At the 2010 Pulpfest author Will Murray spoke to a crowed room of Doc fans eager to hear news from the latest “Kenneth Robeson.” Murray, who wrote seven Doc adventures using materials from the Lester Dent archives, announced he had secured the rights to publish new Doc Savage novels.

Murray explained Conde Nast (copyright holders for the Doc Savage character) had given him the right to publish seven new novels and reprint his seven published novels. Murray is in negotiation with a publishing house to produce the novels in paperback form — either in traditional or trade paperback size. Citing ongoing negotiations, Murray refrained from naming the publisher other than to state it wasn’t Anthony Tollin’s Sanctum Books. Tollin’s publishing house currently reprints the original Doc Savage novels from the 1930s and 40s.

The real reason I do this is to salvage the Lester Dent experience. — Will Murray

Murray unveiled a proposed cover for the first of the new novels, The Desert Demons. The cover used original art by Joe DeVito, cover artist for Murray’s seven novels published by Bantam. Murray explained the cover used a painting of Doc commissioned by Jack Juka and applicable to Murray’s story.

Murray explained the new novel was based on material unearthed during his research into Lester Dent’s papers. In 2005, Murray found a discarded Dent chapter that “introduced Doc in a whole different way.” Murray explained the chapter fit into a Doc novel he was considering, but would take it into a new direction.

Murray explained he wanted his new novels to be “over the top.” “We’re trying to take Doc somewhat out of the envelope,” Murray added. He said the stories would be similar to adventures such as those found in The Spook Legion or Repel.

Murray concluded the presentation by answering audience questions about his working methods, writing philosophy and information about the proposed seven novels. Later this week, the Hidalgo Trading Company will publish additional information about the new novels.

Will Murray Working to Publish New “Wild Adventures” is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

A 2-minute film about Missouri pulp author Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage. Third place winner in the Columbia Missouri 2007 Gimme Truth contest.

Interesting super-short documentary from a couple of years ago. See which Doc Savage fans you recognize from the final few seconds…

Lester Dent Short Video Biography is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

In 1932, Lester Dent was given the opportunity to write a novel for the highly successful Shadow series. Walter Gibson was penning two Shadow novels a month and Street & Smith hoped someone could take some of the burden.

Dent’s novel was revised by Gibson and published as The Golden Vulture. Luckily for Doc fans, Dent did such a good job he won the Doc Savage contract and instead went on to helm his own series.

Publisher Anthony Tollin has undertaken the herculean effort to reprint every Shadow and Savage novel. In the Shadow Volume 1, he reprints Dent’s novel.

The first volume of this new series reproduces both original covers by George Rozen, plus all of the original interior illustrations by Edd Cartier. This book also includes new historical background articles by popular culture historians Anthony Tollin and Will Murray (who collaborated posthumously with Dent on seven new Doc Savage novels published by Bantam).

These are not mere reprinting of old Street & Smith plates. Tollin’s volumes restore cut text and fix printing errors from the original publications. In addition, every volume contains extensive information about the authors, illustrators, and others responsible for producing the novels.

Starting this week, we’ll add Tollin’s reprints to our Doc Savage pages. We’ll include cover scans and promotional blurbs (alas, not penned by Nick D’Annuzio) and ordering information.

For now though, Dent fans will want to order a copy of Shadow Volume 1 for $14.95 (12.95 plus $2 media mail postage). Additional books on the same order are postage free (2 books=$25.90 postpaid, 3 books=$38.15, etc.). All volumes are shipped in protective cardboard. Orders are made through a Paypal payment to: orders@shadowsanctum.com or the preferred method of a check to:

Anthony Tollin
P.O. Box 761474
San Antonio, TX
78245-1474

Who Knew What Evil? is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

He is an unassuming man. You’d pass him on the street without a second look. Under that façade is the most respected man of his profession. Though you’ve never heard his name before you’ve read some of his best work.

He knows most people have no idea of the years he spent perfecting his craft. The long hours. The deadlines. A marriage sacrificed. No fame or fortune. He doesn’t care. Fortune is not why he did it.

He is probably the first man you connected with Doc Savage. No, not Jim Bama. Think back to when you saw Fear Cay for the first time. You turned over that pristine copy to read:

It was all a great mystery. Who was this man called Dan Thunden who claimed he was one hundred and thirty years old? Did he really have the secret of the fountain of youth? What was this island called Fear Cay that spelled horror and death? What was the strange thing that turned men to bone? These were the mysteries that Doc Savage and his fearless crew had to solve at peril of their very lives.

Nick D’Annuzio laughs when he recalls writing that pithy description, “Asked a lot of questions — never gave many answers.” From The Man of Bronze to Up From Earth’s Center D’Annuzio was “The Man of Blurb.”

