When seriously reviewing something you must always keep a weather eye on your critical criteria. For me, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Spider\u2019s Syndicate of Crime vs The Crime Genie (volume 3)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,42,75,290,102,108,225,127,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-best-of-british","category-crime-comics","category-dinosaurs","category-fantasy","category-miscellaneous-superhero","category-mystery","category-nostalgia","category-science-fiction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8Dh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33194,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33187\/revisions\/33194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}