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Agente Secreto X-9
Secret Agent X-9
"L'abilità artistica di Raymond ha aiutato a rendere il 1934 un anno da ricordare come tra i migliori della storia del fumetto americano. Il capolavoro di Milton Caniff, "Terry e i pirati", ha debuttato nell'ottobre del '34; Lil'Abner di Al Capp, un pungente mix di satira e avventure montanare, è uscito due mesi prima; altre storie che sono rimaste, come "Mandrake il mago", sono lanciate all'inizio dell'anno. Ma Alex Raymond guida la parata con le sue illustrazioni, tra "Flash Gordon" e "Jungle Jim" che schizzano alle stelle sui giornali della domenica dal 7 gennaio in poi, seguiti da "Agente Segreto X-9" che esce il lunedì nelle edizioni dal 22 gennaio in poi." (Dall'Introduzione di Bruce Canwell)
303 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
3 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Dashiell Hammett
601 books2,853 followersAlso wrote as Peter Collinson, Daghull Hammett, Samuel Dashiell, Mary Jane Hammett
Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).
Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...
Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).
Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 24, 2016
Many years ago, I had a period "roman noir", these thriller of the 40th Chandler, Hammett...I saw also the adaptation to movie, Huston, Hawks, Lang...There was also that we name in painting some "petit maître", good film director but not great like Joseph Lewis.
Secret agent x-9 is the alone exemple of a "roman noir" adaptated to cartoon. King Feature wished to compete with the success of Dick Tracy of Chester Gould. He asked Dashiell Hammett to provide a scenario to a young draughtsman Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon). The result is very interisting. Hammett is a master of account and Raymond succeed in create drawings with a fluidity and speed such as they reproduce the kinetics of film.
Secret agent x-9 is the alone exemple of a "roman noir" adaptated to cartoon. King Feature wished to compete with the success of Dick Tracy of Chester Gould. He asked Dashiell Hammett to provide a scenario to a young draughtsman Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon). The result is very interisting. Hammett is a master of account and Raymond succeed in create drawings with a fluidity and speed such as they reproduce the kinetics of film.
January 12, 2022
An absolute breeze to listen to.
Loaded with lots of tense action, twist and turns to keep the reader moving forward.
This is an enjoyable listen.
Loaded with lots of tense action, twist and turns to keep the reader moving forward.
This is an enjoyable listen.
December 17, 2022
The writing is good, sometimes funny. It’s very action-packed which was a pleasant surprise to me, I thought it would be quite slow since these are old, from the 1930’s. The first story is very good, but unfortunately the ending is very abrupt which is a shame… The art is amazing though. The second story was OK but boring, wasn’t interested of it almost at all. Overall I’ll give this collection 2,5 but due to the stupid Goodreads system I’ll round it up to 3. Why can’t this site have halves? I mean technically it’s not impossible at all.
July 6, 2025
Some books walk into your life. Others—like Secret Agent X-9—slip in like a shadow and vanish behind the curtain until the time is right.
This one was a gift. A dear friend—currently serving with the WHO in a corner of the world I’ll probably never get to visit—had once wrapped it up and sent it with warmth and a note: “Thought you’d enjoy a dose of noir the old-fashioned way.” I had smiled, read a few pages, then shelved it somewhere in the dense jungle that is my bookshelf. There it lay for years, unseen and untouched. Life happened. Books piled up. Pandemic fatigue numbed all but the most urgent senses.
Cut to January 2025. I was deep-cleaning the house—sweaters folded away, spice jars relabelled, and yes, shelves dusted with the sort of love you only have for things you want to reclaim. That’s when I found it: Secret Agent X-9, looking as fresh and mysterious as the day it arrived. It felt like I had opened a time capsule.
I read it that same evening. The winter wind howled faintly outside, and I sat in my reading chair with a cup of dark coffee, letting Hammett and Raymond pull me into a world where men spoke in clipped sentences, women walked with dangerous grace, and justice came dressed in ambiguity.