The blurb — that bit of marketing designed to lure you into buying a product. Blurb writers are not a high-priced commodity in the publishing field. Usually they’re omnivorous readers who majored in Liberal Arts. D’Annuzio did and went back to get a Masters in Marketing. He still studies today, “It’s a little more casual now. I check out the mags. ‘Next Month’ columns and the like. Oh, and the news. Amazing how much a politician can talk and how little he’ll give away in 30 seconds. Always gives the impression he’s Thomas Jefferson though.”

How did Nick and Doc get together? “When I was nine I picked up an issue of National Geographic. I skipped past the tribal pictures – too young then – and was fascinated by the writing. Not the articles. They were long and boring. I was astounded by the Next Month column. I wanted to read those articles!”

Imagine how disappointed I was when I saw that next issue. More long and boring articles. But my spirits soared with ‘Next Month.’ I knew then and there I wanted to be a blurb writer. Didn’t know the word yet, but I knew I wanted to write them. As a matter of fact, I ended up ghost writing a few of those National Geographic columns when (Richard) “Professor” Laflamme had that strange accident in 78.”

For a man who gets to the point when he writes, D’Annuzio often wanders to the point when he speaks.

“Yeah, you asked me about Doc Savage.” He pulls out a folder. He has kept all his notes. “Back in ‘62 I packed up my Bug and traded notebooks at Northwestern for legal pads at Bantam. My first project was a one-shot — Doc Savage. If it took off we’d have 180 more to go. I took home the galleys for “The Man of Bronze” and worked all night.

High above the skyscrapers of New York, Doc Savage engages in deadly combat with the red-fingered survivors of an ancient, lost civilization. Then, with his amazing crew, he journeys to the mysterious “lost valley” to search for a fabulous treasure and to destroy the mysterious Red Death.

“Sure, I had to get their attention without giving anything away. That isn’t easy. I wasn’t quite into the swing of things then. Too many declarative sentences and no questions. I cringe when I read it today. That’s what they wanted though. You always make the company happy.”

D’Annuzio dug out his first draft for the blurb, “Who dares to challenge the Man of Bronze? Does Death always win? Will Doc and his team defeat Death in the Valley of the Vanished? Will the mysterious Red Death claim them? Will it snuff their lives — as it did the only man who truly knew the origin of Doc Savage — his father, Clark Savage, Senior?”

He is still proud of that work. The editors at Bantam wanted less philosophy and more action. “Get murder, danger and the bad guy in every one. That’s what they wanted. I gave it to them. I grabbed you with 50 words or less.”

D’Annuzio remembers the glory days of Doc Savage in the 60s. Sometimes they seemed to write themselves, “I’d work every night from midnight to 2 am. That’s the absolute best time to write a blurb. You’re right on the edge of sleep. Your mind can’t hold a complex thought. Words are ethereal.

Like Lester Dent, D’Annuzio had a touch of wanderlust. He once traveled the Caribbean in a seaplane and farmed a few blurbs out. He won’t reveal who, but assures us we’d recognize the name.

Cadwiller Olden was only three feet tall, but he was the most dangerous man on Earth. With his legion of brutal giants, and control of REPEL — a massive, devastating energy force — the murderous midget began an all-out assault against the defenseless bastions of the free nations. As the entire world huddles in fear, Doc Savage battles against the bizarre doll criminal, and the unleashed fury of his deadly tool of destruction, REPEL!

“He just didn’t work out. Too wordy. Writes a great horror story though.”

Ask D’Annuzio what blurb he is most proud of and you’d be surprised, “None. It wasn’t the blurbs I sweated over. They just flowed — it was the titles I put my heart into.”

D’Annuzio not only wrote blurbs for 181 adventures – he was the first blurb writer who titled his work. Each blurb featured the title in bold on the back cover. “I was able to give alternate titles to 82 of the Doc Savage novels. I started with Soul of the Mystic Mullah. They were sporadic at first. Bantam didn’t place much emphasis on them. They’d just not use the title line sometimes. After Bantam started receiving letters from my fans – yep, those days we had blurb groupies – usually Bryn Mawr girls – they didn’t miss a one from Doc Savage Out West to Trapped in a Steel Tomb.

A new editor was assigned to the Blurb Department at about the same time the Doc Doubles started. “At first I had about the same amount of lines, but gradually I had to fit into less space. The omnibuses almost killed me. No titles and usually just room for a sentence or two to grab you. I was really looking forward to the time we start publishing the new adventures. One story per book and room for a paragraph or two blurb.

It wasn’t meant to be. D’Annuzio was shocked to find that Bantam didn’t call him out of retirement for the new editions of Doc Savage. “Said they wanted new blood. Said my last one was the capstone of my career.”

A shipwrecked lunatic, a mysterious cavern, and a plump little man with a fear of fire lead Doc on his strangest and most legendary adventure ever — straight to the gates of hell itself!

His career is far from over. Brill’s Content called him for the blurbs they used in their early promotional work. Utne Reader depends on D’Annuzio as their Senior Blurb Editor. And the New Yorker has featured three all D’Annuzio blurb issues in the past two years. Still, D’Annuzio hopes someday to again pen the words “fearless crew” for Doc Savage.

