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X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan #1
X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan, Vol. 1
Al Williamson's run on Secret Agent Corrigan from 1967 to 1979 stands as one of the artistic highlights in the history of the American comic strip. Williamson's delicate line-work, coupled with a style both realistic and atmospheric, enhanced the no-nonsense story of Corrigan.
285 pages, Hardcover
First published September 21, 2010
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46 people want to read
About the author
Archie Goodwin
977 books70 followersArchie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work. For Warren he was chief writer and editor of landmark horror anthology titles Creepy and Eerie, and for Marvel he set up the creator-owned Epic Comics as well as adapting Star Wars into both comics and newspaper strips. He is regularly cited as the "best-loved comic book editor, ever."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 30, 2018
In 1967, America was in the grip of a "spy craze," sparked by the popularity of James Bond movies and TV shows such as MAN FROM UNCLE and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. Although the SECRET AGENT X-9 strip had then been running for over thirty years, it seemed an ideal time to give it a new coat of paint. Enter writer Archie Goodwin, artist Al Williamson and a title change to SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN.
This volume includes a history of the strip, written by Bruce Canwell. Canwell explains how famed noir writer Dashiel Hammet created the character with Flash Gordon artist Alex Raymond and how X-9 debuted in 1934 as a mysterious agent but was revealed in the 1940s to be Phil Corrigan of the FBI. Canwell also tells how the strip began mixing adventure with domestic drama during the 1940s, with Corrigan marrying in 1950 and fathering a child a few years later.
In this first collection of Goodwin/Williamson CORRIGAN strips, any domestic concerns are shunted aside. No children are mentioned at all, and save for one story in which she serves largely as a damsel in distress, Corrigan's wife Wilda makes only brief sporadic appearances. Adventure is the name of the game here, and Goodwin and Williamson deliver the goods.
I mentioned the 1960s spy craze, but truthfully, the Phil Corrigan of this volume belongs to an earlier era. He's a classic American adventure hero - noble, self reliant and persevering. Like a 1940s gum shoe, he smokes a lot of cigarettes, but this seems to be his only vice. He's largely two dimensional, but the comic strip format doesn't allow much space for character growth, anyway, and he serves the stories well. Corrigan works for the FBI, rather than the CIA, but this too, works, as it arguably allows for a greater breadth of story types. While many stories do contain elements of espionage, others are more typical crime tales, and although Corrigan largely operates domestically, author Goodwin does occasionally find reasons to send him aboard. The result is a nice bit of variety that keeps the proceedings fresh.
In fact, this volume is a nice package of literary chocolates. The stories may not be brilliant, but they're fun, brief and easily digestible, with reliably pleasing ingredients. Each one provides suspense and danger, intrigue, colorful villains, beautiful female allies and femme fatales - with the femme fatales sometimes becoming allies during the course of the yarn. I suspect that reading these in a collected edition might actually be superior to reading them on a daily basis, as originally intended, because there's some satisfaction in going directly from one short tale to another. The volume also gets better and more compelling as you read on, with Goodwin adding a more cohesive continuity between adventures, and one villain even returns to face Corrigan a second time.
Although Goodwin's writing is highly enjoyable, the real star here is Al Williamson. Williamson's art is lush and illustrative and surprisingly detailed. There's an amazing amount of attention to matters such as facial expressions, fashion, hair styles and types of automobiles. Williamson also makes great use of light and shadow, and while Goodwin's writing makes SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN an enjoyable read, Williamson's artwork nonetheless really elevates the material, and I can't say enough about it.
People who enjoy classic adventure strips, crime and espionage stories and great comic art should really check this out. They won't regret it!
This volume includes a history of the strip, written by Bruce Canwell. Canwell explains how famed noir writer Dashiel Hammet created the character with Flash Gordon artist Alex Raymond and how X-9 debuted in 1934 as a mysterious agent but was revealed in the 1940s to be Phil Corrigan of the FBI. Canwell also tells how the strip began mixing adventure with domestic drama during the 1940s, with Corrigan marrying in 1950 and fathering a child a few years later.