For those unfamiliar, Secret Agent X-9 began as a syndicated comic strip in the 1930s, a collaboration between hardboiled legend Dashiell Hammett (of The Maltese Falcon fame) and the iconic illustrator Alex Raymond (later of Flash Gordon). The agent—cool, unnamed, all-knowing—moved through a world of racketeers, double agents, and femme fatales with cigarette smoke curling around every panel.
The writing is lean, all muscle and menace. Hammett’s prose crackles with noir tension even in dialogue balloons. X-9 isn’t flashy; he’s efficient. In many ways, he’s the opposite of the superheroes that would dominate the comics scene decades later. No capes. No moral grandstanding. Just a man who knows too much, speaks too little, and always seems one step ahead—unless, of course, the twist says otherwise.
But what struck me most—especially on this second reading months later—was the rhythm of the storytelling. It’s pulpy, yes, but it’s also patient. Every panel is a beat. Every gesture, a micro-clue. And in the art, Raymond's mastery glows—sharp lines, moody shadows, expressive faces that speak volumes without uttering a word. There's a cinematic quality to it, the kind that makes you feel like you’re reading a moving reel of chiaroscuro dreams.
And maybe that’s why this book lingered in the subconscious for so long—waiting not just to be read, but felt.
It reminded me of other noir encounters in my life: first discovering Raymond Chandler in college, binge-watching The Third Man on a grainy VCD in 2003, and the time I read The Big Sleep while stuck at an airport during a fog delay. Noir, for me, has never just been a genre—it’s a mood, a kind of music you hear when the world dims its lights a bit too early.
In Secret Agent X-9, Hammett distilled that mood into dialogue and pace. Raymond gave it face and motion. And I—now older, a little more jaded, and infinitely more nostalgic—was finally ready to walk into that monochrome world again.
So here’s to lost books, to noir nights, and to stories that wait for us—just around the corner, in the quiet of our shelves, under a thin layer of dust, but burning with shadow.
This one was a gift. A dear friend—currently serving with the WHO in a corner of the world I’ll probably never get to visit—had once wrapped it up and sent it with warmth and a note: “Thought you’d enjoy a dose of noir the old-fashioned way.” I had smiled, read a few pages, then shelved it somewhere in the dense jungle that is my bookshelf. There it lay for years, unseen and untouched. Life happened. Books piled up. Pandemic fatigue numbed all but the most urgent senses.
Cut to January 2025. I was deep-cleaning the house—sweaters folded away, spice jars relabelled, and yes, shelves dusted with the sort of love you only have for things you want to reclaim. That’s when I found it: Secret Agent X-9, looking as fresh and mysterious as the day it arrived. It felt like I had opened a time capsule.
I read it that same evening. The winter wind howled faintly outside, and I sat in my reading chair with a cup of dark coffee, letting Hammett and Raymond pull me into a world where men spoke in clipped sentences, women walked with dangerous grace, and justice came dressed in ambiguity.
For those unfamiliar, Secret Agent X-9 began as a syndicated comic strip in the 1930s, a collaboration between hardboiled legend Dashiell Hammett (of The Maltese Falcon fame) and the iconic illustrator Alex Raymond (later of Flash Gordon). The agent—cool, unnamed, all-knowing—moved through a world of racketeers, double agents, and femme fatales with cigarette smoke curling around every panel.
The writing is lean, all muscle and menace. Hammett’s prose crackles with noir tension even in dialogue balloons. X-9 isn’t flashy; he’s efficient. In many ways, he’s the opposite of the superheroes that would dominate the comics scene decades later. No capes. No moral grandstanding. Just a man who knows too much, speaks too little, and always seems one step ahead—unless, of course, the twist says otherwise.