* Editor’s note: We received this article with no return address. A call to Bantam revealed that the publisher had employed a Nick D’Annuzio, but not as writer. D’Annuzio was the publisher’s night janitor from 1960 until his “sudden” retirement in 1993. A source speculated D’Annuzio had moved to Florida. Others speculate the blurbs were written by Doc Savage himself. Who knows?

Man of Blurb is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

The one shot comic combining the worlds of Doc Savage and Batman has arrived. Titled First Wave Begins, the comic has the pair meet and come to, let’s say, an understanding.

Set just after Doc’s father dies, and early in the career of the Bat-Man, the comic lets the reader see what Brian Azzarello plans to do with the characters. Based on his notes (presented after the comic), Azzarello shows a good understanding of Doc* and his crew. Not to mention a few other pulp characters you might know.

This is it. Doc Savage makes his return to DC Comics, and crashes right into Gotham’s protector, The Batman. Noir mastermind Brian Azzarello teams with artist Phil Noto to present a gritty and shadowy version of the DCU, where thugs are at every corner, corruption runs deep and even the heroes reside in a gray area of morality.

Doc Savage has heard only bad things about The Batman, Gotham’s violent new vigilante, but what can he do to stop him? Check out some more pages from this issue, a vital prologue to the upcoming FIRST WAVE mini-series from Azzarello and artist Rags Morales. – Alex Segura, The Source

* – Even to his understanding that Doc must be “mixed race.” What? You didn’t know?

Doc Savage Batman First Wave Begins is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

When was Doc Savage born?

Philip Jose Farmer chose a day.

Will Murray thought PJF might have been thinking of the day Lester Dent starting writing the first novel.

But neither answer the question: What was the day Clark Savage, Jr. was born?

Determining the birth date of a fictional character is not a simple task. I began my quest to find Clark Savage’s birth date after reading about the confusion regarding the exact day and time in alt.fan.doc-savage. I had no idea where to start or the path to take, but that never stopped me before.

First, I looked to Doc Savage’s parents. No, not Clark Savage Senior and his wife, but Henry Ralston and Lester Dent. As Doc’s “creators” they had the perfect opportunity to set his birth date in stone.

They didn’t.

Nor did any of the numerous “Kenneth Robesons” who followed Dent (including the latest Robeson, Will Murray.) As Doc’s “mentors” these authors had the chance to give us Doc’s birthday. Oh, they hinted, but never a clear cut date.

Finally, Doc’s biographer, Phillip Jose Farmer, set the matter to rest by declaring Doc’s birth date to be November 12, 1901 based on evidence in the novels.

Unfortunately, he was mistaken.

He was close, very close, but in the rush to meet a deadline Farmer missed a few key clues. Just enough key clues to throw him off the track. Let’s look at Farmer’s path to the day and where he went astray.

The Search Begins in Ernest (er, Lester)

In “Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life” Farmer mentions that the editorial page of the May-June 1947 issue of Doc Savage states that “This thing started November 12, 1932. This brusque notation, so it happens, was made the day the writing of the first Doc Savage novel began….”

Farmer continues by relating that the notebook actually reads “This thing started December 10, 1932.” He proposes that “Dent was actually thinking of Doc’s birth date, November 12, when he told the editor about the first day of writing the Man of Bronze.”

In that one clue Farmer decides that Dent’s poor memory pointed to Doc’s birthday. Farmer was so sure that he didn’t investigate further. He took a little trouble to unearth 1901 as the year Doc was born.

That left fans everywhere with the belief that Doc was born November 12, 1901. Simple and end of story. Except, as I said, Farmer missed a couple of clues.

I went back to the canon to check Farmer’s work: the 180 odd novels published between 1933 to 1949.

Consulting them we find that only two mention Doc’s birth. In Peril in the North, Pat Savage mentions that “Monk, Ham, Johnny, Long Tom, and Renny are all getting ready to throw you a birthday party. They have everything all set. The trouble is, they haven’t been able to find you. Where have you been? They thought you’d be at that doings at the Ritz-Astoria.”

The “doings” Pat mentioned was described by Doc to Snooker as “reception for foreign notables and army commanders here at the hotel, and I am supposed to be in the receiving line.” Remember this, it’ll be important.

Of course, Peril in the North doesn’t mention the month or year. We can deduce the latest the events could have occurred though. Peril in the North was published in November 1941. We know it takes awhile to write a novel, edit it, and publish it. So, Doc’s birthday party wasn’t in November 1941. Farmer places the novel in his fine chronology in November 1940. It fits our available facts and with a little more digging we can set the day. Again, remember this, we’ll get back to it.

As an aside:

Doc does have an unusual reaction to hearing about the party.

“Doc Savage did not ordinarily talk a great deal. Now that he thought of it, he had talked more tonight than was his custom. He felt, for some reason or other, more free. It might be because it was his birthday. But the truth was that he had completely overlooked the fact that this was his birthday.”

