\n\u201cJames West uncov\u00aders a dead\u00adly con\u00adspir\u00ada\u00adcy that grips New Orleans in a hyp\u00adnot\u00adic spell!\u201d <\/p>\n
\nSo says the cov\u00ader blurb for issue #2 (Nove\u00admer, 1966) of \u201cThe Wild, Wild West\u201d<\/em> com\u00adic by Gold Key, one of the minor com\u00adic book pub\u00adlish\u00aders dur\u00ading the Sil\u00adver Age, pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly known for their \u2018kid\u2019s\u2019 books and TV tie-ins. <\/p>\n \n\n<\/p>\n \nDescrip\u00adtion:<\/em> In \u201dThe Phan\u00adtom From the Past, <\/em>James West, covert Secret Ser\u00advice agent, is paired up with fel\u00adlow agent Artemis Gor\u00addon to go after a noto\u00adri\u00adous Civ\u00adil War ban\u00addit and raider, Leon Bon\u00adney. He was report\u00aded killed but now there are rumors that he is alive some\u00adwhere near New Orleans. James and Artemis are sent to inves\u00adti\u00adgate, as three pre\u00advi\u00adous agents pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly sent on the same mis\u00adsion are now miss\u00ading. But that\u2019s not all: there is seem\u00ading\u00adly a cor\u00adre\u00adspon\u00ading plague of dis\u00adap\u00adpear\u00adances of young men in the area. Some sleuthing indi\u00adcates a fan\u00adcy casi\u00adno to the cen\u00adter of the disappearances. <\/p>\n \nJim and Artie arrive in New Orleans and are imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly under assault. Twice. That means that they are on the right trail. At the casi\u00adno, they dis\u00adcov\u00ader some\u00adthing strange: a door\u00adway that a man and a woman enter, yet only the woman emerges. And the door is always kept locked. That calls for an inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtion, and Artie calls \u2018dibs\u2019 on get\u00adting inside, let\u00adting James to pro\u00advide the dis\u00adtrac\u00adtion. (After all, Artie\u2019s the bet\u00adter at sneak\u00ading around, as James is the bet\u00adter at dis\u00adtrac\u00adtions.) James quick\u00adly dis\u00adcov\u00aders the dice are loaded but it able to use that to his advantage. <\/p>\n \nAt the same time Artie is pick\u00ading the lock and check\u00ading out what\u2019s inside. He dis\u00adcov\u00aders a line of men being loaded into a car\u00adriage, all bland\u00adly fol\u00adlow\u00ading orders, and decides to join them. He leaves a trail for James to fol\u00adlow, know\u00ading that he will do so. James fol\u00adlows the trail to an exten\u00adsive plan\u00adta\u00adtion, one he saw from the river\u00adboat pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly: the work\u00aders all seemed dull and listless. <\/p>\n \nTry\u00ading to sneak into the plan\u00adta\u00adtion and being caught, his cap\u00adtor, Mr. X invites him to din\u00adner, served by a silent Artie. Mr. X states that James fel\u00adlow agent is now his devot\u00aded ser\u00advant. But, when giv\u00aden the chance, Artie reveals he is only fak\u00ading. Silent\u00adly, he ignores James\u2019 ques\u00adtions as he paints a pic\u00adture of Mr. X with jam to reveal that Mr. X is none oth\u00ader than Leon Bon\u00adney. Who knew all along that Artie was not under his control. <\/p>\n \nIn grand style, Bon\u00adney reveals that his name is tru\u00adly Napoleon Bon\u00adnepart IV. He wants to reverse the error his ances\u00adtor made in sell\u00ading the Lou\u00adsiana ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adry, and has been accu\u00admu\u00adlat\u00ading wealth to that end. As for the work\u00aders, they are restrained and hyp\u00adno\u00adtized into obe\u00addi\u00adence, a process he sub\u00adjects Artie to as a demon\u00adstra\u00adtion. But the one thing one nev\u00ader can do is take their eyes off a prac\u00adticed agent like James, and he makes quick work of the lab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adto\u00adry and starts a fire that engulf the entire house. The entranced men are safe but Bon\u00adney returns to get the mon\u00adey there and seem\u00ading\u00adly dies in the fire. <\/p>\n \nAfter that, its a sim\u00adple process to un-hyp\u00adno\u00adtize the men, includ\u00ading the cap\u00adtured agents, except for Artemis. No one seems to be able to bring him out of his trance. Except he\u2019s not entranced: since he saw the process in oper\u00ada\u00adtion back at the casi\u00adno, he\u2019s ful\u00adly capa\u00adble of resist\u00ading on his own and played along, even going so far as stay fak\u00ading for a laugh. <\/p>\n \nAnd now that the vil\u00adlain has been defeat\u00aded, their boss says they can spend a cou\u00adple of days at Mar\u00adti Gras. Artemis