In this first collection of Goodwin/Williamson CORRIGAN strips, any domestic concerns are shunted aside. No children are mentioned at all, and save for one story in which she serves largely as a damsel in distress, Corrigan's wife Wilda makes only brief sporadic appearances. Adventure is the name of the game here, and Goodwin and Williamson deliver the goods.
I mentioned the 1960s spy craze, but truthfully, the Phil Corrigan of this volume belongs to an earlier era. He's a classic American adventure hero - noble, self reliant and persevering. Like a 1940s gum shoe, he smokes a lot of cigarettes, but this seems to be his only vice. He's largely two dimensional, but the comic strip format doesn't allow much space for character growth, anyway, and he serves the stories well. Corrigan works for the FBI, rather than the CIA, but this too, works, as it arguably allows for a greater breadth of story types. While many stories do contain elements of espionage, others are more typical crime tales, and although Corrigan largely operates domestically, author Goodwin does occasionally find reasons to send him aboard. The result is a nice bit of variety that keeps the proceedings fresh.
In fact, this volume is a nice package of literary chocolates. The stories may not be brilliant, but they're fun, brief and easily digestible, with reliably pleasing ingredients. Each one provides suspense and danger, intrigue, colorful villains, beautiful female allies and femme fatales - with the femme fatales sometimes becoming allies during the course of the yarn. I suspect that reading these in a collected edition might actually be superior to reading them on a daily basis, as originally intended, because there's some satisfaction in going directly from one short tale to another. The volume also gets better and more compelling as you read on, with Goodwin adding a more cohesive continuity between adventures, and one villain even returns to face Corrigan a second time.
Although Goodwin's writing is highly enjoyable, the real star here is Al Williamson. Williamson's art is lush and illustrative and surprisingly detailed. There's an amazing amount of attention to matters such as facial expressions, fashion, hair styles and types of automobiles. Williamson also makes great use of light and shadow, and while Goodwin's writing makes SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN an enjoyable read, Williamson's artwork nonetheless really elevates the material, and I can't say enough about it.
People who enjoy classic adventure strips, crime and espionage stories and great comic art should really check this out. They won't regret it!
May 7, 2019
This daily strip was the last glory days of the photo-realism style of newspaper adventure strips. The artist and writer team have achieved well-deserved fame and glory working in comic books, and here they take on a format and structure much different than that of comic books.. The history of the photo-realism school of adventure newspaper strips includes Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon, Terry and the Pirates, and Rip Kirby. The last was by Alex Raymond, who after returning from World War II, found he could no longer wanted to do stories set on other worlds, i.e. Flash Gordon, but created a detective strip instead. Al Williamson is an admitted emulator of Alex Raymond. Williamson did great science fiction comics for companies such as EC, and was ready to pursue photo realism in this strip, that had previous incarnations written by Dashiel Hammett. Goodwin and Williamson find their way in this volume, each story succeeding better than the last in characterization and story-telling in the once-a-day format. Also, dealing with the shrinking size of comic strips, they try new formats with expanded panels, sometimes only two, or even one, per day. Secret Agent Corrigan is Bond-like, but with the censorship faced by newspaper strips, much less sexy, even at times a bland Boy Scout. The villains though become more and more interesting. I am sure the subsequent volumes (which I have not read yet) reprinting the strips continue their steady growth here. This is fun to read, and if you like photo-realism style, which is very influential in comic books, Al Williamson is tops.
April 5, 2018
On the positive side, this strip is a twelve-year-long run of nearly uninterruped Al Williamson artwork, which is a great thing. The Library of American Comics had access to Williamson's personal printers' proofs, so the artwork looks (mostly) great.
On the less positive side, the stories are exceedingly pedestrian. Archie Goodwin's a very solid writer, so the scripts are always cogent and clear, but they're never inspired - adventures are brief and too the point, supporting cast rarely provides much insight into Corrigan, and surprising twists are rare.
The stories are competent, but not inspiring, so the only real draw to purchasing this book is Williamson's artwork. I love Al's drawings, but even I have to wonder if I'm going to stick it out for four more books if the scripting doesn't take it up a notch or three.