Now we know why there are so few mentions of Doc’s birthday.

He just rarely noticed.

The Golden Man Knows Where to Start

The other novel that mentioned Doc’s birth was The Golden Man, published in March 1941. (By the way, Bantam published these two novels as a double: #117/#118. Weren’t they just the most considerate company?)

In the novel Doc has his world rocked by the “Golden Man.” Doc meets the Golden Man for the first time and the man recognizes Doc Savage on sight before any introductions are made. Doc is “amazed” and asks the man, “You know me?” Obviously, Doc was being sarcastic. After all, who wouldn’t know a bronze man well over 6 feet tall who has been mentioned in almost every major newspaper of the world for the past decade?

That aside, the Golden Man does let slip an important piece of info for our quest: “Since that stormy night when you were born on the tiny schooner Orion in the shallow cove at the north end of Andros Island, you have done much good, and many things that are great.” Wow, not exactly an impressive piece of biography, is it? But “Doc was floored, figuratively.” Doc knew of no living person who knew of his birthplace. It wasn’t even something he had shared with his crew.

So add two mentions in the novels to some generous research and add a smidgen of conjecture and, viola, Doc’s birth date! We’ve given you the novel excerpts. Let’s move on to Farmer’s conjecture. Though much research recounted in his book, Farmer set Doc’s birth year as 1901. The clues seem solid. We’ll leave it to you to investigate his reasoning. We’ll call this one a given.

The Golden Man states Doc’s birthplace is Andros Island. There are actually two islands called Andros. The first is off the coast of Greece. The second is one of the Bahama Islands. Farmer believes it is the latter island. He barely explains his reasoning for that decision. We can’t call the location a given. We’ll leave it to another article to decide this question.

I consulted world weather patterns and as many weather records for the time as I could find. I wasn’t able to unearth weather records for 1901 for either island and had to rely on seasonal averages. Both islands have a rainy season in November. According to the Climate Advisor (Gilbert Schwartz, 1977) this is the end of the season for the Bahama islands. The mean annual rainfall there ranges from more than 150 cm for the Northern islands to less than 65 cm for the Southern. Hurricanes occur primarily from May to September. The gist of the weather information is: a storm is easily possible on both islands in early November.

What about 1940?

Now on to the fun stuff. Just what was happening in New York City in November 1940? (Remember, we set that month as the “true date” for the events written as Peril in the North.) Let’s look first at November 12th, 1940 in NYC. There were showers and the weather report mentioned that it was “colder” than it had been. The New York Times reported that the forecast was for “rather cold” on the 13th. In the news there was still talk about the death of Neville Chamberlain on November 9th, and reports on the activities during the 22nd anniversary of Armistice Day (November 11th).

Nowhere in Peril in the North is any of this mentioned. The weather doesn’t seem to be cold. No one is mentioned wearing coats. There is not a hint of the cold causing breath to be visible. And especially, no mention of the death of one of the world’s leaders just days before.

Why? The answer is simple. Doc’s birthday is not November 12th. Farmer didn’t have the time to check every fact while writing the book. Some things he just had to propose and let history debate the question.

So when was Doc born? Well, Farmer was close. Very close. I started investigating the events of the city for the month of November. Some days fit the weather, some had events that were close, but no day fit as well as November 7, 1940.

Remember the “Ritz-Astoria” we mentioned earlier as the site for the conference? Street and Smith had no desire to allow a mention of THE Waldorf that might bring a lawsuit. Obviously, the various Robeson’s were instructed to tweak the names of actual locations. So, enter the actual location for the conference: on November 7, 1940 there were two conferences at the Waldorf-Astoria.

The first was the First Annual Medical Meeting of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. The agenda included information by Dr. Herbert Hipps regarding their new operation to “improve the strength of selected muscles in victims of infantile paralysis that have failed to improve with rest.”

Can you imagine Doc, one of the world’s foremost surgeons, not attending that event? Immediately after the medical meeting was a meeting of the Allied Relief Fund and British War Relief Fund at the same hotel.

Remember that Peril in the North mentioned that Doc was at a meeting of foreign dignitaries and war types at the hotel. A war relief fund meeting would certainly attract “foreign dignitaries and war types.” Not to mention one of America’s leading citizens: Doc Savage. These two conferences are perfect for the events as related in Peril in the North.

Moving on to the weather for the 7th: The New York Times reported that the weather was mild for the day and the forecast was simply for “partly cloudy.” Sounds like another match for the 7th.

And so we conclude…

No date fits better than November 7th, 1901. It fits everything we know about Doc’s birthday. The possibility for storms exist at Andros Island in 1901. Moving to 1940 we find the reception that Doc attends in Peril in the North. The weather is just as was described in the novel. The facts simply favor the 7th. I guess you owe him a belated birthday card.

Any questions?