But what struck me most—especially on this second reading months later—was the rhythm of the storytelling. It’s pulpy, yes, but it’s also patient. Every panel is a beat. Every gesture, a micro-clue. And in the art, Raymond's mastery glows—sharp lines, moody shadows, expressive faces that speak volumes without uttering a word. There's a cinematic quality to it, the kind that makes you feel like you’re reading a moving reel of chiaroscuro dreams.
And maybe that’s why this book lingered in the subconscious for so long—waiting not just to be read, but felt.
It reminded me of other noir encounters in my life: first discovering Raymond Chandler in college, binge-watching The Third Man on a grainy VCD in 2003, and the time I read The Big Sleep while stuck at an airport during a fog delay. Noir, for me, has never just been a genre—it’s a mood, a kind of music you hear when the world dims its lights a bit too early.
In Secret Agent X-9, Hammett distilled that mood into dialogue and pace. Raymond gave it face and motion. And I—now older, a little more jaded, and infinitely more nostalgic—was finally ready to walk into that monochrome world again.
So here’s to lost books, to noir nights, and to stories that wait for us—just around the corner, in the quiet of our shelves, under a thin layer of dust, but burning with shadow.
July 7, 2019
DICK TRACY was one of the most popular comic strips in 1933 - or so explains William F. Nolan (a Dashiell Hammett biographer) in this book's introduction. Nolan then tells us how newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst signed MALTESE FALCON author Dashiell Hammett to develop another crime strip. Ultimately, Nolan notes, this led to SECRET AGENT X-9, a collaboration between Hammett and Alex Raymond, who would soon become famous for drawing FLASH GORDON (originally a Sunday-only strip that would debut the same month as the daily-only SECRET AGENT X-9.). Nolan points out that Raymond was then at the beginning of his career, while Hammett - who would live to 1961 but write no more fiction after 1934 - was at the end of his.
The Hammett/Raymond team-up alone makes SECRET AGENT X-9 noteworthy, and fans of both men will want to see these early installments. That said - this 1983 book, now out of print, isn't the best way to experience them. The reproductions look muddy, with the text occasionally hard to read, and - annoying to persnickety history buffs such as myself - the panels all run together, with no indication of original dates of publication or where an individual strip originally began and ended. IDW reprinted these strips again in 2011, as part of its Library of American Comics line, and while I haven't seen that volume, I will testify that the Library of American Comics books have generally been excellent. Serious collectors might wish to seek out THAT volume, then, although I will note that I purchased this earlier one for a much-cheaper price.
Now, on to business: DASHIELL HAMMETT's SECRET AGENT X-9 reprints all of Hammett's run on the strip and most of Raymond's. As explained in the book itself, Raymond received writing credit on two stories that followed Hammett's departure, but these are not reprinted here. Raymond's last story, written by Saint creator Leslie Charteris is, however, included as a "bonus."
Alex Raymond is, of course, one of the comics mediums most influential artists, and even in these early stages of his career, his work must have seemed more lush, beautiful and realistic than that of most of his contemporaries (exceptions such as Hal Foster and Milton Caniff, perhaps, aside). Here, as in his FLASH GORDON strip, you can see him improve over time, and when you compare the art in this volume's first story with that of its last, you notice the leap in quality (The art in the Charteris story seemed more detailed to me, with a better use of shading.). This makes it especially disappointing that the reproduction quality of these strips is so poor here, but again, a later, presumably higher quality volume does now exist.
As for the stories themselves - the name "Dashiell Hammett" tells you all that you need to know. When my modern eyes see the word "secret agent," I think of a spy, but the mysterious X-9 is actually a hard-boiled detective in the mode of Hammett's Sam Spade. This makes it a little baffling to me as to why he would need to hide his identity or the identity of his employer (confirmed as the FBI in later years, although he's already identified as a "G-Man" by the end of Hammett's run.) - especially since reporters and law enforcement officials, among others, already seem to know him by reputation. Frankly, the whole bit comes across as gimmicky and silly, and I can understand why a later creator gave him an actual name, which was revealed to be "Phil Corrigan."