On the less positive side, the stories are exceedingly pedestrian. Archie Goodwin's a very solid writer, so the scripts are always cogent and clear, but they're never inspired - adventures are brief and too the point, supporting cast rarely provides much insight into Corrigan, and surprising twists are rare.
The stories are competent, but not inspiring, so the only real draw to purchasing this book is Williamson's artwork. I love Al's drawings, but even I have to wonder if I'm going to stick it out for four more books if the scripting doesn't take it up a notch or three.
October 2, 2019
The art of Al Williamson is beyond this world! And Archie Goodwins stories are brilliant!
March 21, 2011
This book helps preserve the legacy of writer Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson, collecting their first several years on Secret Agent Corrigan (originally Secret Agent X-9). Together, Goodwin and Williamson take FBI agent Phil Corrigan through a number of fast-paced adventures, bringing the classic strip (created in 1933 by equally legendary Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond) firmly into the late 60s.
Williamson's classic style, influenced in equal parts by classic illustrators like Alex Raymond and classic cinema, keeps the visuals interesting and exciting. His use of light and shadows, as well as his ability to keep his camera moving, is showcased well by the comic strip format, where he can't rely on clever layouts across the page. (Not that Williamson was ever an artist to rely on flashy gimmicks.)
Together, he and Goodwin take Corrigan through a wide variety of adventures in a wide variety of settings. The action comes fast and furious, and there isn't a clunker in the bunch.
Highly recommended for lovers of fun stories and fine art.
Williamson's classic style, influenced in equal parts by classic illustrators like Alex Raymond and classic cinema, keeps the visuals interesting and exciting. His use of light and shadows, as well as his ability to keep his camera moving, is showcased well by the comic strip format, where he can't rely on clever layouts across the page. (Not that Williamson was ever an artist to rely on flashy gimmicks.)
Together, he and Goodwin take Corrigan through a wide variety of adventures in a wide variety of settings. The action comes fast and furious, and there isn't a clunker in the bunch.
Highly recommended for lovers of fun stories and fine art.
May 17, 2013
Creating and sustaining a successful newspaper comic strip is a fine art. If you think about how these strips appeared in newspapers, the creators have three panels per day to work with: the first to summarize what happened the day before, the second to advance the plot, and the third to further advance the plot and hook the reader to keep reading the next day and the next and the next.
Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson were masters of the daily comic strip. You can learn all about the origins of Secret Agent Corrigan in the book's extras, but the main reason you'll want to pick up this volume is for the storytelling and artwork. This was the mid-60s and spy stories were very hot. Corrigan (actually an FBI agent) is up to the task, any task, whether it's gunrunners, pirates, or counteragents.
Sure, you can see that there's something of a formula involved, but the way Goodwin and Williamson work the formula is masterful. If you've never read some of the vintage newspaper comic strips, X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan, Vol. 1 is a great place to start.
Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson were masters of the daily comic strip. You can learn all about the origins of Secret Agent Corrigan in the book's extras, but the main reason you'll want to pick up this volume is for the storytelling and artwork. This was the mid-60s and spy stories were very hot. Corrigan (actually an FBI agent) is up to the task, any task, whether it's gunrunners, pirates, or counteragents.
Sure, you can see that there's something of a formula involved, but the way Goodwin and Williamson work the formula is masterful. If you've never read some of the vintage newspaper comic strips, X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan, Vol. 1 is a great place to start.
April 15, 2012
Author Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson have created a masterpiece of daily newspaper strips here. Classic and nearly timeless spy adventure stories. Immensely readable. Beautiful line work by the artist. Personally, I think this might be the best looking strip since Raymond's Flash Gordon. Also, very nice illustrated essays by the editors giving the prior history of X-9 who was invented by Dashiel Hammett in the early 20th century.
I've read the early Hammett and Alex Raymond strips and these strips collected here by far surpass the original.
This volume should be at the top of the list, if you're interested in 20th century adventure strips.
I've read the early Hammett and Alex Raymond strips and these strips collected here by far surpass the original.
This volume should be at the top of the list, if you're interested in 20th century adventure strips.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews