I've tried to make this site informative without being dry. Sometimes my own opinions seep through, like when we're talking about comics (sometimes) or Mary Ainslee (always) (shrill harpy!), but generally I try to stick to the facts. Well, here is a place for pieces that aren't strictly hard Spider information, or simply don't fit anywhere else.

Tools of Our Trade
Here is an article on Pulp writing composed by Spider editor Rogers Terrill from the 1939 Writer's Year Book which states: "This amazing article on pulp paper writing is practically a complete short story course in itself. Read and study it carefully. It packs a world of vital and pertinent information."

Photo Essay: Popular Publications Tour
An eight-page spread of pictures taken at the Popular Publications offices from the 1940 Writer's Year Book! This feature was originally unearthed by Albert Tonik and reprinted by Rich Harvey in Pulp Adventures #9. They inspired me to find my own copy of the magazine and scan it for inclusion here.

Stop Me From Reading Another Spider!
Presented here, for the first time anywhere: Will Murray, famed Pulp historian and Doc Savage author, humorously relates the disorientation and epiphanies of a mad Spider-reading bender. Devouring one novel after the other ... inconsistencies piling upon outrageousness ... and then a stunning revelation!

When Dick Met Nita
In a 1942 letter to a fan, Norvell Page recounts his own personal version of how Richard Wentworth and Nita Van Sloan first met.

Who is The Spider?
This was intended to be an introduction to The Spider for the uninitiated. But rather than giving the usual Who, What, and Where's, it quickly devolved into a what-The-Spider-means-to-me piece. And a guide for anyone pitching the Spider in Hollywood.

About This Site
This is my design treatise. Did you know SpiderReturns.com is part-documentary and part-coffeetable book? Read more here.