That aside, the first tale here - originally running, as explained in the book, for seven months - is actually often quite delightful. It's arguably a series of incidents, with one leading directly into another, rather than a cohesive story, but that oddly only adds to the enjoyment. Hammett's X-9 is a 'hard as nails" character who encounters a number of untrustworthy individuals with their own agendas.
William F. Nolan explains how Hamett suffered great editorial interference as the strip continued, and while we apparently don't know how his scripts were altered, the series did seem increasingly watered down to me after that first tale. In the third story, for example, the tough, mean X-9 is suddenly allied with a newsboy named Harmonica Slick (ugh). Harmonica then leaves to be replaced by Sydney George Harper Carp, a character introduced in the first story. While Carp was a comic character from the get go, he goes from a self-interested, cowardly con man in that initial tale to a typical 1930s fat comic relief sidekick who's inept but loyal.
SECRET AGENT X-9 was famously re-launched as SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN in 1967, under the creative team of writer Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson. I read several years of that Goodwin/Williamson run before reading the original Hammett/Raymond strips, and I have to say that SECRET AGENT X-9 and SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN really are two different series. Goodwin's Phil Corrigan is noble, where Hammett's X-9 is tough and hardened, and Goodwin and Williamson mixed crime with espionage and even a little science fiction here and there, whereas Hammett stayed strictly in crime fiction territory. The point, then, is that those who like SECRET AGENT X-9 aren't necessarily going to like SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN and vice versa.
Personally, I found SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN the more breezy and absorbing read and unless you're already a big fan of either Hammett or Raymond, I would probably recommend CORRIGAN over X-9. That, however, doesn't mean that these earliest SECRET AGENT X-9 strips aren't worth your attention. They represent an important piece of comics history and honestly aren't without pleasures of their own. If you've ever loved the art in FLASH GORDON or thrilled to THE MALTESE FALCON (be it the novel or the classic 1941 film), then you'll likely have a pretty good time.
The Hammett/Raymond team-up alone makes SECRET AGENT X-9 noteworthy, and fans of both men will want to see these early installments. That said - this 1983 book, now out of print, isn't the best way to experience them. The reproductions look muddy, with the text occasionally hard to read, and - annoying to persnickety history buffs such as myself - the panels all run together, with no indication of original dates of publication or where an individual strip originally began and ended. IDW reprinted these strips again in 2011, as part of its Library of American Comics line, and while I haven't seen that volume, I will testify that the Library of American Comics books have generally been excellent. Serious collectors might wish to seek out THAT volume, then, although I will note that I purchased this earlier one for a much-cheaper price.
Now, on to business: DASHIELL HAMMETT's SECRET AGENT X-9 reprints all of Hammett's run on the strip and most of Raymond's. As explained in the book itself, Raymond received writing credit on two stories that followed Hammett's departure, but these are not reprinted here. Raymond's last story, written by Saint creator Leslie Charteris is, however, included as a "bonus."
Alex Raymond is, of course, one of the comics mediums most influential artists, and even in these early stages of his career, his work must have seemed more lush, beautiful and realistic than that of most of his contemporaries (exceptions such as Hal Foster and Milton Caniff, perhaps, aside). Here, as in his FLASH GORDON strip, you can see him improve over time, and when you compare the art in this volume's first story with that of its last, you notice the leap in quality (The art in the Charteris story seemed more detailed to me, with a better use of shading.). This makes it especially disappointing that the reproduction quality of these strips is so poor here, but again, a later, presumably higher quality volume does now exist.