Doc Savage Was Born on… is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

Harry Knowles (Ain’t it Cool News) recently spoke to Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) : “When I asked him what he was working on, he shocked me with the revelation that he was going to be writing a script for DOC SAVAGE, which Orci & Kurtzman (those STAR TREK, EAGLE EYE, TRANSFORMERS guys) were producing.”

Of course, that set Flearun abuzz. There’s more speculation at SlashFilm.com (Shane Black Scribing a Doc Savage Movie for Star Trek Producers) and FilmSchoolRejects.com (Shane Black Bringing ‘Doc Savage’ Back To The Big Screen?)

In the tradition of Doc Savage newsgroups, here’s my cast (at least, who I’d pick this afternoon):

Doc: Jason Statham
Monk: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Ham: Christian Bale
Johnny: Neil Patrick Harris
Renny: Mekhi Phifer
Long Tom: Jim Sturgess

Doc’s Father: Bruce Willis
Patricia Savage: Liv Tyler

Female Lead: Claire Danes
Antagonist: Tim Roth

Doc Savage Film News – Shane Black Edition is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

Editor’s Note: For over 10 years and 20,000+ messages, the Flearun group has discussed all that is Doc Savage. From plots, themes, authors, illustrators, to what is, and is not, canon. Recently, news of Doc Savage at a central part of a new DC comic series sparked discussion about comics changing the beloved character. Member Mark J. Golden had a well-written take that he agreed to republish here…

This, of course is not unique to Doc Savage.

Think of some of the other immortal, even iconic figures in popular fiction. Then go back to their original sources.

Frankenstein is the most obvious example. Say the name, people think immediately of Boris Karloff’s brilliant portrayal on film in Jack Pearce make up (or some derivation thereof) … even though Frankenstein is the scientist, not his creation. Who is referred to as “the creature” and not a monster. And far from the inarticulate being with a damaged brain so characteristic of most people’s imaginations, this creature actually taught himself to read, write and speak, and is the narrator of a good part of the original book.

Likewise Tarzan. Self taught. literate and articulate in the Burrough’s original. How often has THAT been carried forward into comics or film?.

Sherlock Holmes … until the very literal productions with Jeremy Brett on PBS, there were many, many truly excellent on screen presentations and comics that had little or no resemblance to the characters or settings in the book. Even the “classic” Rathbone/Bruce duo is NOTHING like anything Conan Doyle ever penned.

And I could go on on and on . . .

The problem (IMHO) with Doc Savage is that he has never really caught on in any form OTHER than the original novels … and even there, limited to an intensely loyal but relatively small readership. So anything different from that conception is provocatively obvious. Really fine writers like Will Murray who truly understand and love and breath the essence of the original can write new adventures in the original media (novels) that rise above mere imitation. But give Doc to a truly gifted writer who feels less constrained with the original vision (for example, Philip Jose Farmer) and you get “Escape from Loki.” It is arguably a better written novel than anything Dent and team ever wrote. But it is a brilliant PJF novel, with little or no resemblance to the original in tone, nature, character or any other attribute. I suspect that even further straying from the source will inevitably occur with ANY foray into a new media for Doc Savage.

I truly wish that someone, somewhere would create a film or comic that tells the story of Frankenstein, or the Phantom of the Opera, or Tarzan, the way their creators told their stories. And I wait in vein. In most cases, thriving careers in other media have supplanted and replaced the original, literary creation altogether. IF Doc ever makes the leap into mass market awareness in some media other than novels, I suspect it is inevitable that it will be a different Doc. Maybe better. Maybe worse. Certainly different.

(Even the Street and Smith Doc Savage comics of the 30s/40s, produced contemporaneously with the original novels, with the involvement if not approval of the same folks producing the pulps … you can truly say of thej that “Any resemblance of the persons and characters in this book to other literary characters of the same name is purely coincidence. “)

Mark J. Golden, CAE

Mark Golden Addresses Canon and Comics is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

L’homme de bronze!
Original title	Marabout translations	Re-translation in English
The Man of Bronze	L’homme de bronze	The man of bronze
The Thousand-Headed Man	L’homme aux mille têtes	The thousand-headed man
Meteor Menace	La grande terreur	The great terror
The Polar Treasure	Le trésor polaire	The polar treasure
Brand of the Werewolf	La marque de la bête	The brand of the beast
The Lost Oasis	L’oasis perdue	The lost oasis
The Monsters	Les monstres	The monsters
The Land of Terror	Le pays de l’épouvante	The land of terror
The Phantom City	La cité fantôme	The ghost/phantom city
The Mystic Mullah	La mort verte	The green death
Fear Cay	L’île de l’angoisse	The island of anguish
The Quest of Qui	À la poursuite du Quâr	Chasing Quâr
The Fantastic Island	La fosse aux monstres	The monsters’ pit-den
Murder Melody	La mélodie de la mort	Death melody
The Spook Legion	La légion fantôme	The ghost legion
Land of Always-Night	Le pays de l’éternelle nuit	Land of eternal night
Red Skull	Le crâne rouge	The red skull
The Sargasso Ogre	L’ogre des Sargasses	The Sargasso ogre
The Secret in the sky	Alerte dans le ciel	Alert in the sky
The Pirate of the Pacific	Le pirate du Pacifique	The pirate of the Pacific
Cold Death	La mort froide	The cold death
The Czar of Fear	Les cagoules vertes	The green hoods
The Green Eagle	Le secret de l’aigle	The eagle’s secret
The Devil’s Playground	Les guerriers du diable	The Devil’s warriors
The Other World	L’autre monde	The other world
The Annihilist	Le destructeur	The destroyer
Mystery Under the Sea	Le mystère sous la mer	The mystery under the sea
Mad eyes	Les yeux du mal	Eyes of evil
Resurrection Day	La trahison de la momie	The mummy’s betrayal
Red Snow	La neige rouge	The red snow
The Dagger in the Sky	Le poignard céleste	The celestial dagger
World Fair’s Goblin	Les mystères de New York	New York’s mysteries
Merchants of Disaster	Les marchands de désastre	The merchants of disaster
The Man who Shook the Earth	L’homme qui ébranla la terre	The man who shook the Earth
The Gold Ogre	L’ogre d’or	The gold ogre
The Sea Magician	Le magicien de la mer	The sea magician
The Feathered Octopus	La Pieuvre-Oiseau	The octopus-bird meaning The winged octopus
The Sea Angel	L’Ange des océans	The sea Angel
Devil on the Moon	Le diable sur la lune	The devil on the moon
The Mental Wizard	Magie mentale	Mental magic
Original title	Lefranqc translations	Re-translation in English
Singles
The Man of Bronze	L’homme de bronze	The man of bronze
The Land of Terror	Le pays de l’épouvante	The land of terror
The Mystery on the Snow	Le mystère dans la neige	The mystery in the snow (first translation in French)
Omnis
The Man of Bronze	L’homme de bronze	The man of bronze
The Land of Terror	Le pays de l’épouvante	The land of terror
Quest of the Spider	A la poursuite de l’araignée	Chasing the spider (first translation in French)
The Polar Treasure	Le trésor polaire	The polar treasure
Pirate of the Pacific	Le pirate du Pacifique	The pirate of the Pacific
The Red Skull	Le crâne rouge	The red skull
The Lost Oasis	L’oasis perdue	The lost oasis
The Sargasso Ogre	L’ogre des Sargasses	The Sargasso ogre
The Czar of Fear	Le Czar de la peur	The Czar of fear (new translation of title)
The Phantom City	La cité fantôme	The ghost/phantom city
Brand of the Werewolf	La marque de la bête	The brand of the beast
The Man Who Shook the Earth	L’homme qui ébranla la terre	The man who shook the Earth
Special series
Bleeding Sun	Le soleil sanglant	The bleeding sun
Special Thanks to Catherine Lavallée-Welch for this page and all the work it took to translate the titles in English. Merci!

L’homme de bronze is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

These are a couple of rare items from Doc’s long music career. The Doc Savage Six was Doc’s Jazz combo from 1958 to 1964. The cassette was a 70s re-release of the most famous Savage Six album. This ticket was from the group’s final concert. The “Special Suprise Guest” was actually Doc and the crew in the next incarnation of the band — “Savage.” I have a line on a very rare Savage 8-track.

Originally published years ago on The Hidalgo Trading Company

The Doc Savage Six is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

Authors often give a title to their work as it is written. The publisher may or may not use the author’s title. The author’s suggestion is the “working title.” And for the publisher — sometimes it just doesn’t “work.” He believes he has the pulse of the consumer — not the finicky author.

That’s true even of the Doc Savage novels. Fan favorite Brand of the Werewolf was originally titled The Crew of Skeletons. It’s a toss-up which title sounds better. The Crew of Skeletons evokes a stronger image for this writer. However, I have to agree with the decision to go with The Laugh of Death instead of the working title Death Laughed and Laughed. I’m sure the editors thought World Fair’s Goblin would sell better than Goblin! Goblin!

Will Murray used the title Flight into Fear for his Doc Savage novel. The title wasn’t unfamiliar to the editors at Doc Savage Magazine. It was the alternate title offered for two novels: King Joe Cay and Terror and the Lonely Widow.

Below we’re offering a match puzzle for Doc fans. On the left are the titles you’ve memorized from repeated readings of the novels. On the right are working titles. How many can you match? We’ve given four answers. For a list of the answers write us at: docsavage.org@gmail.com

