Showing posts with label Doc Savage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doc Savage. Show all posts

Vintage Shadow and Doc Savage hardcover books

Nice stuff. I haven't seen many of the Doc Savage books from this era - just the 1970s paperbacks, which I used to gobble up like crazy. 

Images via Heritage Auctions.

 

Pop Focus: Doc Savage - the movie

There are so many cool things about Doc Savage, where do you start? Here's a brief checklist:
  • He's super strong
  • And super smart.
  • He's got his own crew - "The Fabulous Five" - who are all really good at different stuff and who will follow him anywhere.
  • He lives on the top of the Empire State Building.
  • And owns a submarine, a blimp, a helicopter and a superfast car.
  • He designed a "super machine pistol" that fires "mercy bullets" that don't kill bad guys, just knock them out so they can be sent to a sanitarium upstate to be rehabilitated.
  • He had a Fortress of Solitude decades before Superman knew it was cool.
And in 1975, he had a movie. I never saw it, though I was a huge Doc fan, having been introduced to Marvel Comics' black-and-white Doc Savage magazine the same year. The movie never came to my town and never seemed to turn up on TV. I had to make-do with my Marvel mags and the Bantam paperback reprints of Doc's pulp adventures. Thankfully, those were around everywhere.

My Dad told me he'd read some Doc pulps as a kid, but my search for any remaining copies in my grandfather's attic was in vain. It wasn't until years later that I saw any of the real pulps in person.

Now, of course, everything is available anytime, everywhere. Doc's novels have been republished as two-fers by Nostalgia Ventures and Sanctum Books and Will Murphy is writing a series of new Doc books published by Altus Press. There's also continued talk of a new Doc movie, possibly starring Christopher Hemsworth, who'd be great.

The first film is available on DVD and streaming on Amazon Prime, but I still haven't watched it. Maybe I know that grown-up me will disappoint child-me by finding it ludicrous. Someday.

In the meantime, here's an array of pics from the film and other Doc-focused memorabilia.




The Doc Savage pulps were a key inspiration for Superman, Batman and other Golden Age comics heroes

Doc Savage creator Lester Dent a.k.a. Kenneth Robeson
The first Doc Savage pulp adventure, adapted for the 1975 movie
The Bantam paperback version of Man of Bronze
Former TV Tarzan Ron Ely as Doc Savage in the 1975 film



Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five









Doc art by Jim Steranko, a super-Savage fan


Steranko's Super Graphics publishing house created a Doc fan club, the Brotherhood of Bronze, in the 1970s

I loved the Doc black-and-white mag published by Marvel

A peek at DC Comics' First Wave

This is something I'll likely check out, being a fan of things of the pulp/noir variety:

It’s almost here — an Earth very much like our own, but featuring a collection of pulp and noir heroes that include the Batman, the Spirit, Doc Savage, Black Canary and many more.
In the shadows of the War, the roots of the Golden Tree cabal grew deep into the heart of a fallen world and the leaders at the heart of this secret organization see no place in their utopia for heroism. Doc Savage, struggling with the loss of his father, has been blind to their advance – until now. Central City’s mysterious Spirit has caught wind of their plans as well. But whose side have the Blackhawks chosen? What is the Red Right Hand? And where is the Batman? Eisner Award winner Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS, JOKER) and superstar Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS) craft a DC universe like you’ve never seen before. It’s a world with no supermen, only mortal men. Death can come at any moment, and adventure can still be found at every corner of the map.
Dive right in with a look at some black and white interiors from the first issue. And, as an added bonus, we’re including the Morales sketch pages some of you saw in the back of select DCU books and the handful we initially spotlighted here. Enjoy:

Info on DC's upcoming Doc Savage, Spirit series and other "First Wave" plans

DC has spilled a few more details on its upcoming First Wave project, which focuses on pulp/noir heroes such as Doc Savage and The Spirit (who owns the comics rights to The Shadow these days? Seems like he'd be a natch for this, too).