As for the stories themselves - the name "Dashiell Hammett" tells you all that you need to know. When my modern eyes see the word "secret agent," I think of a spy, but the mysterious X-9 is actually a hard-boiled detective in the mode of Hammett's Sam Spade. This makes it a little baffling to me as to why he would need to hide his identity or the identity of his employer (confirmed as the FBI in later years, although he's already identified as a "G-Man" by the end of Hammett's run.) - especially since reporters and law enforcement officials, among others, already seem to know him by reputation. Frankly, the whole bit comes across as gimmicky and silly, and I can understand why a later creator gave him an actual name, which was revealed to be "Phil Corrigan."
That aside, the first tale here - originally running, as explained in the book, for seven months - is actually often quite delightful. It's arguably a series of incidents, with one leading directly into another, rather than a cohesive story, but that oddly only adds to the enjoyment. Hammett's X-9 is a 'hard as nails" character who encounters a number of untrustworthy individuals with their own agendas.
William F. Nolan explains how Hamett suffered great editorial interference as the strip continued, and while we apparently don't know how his scripts were altered, the series did seem increasingly watered down to me after that first tale. In the third story, for example, the tough, mean X-9 is suddenly allied with a newsboy named Harmonica Slick (ugh). Harmonica then leaves to be replaced by Sydney George Harper Carp, a character introduced in the first story. While Carp was a comic character from the get go, he goes from a self-interested, cowardly con man in that initial tale to a typical 1930s fat comic relief sidekick who's inept but loyal.
SECRET AGENT X-9 was famously re-launched as SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN in 1967, under the creative team of writer Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson. I read several years of that Goodwin/Williamson run before reading the original Hammett/Raymond strips, and I have to say that SECRET AGENT X-9 and SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN really are two different series. Goodwin's Phil Corrigan is noble, where Hammett's X-9 is tough and hardened, and Goodwin and Williamson mixed crime with espionage and even a little science fiction here and there, whereas Hammett stayed strictly in crime fiction territory. The point, then, is that those who like SECRET AGENT X-9 aren't necessarily going to like SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN and vice versa.
Personally, I found SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN the more breezy and absorbing read and unless you're already a big fan of either Hammett or Raymond, I would probably recommend CORRIGAN over X-9. That, however, doesn't mean that these earliest SECRET AGENT X-9 strips aren't worth your attention. They represent an important piece of comics history and honestly aren't without pleasures of their own. If you've ever loved the art in FLASH GORDON or thrilled to THE MALTESE FALCON (be it the novel or the classic 1941 film), then you'll likely have a pretty good time.
June 7, 2007
He's a private investigator who is secretly a secret agent! Basically the newspapers hired Hammett to invent a Dick Tracy-like character, drawn by the awesome Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon). The disconnect between a Hammett-style detective and Dick Tracy-style agent with a private plane an a Filipino house-boy is not to be missed!
April 27, 2018
My first reaction: "Dashiell Hammett AND Alex Raymond ?! Worked on a comic strip together ?!"
This is a beautifully assembled collection published as part of the Library of American Comics series by IDW. I checked it out because I love learning about early comics, but I confess that serialized secret agent stories aren't really my cup of tea. The introductory essay is well written and very informative, setting up the personalities and pressures under which this strip was created. I read the first story arc, which lasted just over 6 months. Highlights: The Mr. Dexter alias, the Powers family, criminal mastermind The Top, Cipriano the Filipino valet, a few car chases (and crashes), a fake French detective, the opportunist Mr. Carp, some boats, a burning building, a lot of bombs, and a lot of money.
I'm still not sure how Cipriano got out of that locked room. I guess he busted it open once he knew the coast was clear, but it isn't shown or spoken about.
The departure of Alex Raymond from the strip immediately results in a drop in art quality.
Probably won't go back and read the rest, but only because of my personal tastes.
This is a beautifully assembled collection published as part of the Library of American Comics series by IDW. I checked it out because I love learning about early comics, but I confess that serialized secret agent stories aren't really my cup of tea. The introductory essay is well written and very informative, setting up the personalities and pressures under which this strip was created. I read the first story arc, which lasted just over 6 months. Highlights: The Mr. Dexter alias, the Powers family, criminal mastermind The Top, Cipriano the Filipino valet, a few car chases (and crashes), a fake French detective, the opportunist Mr. Carp, some boats, a burning building, a lot of bombs, and a lot of money.