1 - The Land of Terror 	        (a) - Cavu is Dead
2 -  Brand of the Werewolf 	(b) - Death Came Solo
3 -  The Annihilist 		(c) - Death in a Flash
4 -  The Majii 		        (d) - Death in the Book
5 -  The South Pole Terror 	(e) - Death Laughed and Laughed
6 -  The Sea Angel 		(f) - Death Wore a Golden Bell
7 -  The Submarine Mystery 	(g) - Deuces Wild
8 -  The Red Terrors 		(h) - Devil Takes the Last
9 -  The Yellow Cloud		(i) - Flight into Fear
10 -  World's Fair Goblin 	(j) - Flight into Fear
11 -  The Evil Gnome 		(k) - Genie
12 -  The Golden Man 		(l) - Goblin! Goblin!, Man of Tomorrow
13 -  Mystery Island 		(m) - He Was So Scared
14 -  Birds of Death 		(n) - His Majesty, King Terror
15 -  The Invisible-Box Murders 	(o) - In Hell, Madonna
16 -  Peril in the North 	        (p) - Jonah Had a Whale
17 -  Men of Fear 		(q) - Jungle Strange
18 -  The Fiery Menace 	(r) - Man Afraid
19 -  The Laugh of Death 	(s) - Miracle by Williams
20 -  Waves of Death 		(t) - Mr. Calamity
21 -  The King of Terror 	(u) - Mystery at Parade
22 -  The Talking Devil 	        (v) - Sea Snare
23 -  The Secret of the Su 	(w) - Skull Cay
24 -  The Derelict of Skull Shoal 	(x) - The Buccaneer
25 -  The Man Who Was Scared 	(y) - The Crew of Skeletons
26 -  The Red Spider 		(z) - Three Dead Danes
27 -  Strange Fist 		(aa) - The Devilish Mr. Wail
28 -  The Ten Ton Snakes 	(bb) - The Fish Was Strange
29 -  Cargo Unknown 		(cc) - The Green Cloud
30 -  Rock Sinister 		(dd) - The Hair on End, Chemistry of Death
31 -  King Joe Cay 		(ee) - The Ice Age
32 -  The Thing That Pursued 	(ff) - The Invisible Box
33 -  Trouble on Parade 	(gg) - The Jiu San Man
34 -  Measures For a Coffin 	(hh) - The Lost Ones
35 -  Se-Pah-Poo 		(ii) - The Lost Vampire
36 -  Five Fathoms Dead 	(jj) - The Mountain of Terror
37 -  Colors for Murder 	       (kk) - The Phantom Submarine
38 -  Fire and Ice 		(ll) - The Speaking Satan
39 -  Three Times a Corpse 	(mm) - The Sun Terror
40 -  The Exploding Lake	(nn) - The Terrible Jones
41 -  The Devil is Jones 	(oo) - The Terror Under the Sea
42 -  Danger Lies East 	(pp) - The Wizard
43 -  The Pure Evil 		(qq) - They Stood Dead
44 -  Return From Cormoral 	(rr) - thirty Fathoms to Hell
45 -  Up From Earth's Center 	(ss) - Those Golden Birds
46 -  Death is a Round Black Spot 	(tt) - The One-Eyed Mystic
47 -  Terror and the Lonely Widow 	(uu) - The Man Nobody Could See
48 -  According to Plan of a One-Eyed Mystic 	(vv) - Skull Shoal
49 -  Jiu San 		        (ww) - The Crime Annihilist, The Crime Annihilator

Originally published on DocSavage.Info…before 1999 at least.

Working Title is a post from: Doc Savage Organized

On June 11, 1996 Bob Bookman posted the original outline to a novel proposed for the Doc Savage series. The outline was first published in Pulp Vault magazine #10 May 1992. According to Bob, it was discovered by Will Murray on a visit to Mrs. Lester (Norma) Dent’s home, and was to be the 21st Doc story but was never written by Dent.

It’s left up to fans of Doc Savage to compare this outline to Will Murray’s Python Isle.

WHAT IS BACK OF YARN:
Centuries ago, King Solomon maintained a colony in the land of Ophir, source of his treasure. But the colony was put to flight by savage tribes, and set out to sea in boats. Their navigators had been killed by the savages, and the boats could only keep together as they were driven southward into the Indian Ocean by storms. Eventually they reached an island in a locality where storms are almost continuous. These monsoons prevented them again leaving the isle. They kept the Ophir treasure in their boats intact.

The colonists still live there, with Queen Lha on the throne. Opposed to Lha is Taxus, sorcerer and unscrupulous villain who is hungry for power. Taxus has a knowledge of hypnotism and the arts of magic, handed down by generations of sorcerer ancestors, and he uses these to cast spells over those who oppose him. He can hypnotize an enemy, aided by a drug made from native herbs, putting that person in sort of a trance known as Taxus’ invisible wrath.

Tom Franklin, flier trying a non-stop from Australia to Cape Town, was blown off his course in the storms and landed on the isle, which is known as Python Isle because of the number of snakes of that species.

Franklin, to maneuver his own escape, told Queen Lha of Doc Savage, who could smash Taxus, and with the girl, got away in his plane. Franklin’s idea is not to get Doc, but to enlist aid of unscrupulous men and come back for the Solomon wealth. Franklin takes with him from the Isle a papyrus script history of the Ophir colony by way of proof that the isle does exist.

