Altus Press has given us yet another complete collection of one of Johnston McCulley‘s lesser-known pulp characters, with Alias The Whirlwind.
This is the third such collection, and reprints all the stories of The Whirlwind, another pulp character set in the 1700s Spanish California. He ran for seven stories over about a year (around 1934) in Thrilling Adventures magazine. I like that the cover design fits in with the other McCulley collections they’ve done.
I was surprised by how much this character is like Zorro, but also different. I wish I had read some of the Zorro stories, to better be able to see the differences and similarities. My knowledge of Zorro is through the movies and TV shows, plus Alex Toth‘s Zorro comics.
These are all short stories, so there is not a lot of characterization or the like. The Whirlwind is really a nameless Spanish noble, who has left Spain (and his family wealth) over an argument with his father (what about is never given). He arrives in a small village, and takes a new name, and works for the local innkeeper.
He tames the innkeeper’s horse in secret, and uses him in his escapades, which is to rob mean-hearted merchants and give to the poor. His main opponent is the local Sergeant.
The innkeeper’s daughter seems to know who he really is, as does the local friar. But the number of characters is kept few, due to the shortness of the stories. Many of the rest of the stories deal more with other villains who are clearly evil, sometimes murdering others (which The Whirlwind does not do) and committing crimes that The Whirlwind is blamed for. His main motivation for being The Whirlwind is for the thrill of it, rather than fighting against evil or injustice or the like (as with Zorro).
Also in this volume is a new story by Tom Johnson, which gives a kind of origin of the character, and includes New Pulp character Senora Scorpion.
Sadly, I was disappointed by the lack of an introductory article. I would have like to have read more about the character, maybe something on his similarity to Zorro and the like. In looking at Zorro, I found that during the same period, McCulley was coming out with new Zorro stories.
I do look forward to more volumes from Altus of McCulley’s other pulp characters.