I'm still not sure how Cipriano got out of that locked room. I guess he busted it open once he knew the coast was clear, but it isn't shown or spoken about.
The departure of Alex Raymond from the strip immediately results in a drop in art quality.
Probably won't go back and read the rest, but only because of my personal tastes.
May 24, 2018
The very first story is the best one here. It's terse and hardboiled, full of twists and schemes, and Hammett clearly thinks nothing of letting a story unfold over eight full months, as the first arc does. Subsequently, editorial seems to reign Hammett in a bit, leading to shorter but still punchy (figuratively and literally) stories. After Hammett's departure, the stories get a little more predictable and formulaic until the very end of the book, when the new creators seem to find a fairly notable angle for X-9's adventures - playing up the procedural aspect to an incredible degree. There's probably no need to spend three days showing how a tire tread plaster is made and traced, but at the same time, there's something unique in that level of detail to the procedure of policing. The final strip also digs into how to arrange a manhunt or how to use colored flares to communicate in a pre-cell phones/citizens band radio world.
Alex Raymond is, of course, a master cartoonist. The reproduction here is good, although rarely immaculate. After Raymond departs, Charles Flanders comes aboard to draw and, despite being a non-Raymond illustrator, acquits himself well.
Alex Raymond is, of course, a master cartoonist. The reproduction here is good, although rarely immaculate. After Raymond departs, Charles Flanders comes aboard to draw and, despite being a non-Raymond illustrator, acquits himself well.
November 22, 2025
"Agente Segreto X-9" è stata una lettura molto più avvincente di quanto mi aspettassi. La collaborazione tra Dashiell Hammett e Alex Raymond funziona in modo sorprendente: da un lato la scrittura essenziale, dura e tagliente di Hammett; dall’altro il tratto elegante e dinamico di Raymond, capace di trasformare ogni vignetta in un piccolo noir in movimento.
Le storie corrono veloci, senza fronzoli, con un protagonista che incarna alla perfezione l’archetipo del detective duro, ma leale. Gli intrecci criminali sono semplici quanto efficaci, e il ritmo serrato ricorda il miglior hard-boiled americano. La vera forza del volume, però, sta nell’equilibrio tra testo e immagini: ogni tavola è costruita per portare avanti la trama, creare tensione e lasciare il lettore sempre un passo più avanti… o più indietro.
Un classico del fumetto d’avventura che conserva intatto il suo fascino, un tassello fondamentale per chi ama il noir, la storia del fumetto o semplicemente un racconto fatto con mestiere e inventiva.
Le storie corrono veloci, senza fronzoli, con un protagonista che incarna alla perfezione l’archetipo del detective duro, ma leale. Gli intrecci criminali sono semplici quanto efficaci, e il ritmo serrato ricorda il miglior hard-boiled americano. La vera forza del volume, però, sta nell’equilibrio tra testo e immagini: ogni tavola è costruita per portare avanti la trama, creare tensione e lasciare il lettore sempre un passo più avanti… o più indietro.
Un classico del fumetto d’avventura che conserva intatto il suo fascino, un tassello fondamentale per chi ama il noir, la storia del fumetto o semplicemente un racconto fatto con mestiere e inventiva.
January 23, 2019
Alex Raymond à ses débuts comme dessinateur indépendant est déjà très bon. En revanche les scénarios ostensiblement signés Dashiell Hammett ne sont pas meilleurs que ceux, anonymes, des autres strips de l'époque : ils se réduisent à une série de courses-poursuites et à des situations délicates (le héros jeté du haut d'une falaise...) résolues dans le strip suivant (il est arrêté dans sa chute par une branche...). Les femmes, superbes sous le crayon d'Alex Raymond, tombent toutes amoureuses de X9, soit dans la version vous-seul-pouvez-me-protéger, soit dans la version femme fatale : tu es séduisant, violent et fort, je suis séduisante, violente et forte, pourquoi ne pas nous... ?