sug\u00adgests they go in cos\u00adtume, dressed as Napoleon. <\/p>\n \nCom\u00admen\u00adtary:<\/em> This sto\u00adry must take place ear\u00adly in their pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal rela\u00adtion\u00adship, as James is seen embark\u00ading from his pri\u00advate train alone, to meet up with Arte\u00admus (whom he does not imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly rec\u00adog\u00adnize) on the riv\u00ader boat. It is obvi\u00adous from the sto\u00adry that the two are old friends but also, giv\u00aden the cir\u00adcum\u00adstances, are not yet partners. <\/p>\n \nThe book itself is inter\u00adest\u00ading, as there are not ads any\u00adwhere with\u00adin. The inside front and back cov\u00aders have B&W pho\u00adto col\u00adlec\u00adtions, the inside front of James West in a num\u00adber of life-threat\u00aden\u00ading sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtions, and the inside back of Artemis Gor\u00addon in many of his dis\u00adguis\u00ades. The front cov\u00ader is a full-col\u00ador image of both James and Artemis prob\u00ada\u00adbly used from a pub\u00adlic\u00adi\u00adty still from the series and the back is a B&W pin\u00adup of James. <\/p>\n \nThe art\u00adwork here is pret\u00adty sim\u00adple but effec\u00adtive: both James and Artie are eas\u00adi\u00adly rec\u00adog\u00adniz\u00adable as such and the artist does include a few styl\u00adis\u00adtic flairs, includ\u00ading a bor\u00adder\u00adless pan\u00adel and a cou\u00adple of mon\u00adtagues. The sto\u00adry is good, a hunt for a Civ\u00adil War crim\u00adi\u00adnal thought dead but now known to be alive some\u00adwhere in New Orleans, one that requires not just one but two of the Secret Ser\u00advice\u2019s best agents. <\/p>\n \nIf I had a quib\u00adble, its that the sto\u00adry title did\u00adn\u2019t car\u00adry the same pat\u00adtern as the TV episode titles. \u2018The Phan\u00adtom of the Past\u2019<\/em> just does\u00adnt have the same feel as somthing like, say, \u2018The Night of the Mes\u00admer\u00adized Min\u00adions\u2019<\/em>. It would also have been nice to see the chap\u00adter titles just like the TV series, too, but that would have been a lit\u00adtle too much for a comic. <\/p>\n \nHis\u00adto\u00adry:<\/em> The tele\u00advi\u00adsion his\u00adto\u00adry of \u201cThe Wild, Wild West\u201d<\/em><\/a> was cov\u00adered when I wrote about the first sea\u00adson episode, \u2018Night of the Steel Assas\u00adsin\u2019<\/em><\/a>. The comics his\u00adto\u00adry here needs to start with the pub\u00adlish\u00ader, Gold Key Comics<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nGold Key Comics was one of the minor but depend\u00adable play\u00aders in the com\u00adic book pub\u00adlish\u00ading indus\u00adtry. They main\u00adtained a \u201csqueaky-clean\u201d rep\u00adu\u00adta\u00adtion, so much so that they nev\u00ader were a part of the Comics Code Author\u00adi\u00adty nor sub\u00adscribed to the lim\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions that were a part of the Code. Also know as Whit\u00adman Comics, their pri\u00adma\u00adry stock in trade were \u2018kid\u2019s comics\u2019 such as \u201cMighty Mouse\u201d<\/em> and a num\u00adber of Dis\u00adney and Warn\u00ader Broth\u00aders prop\u00ader\u00adties. How\u00adev\u00ader, they also pub\u00adlished a wide range of oth\u00ader books, includ\u00ading movie and TV tie-ins such as \u201cSpace Fam\u00adi\u00adly Robin\u00adson\u201d<\/em> (which was the basis for the Irwin Allen series \u201cLost in Space\u201d<\/em>), \u201cThe Man From U.N.C.L.E.\u201d<\/em> and \u201cThe Girl From U.N.C.L.E.\u201d<\/em>, \u201cI Spy\u201d<\/em> and here, \u201cThe Wild, Wild West\u201d<\/em>, fan\u00adta\u00adsy and occult tiltes such as \u201cThe Occult Files of Doc\u00adtor Spek\u00adtor\u201d<\/em>, and SF, includ\u00ading \u201cDoc\u00adtor Solar\u201d<\/em> and \u201cMag\u00adnus, Robot Fight\u00ader\u201d<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nRec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtion:<\/em> For any\u00adone who ever watched \u201cThe Wild, Wild West\u201d<\/em> in their youth, this is a wel\u00adcome reminder of just how much fun the series was. Although James gets the star\u00adring role here, Artemis is just as inte\u00adgral to the team as he is. I dare say that if their roles were switched at the casi\u00adno, the result would have been the same, except with shots of James valiant\u00adly resist\u00ading the worst forms of hyp\u00adnot\u00adic pres\u00adsure until Artie shows up in dis\u00adguise to res\u00adcue him. <\/p>\n \nRef\u00ader\u00adences:<\/em>\n<\/p>\n