I was a big fan of Marvel's Doc Savage comics. Didn't really get into DC's earlier take on the character. But this whole idea of a "pulp world" populated by these characters seems like a cool approach. I may give it a try.

You’re all familiar with FIRST WAVE, right? The pulp-y, neo-noir epic from writer Brian Azzarello and artist Rags Morales hits in March and brings readers into a world where the Batman, Doc Savage, the Spirit and many more hard-boiled heroes stand side by side.
To further flesh out the FIRST WAVE world and give some of these iconic characters some much-needed face time, we’re launching two new ongoing series: THE SPIRIT and DOC SAVAGE.
doc-savage-1
DOC SAVAGE #1 kicks off the Man of Bronze’s very own ongoing, as Doc Savage finds himself the target of a brazen attack on New York City. And things get worse as tragedy befalls one of Doc’s allies, and it’s starting to look like someone may not survive the opening pages of “The Lord of Lightning” arc. Featuring a story from Paul Malmont, the national bestselling author of THE CHINATOWN DEATH-CLOUD PERIL, with art by Howard Porter, with covers by superstar artists J.G. Jones and John Cassaday.
That’s not all, though. the DOC SAVAGE series will also sport a JUSTICE INC. co-feature, courtesy of crime novelist Jason Starr (Vertigo Crime’s THE CHILL) and artist Scott Hampton. The first installments finds our star, Richard Benson, the Avenger, chasing down the criminals that have abducted one of his own detectives, sending Benson into an heated, unforgiving rage.
spirit-cv1
THE SPIRIT, written by Mark Schultz (Superman: Man of Steel, Xenozoic Tales) with art by DC newcomer Moritat and a snazzy cover by LADRÖNN, puts the spotlight back on Will Eisner’s fedora-wearing vigilante. What happens when the international crime syndicate known as The Golden Tree decides to help the villainous Octopus consolidate control over Central City’s criminal underworld? Well, it’s safe to say this is the kind of thing the Spirit handles best, even if The Golden Tree has offered up one of their deadliest – and sexiest — assassins to take down the Spirit.
Check out a few pages of Moritat’s lovely work below:
spirit_02and031
The first issue also features the debut of the eight-page THE SPIRIT; BLACK & WHITE co-feature, showcasing some of the industry’s finest talents interpretation of the classic hero. And what better way to kick things off than a tale of the Spirit by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Bill Sienkiewicz?

Batman meets Doc Savage in upcoming DC special!

DC Comics has been hinting that it has plans for Doc Savage-related comics. Now we finally get a few details:

...we’ll be seeing a lot more of Doc Savage in the pages of DC comics in the near future. Now, we can actually give you a tad more, detail-wise.

This November, writer Brian Azzarello teams with artist Phil Noto for the BATMAN/DOC SAVAGE SPECIAL #1, which sets the stage for an entire new world for the Doc, along with a slew of characters that will pop up later, including the Blackhawks and Rima, the Jungle Girl. It all starts here, and I’m not exaggerating when I say you’re really in for a treat.

Azzarello is no stranger to noir or gritty storytelling, as anyone familiar with Vertigo’s 100 BULLETS and the recent JOKER OGN can attest. Coupled with Noto’s neo-classic art style and you’ve got the perfect launching pad for a collection of books that will pull these beloved characters into the 21st century.

Update on DC's Doc Savage revival

Still no info on what's up with DC Comics' cryptic hint at a new Doc Savage comics series yesterday, but Newsarama had dug up some history on the image that the publisher released.

...the image is actually a portion of a nearly year-old image Brian Stelfreeze posted on his blog back in August 2008. That’s right: it’s looking like a crossover between the Man of Bronze and The Spirit, with some Blackhawk thrown in. And looking at the upper image again, the female character and panther has been Photoshopped out, with her silhouette remaining.

Interesting. So will Stelfreeze be the artist on this new project, or somebody else. I like the style used in the pic and hope they go with that approach--somewhat cartoony. Y'know, Darwyn Cooke would be great on a Doc Savage comic...

ALSO: The "female character" in the pic is Rima the Jungle Girl.