April 27, 2024
3,5/5. It begun as a hardboiled agent full of secrets, and this ends with a Secret Service special agent. The first one was noir, sometimes brutal, always cinycal, full of trepid action. The last one was a hands-on FBI agent working hard for justice, methodical. In between there are a lot of gangs, kidnappers, double crossings, some femme fatales. All in all it would have been hell to properly follow up all the exploits of X-9, from the convoluted Hammett scripts to the more kids-friendly from later years. Even the drawings from high stylized Raymond to the more comic book style of Flanders. But either or all the versions, an incredible example of how to make police comics.
April 8, 2022
Secret Agent X-9 was adapted as a radio drama broadcast on BBC Radio. The tale: tough-nut hero, Secret Agent X-9 receives a phone call from wealthy industrialist, Tarleton Powers asking for his help. A fast paced, easy and enjoyable listen.
March 21, 2018
Disappointing given the talent involved.
May 14, 2018
A ton of fun. Second book of his I've read today. Delightful and his mastery of language and story is a talent to be coveted by every scribe.
January 13, 2019
Not Hammett's strongest writing by any means. This is a series of crime stories that all come across more or less the same and none of them good.
December 31, 2019
The original X-9 from newspaper strips also by Alex Raymond, Leslie Charteris and Flanders;. Raymond was also doing Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim at the same time!
June 16, 2020
Fast-paced, hard-boiled, old-school action.
November 25, 2009
When most people here the names Dashiell Hammett & Alex Raymond, the title of this book is not the first thing that comes to mind. In author Hammett's case images of noir detective series is evoked like, "The Maltese Falcon" or the "Thin Man" series. That kind of detective story that is filled with pulpy goodness.
The same type of popular fiction associations go along with the work of artist Alex Raymond's work as well; being well known for inspiring genreations of illustrators based on his work in the newspaper comic strips on that famous space man, "Flash Gordon" and to a lesser degree, "Jungle Jim".
This exciting mash-up of talent was orchestrated by King Features Syndicate as they distributed this amazing collaboration of illustrator and author. The pairing brought new adventure to the newsprint parade of the nation's papers starting in 1934.
The hero agent X-9 is a nameless character that eventually was given the name, "Phil Corrigan" and the title of the strip in later decades was called, "Secret Agent Corrigan". But this book concerns itself with the work of the original two creatives that worked on the strip, Hammett and Raymond.
This volume was released by Kitchen Sink Press in 1990 and is a softcover edition with black & white interior pages. The binding has held up well on this perfect bound book over the ensuing years. The stories found inside however have a very dated feel. The collection of adventure strips found here are great examples of the amazing line-work found in the art created by master cartoonist Raymond. And while Hammett fans will indeed find the type of stories they have come to expect from this master of detective fiction, the true value in this volume is the artwork of Raymond.
One can easily return over and over again to let the eyes linger on the lovely pen work of this master of sequential art. These stories look nothing like anything printed in the comic strips of today. When newspapers gave larger space on the page of their throw-away publications to comic strips had the ability to let artist spread out and display their talents before an approving audience. This particular audience member missed the original run but greatly appreciates this collection of Raymond art that now resides in my collection. Any artist out their admiring the works of current illustrators should look back at this work and learn where the influences of these artist came from when master craftsmen like Raymond was laying ink on the page. Find a copy of your own and learn from one of the greats!
The same type of popular fiction associations go along with the work of artist Alex Raymond's work as well; being well known for inspiring genreations of illustrators based on his work in the newspaper comic strips on that famous space man, "Flash Gordon" and to a lesser degree, "Jungle Jim".
This exciting mash-up of talent was orchestrated by King Features Syndicate as they distributed this amazing collaboration of illustrator and author. The pairing brought new adventure to the newsprint parade of the nation's papers starting in 1934.
The hero agent X-9 is a nameless character that eventually was given the name, "Phil Corrigan" and the title of the strip in later decades was called, "Secret Agent Corrigan". But this book concerns itself with the work of the original two creatives that worked on the strip, Hammett and Raymond.
This volume was released by Kitchen Sink Press in 1990 and is a softcover edition with black & white interior pages. The binding has held up well on this perfect bound book over the ensuing years. The stories found inside however have a very dated feel. The collection of adventure strips found here are great examples of the amazing line-work found in the art created by master cartoonist Raymond. And while Hammett fans will indeed find the type of stories they have come to expect from this master of detective fiction, the true value in this volume is the artwork of Raymond.
One can easily return over and over again to let the eyes linger on the lovely pen work of this master of sequential art. These stories look nothing like anything printed in the comic strips of today. When newspapers gave larger space on the page of their throw-away publications to comic strips had the ability to let artist spread out and display their talents before an approving audience. This particular audience member missed the original run but greatly appreciates this collection of Raymond art that now resides in my collection. Any artist out their admiring the works of current illustrators should look back at this work and learn where the influences of these artist came from when master craftsmen like Raymond was laying ink on the page. Find a copy of your own and learn from one of the greats!
December 5, 2012
I enjoyed the exceperts from this comic strip in the Mammoth book of Crime comics so much that I went ahead and tracked down a graphic novel of ALL the Hammett comics for X-9. The edition I bought was published in 1983 by International Polygonics ltd, unfortunately the reproductions in this comic weren't as good as in the other collection. To start with there were four panels per page instead of three so the art was much smaller. They also had no been reproduced very well as some of the text was hard to read and some of the pictures weren't very clear. This was a huge shame as I really really really loved the art work of Alex Raymond. I think I'm going to have to try to track down some of his 30s Flash Gordon strips now as I just loved the way he drew people. The realistic style and the women and the men in hats were just all gorgeous. The stories themselves were quiet good. You're the top was definitely my favourite, the woman villan was just perfect in every way. The subsequent stories didn't quite hold up to it but were still worth reading. Mystery of the silent guns saw Dexter heading out into the West tracking down a criminal gang. The Martyn Case had more interesting women characters and a plucky newsagent kid I found myself liking in spite of myself. The Torch Car case was one that wasn't scripted by Hammett just based on his idea, and unfortunately it shows. The last story was written by Leslie Chartier of the Saint and I just didn't care for it. Our hardboiled detective was suddenly a proper spy being sent on missions by the FBI, the no-good double crossing wimp was now his comedy side kick and everyone just called him X-9 to his face which was just odd. Still I'm really glad I was able to track down a copy of these stories. They were great. I loved the art work and think Hammett and Raymond made a great combination.
May 6, 2015
Hammett wrote a bunch of classic crime novels and Raymond is one of the best artists to ever work in comic strips, so I expected this to be great. It's just ok though. It does look great, but I never really got into the story.
January 15, 2011
Dashiell Hammett's thriller stars Stuart Milligan and Connie Booth.
Great reading, I had a lot of fun, really love Dashiell Hammett.
Great reading, I had a lot of fun, really love Dashiell Hammett.
July 29, 2015
Olipas tämä paljon parempi kuin muistinkaan. Ja hyvin tehty, puuttui kokonaan strippikokoelmista tuttu asioiden toistaminen. Ennen osattiin.
August 4, 2016
Interesting to read Hammett dial it down a bit to write for a comic strip. Alex Raymond's art is nicely reproduced as well. I miss the days of the adventure-mystery strips.
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January 7, 2019I actually read the green cover edition under Secret Agent X-9, possibly in 1979 since that is when I bought it. Ordinarily I would give this 5 stars, but since this is not the edition I read...
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