CHAPTER I

Tom Franklin and Queen Lha, both in the costumes of Solomon days, are flying over the Pacific near South Africa. Their gasoline supply is low. They sight a small tramp steamer on the sea below, circle it, and to their surprise, are fired upon.

The ship is skippered by Blackbird Hinton, diamond smuggler and crook, who thinks the plane holds officers of the law after him. He shoots the plane down, and sends a small boat out to pick up the occupants. Prince Albert , Blackbird’s henchman, has charge of the boat.

Franklin stages a fake fight and manages to hide his papyrus roll under a thwart. This is to keep from Blackbird the secret of Python Isle and its treasure. The papyrus is in a bamboo tube.

Blackbird, questioning Franklin, finds him ignorant of all worldly events since 1927. The girl does not speak English, except to speak in some language in which one name, Doc Savage, is recognizable.

Mention of Doc worries Blackbird. Prince Albert is infatuated with the girl.

That night, Franklin creeps to the radio room with the girl and attempts to send a radio message to Doc Savage asking for help. They are discovered by Blackbird, who sets upon them, and they retreat to the boat where Franklin hid his papyrus roll.
Franklin gets his roll and escapes in a launch, but the girl is left behind, a prisoner of Blackbird.

CHAPTER II

Franklin, pursued by Blackbird and his crew, reaches the South African coast. He has the idea he can enlist Doc Savage’s aid and double-cross Doc when the Solomon treasure is taken from the Python Isle, so he inquires around about how to get a message to Doc Savage. He is directed to Renny, who is supervising a hydro-electric construction project nearby.

Before Renny can talk to Franklin, they are set upon by Blackbird’s men. Renny has the papyrus roll in his possession for awhile, but it is taken from him by Blackbird’s men. Blackbird’s crew also makes off with both Franklin and the bamboo tube which contained the parchment.

Blackbird is worries for fear the message sent earlier, before Franklin escaped the boat, was received, and he goes to the Cape Town radio station, which would logically have picked it up, and forces the operator to show his files. Sure enough, the message did get through and was relayed on to Doc Savage in New York.

CHAPTER III
Renny, however, had pulled a trick on Blackbird, having emptied the bamboo tube of its parchment contents and substituted blank wrapping paper. He is examining the meaningless (to him) symbols on the parchment when he is set upon by Prince Albert, who, more canny than Blackbird, has been watching over the affair. There is a fight in which Prince Albert is bested temporarily. But Prince Albert manages to lead Renny into a trap at the radio station, in which Renny is seized by Blackbird and his gang.

Blackbird then gets in touch with a crook he knows in New York, Bull Pizano by name, and directs Bull to keep the radio message from Doc if possible.

CHAPTER IV
Bull Pizano, in NY, moves to stop the message from reaching Doc. This is possible, because Doc is at the moment away at his Fortress of Solitude. Monk is at the NY headquarters of Doc Savage, and has the message. Bull Pizano has him decoyed outside and seized. But Monk has cannily not taken the message with him. Bull Pizano cannot find it.

CHAPTER V
Thinking Ham, another of Doc’s men, may have the message, Bull Pizano forces Monk to call Ham and make an appointment, the idea being that Ham is to be seized as he goes to the appointment. But Monk, who is using a French type phone, cannily wedges a match under the receiver hook so that the words he yells after hanging up reach Ham. The words are a warning, although Bull Pizano does not recognize them as such. Ham rushed out, intent on aiding Monk, but was trapped as he left Doc’s skyscraper headquarters-his car being forced into a big van before he can do anything about it.

CHAPTER VI
Doc comes back from his Fortress of Solitude and finds his safe has been blown-Bull Pizano’s work hunting for the radiogram. The thieves are still at work, and Doc trails them to their hideout. There is a fight, the Pizano gang escaping, but not before Doc has gotten sight of a large van which holds one of his cars-the one Ham used. This informs Doc that something must have happened to Monk and Ham.

CHAPTER VII
Doc’s cars are fitted with a cylinder which, at the touch of a concealed lever, releases a thin stream of vapor which is heavier than air, settles to the ground and remains there for some hours. Doc uses a fluoroscopic hood which renders this vapor visible as a sparking cloud, and trails the van-the vapor is being released by the car in the van, Ham having had a chance to get to the lever.

Thus, Doc trails the gang, and manages to rescue Monk and Ham.

They get the radiogram-there is only blank paper inside. But both Monk and Ham know its contents. It does not make much sense, being merely an appeal for help from a man named Franklin on a ship off the South African coast.

A radiogram comes from South Africa, from Renny’s associates on the hydroelectric project, advising that Renny had been seized at the radio station there.

CHAPTER VIII
Doc does some sleuthing and learns that Bull Pizano and his gang have disappeared, apparently scared out by Doc’s presence in N.Y.

Doc determines on the quickest route to South Africa to aid Renny-taking passage with Monk and Ham on a Zeppelin which is making one of its periodic Atlantic passages.

Pizano is on the Zeppelin, it develops, with a number of his men, and fighting follows. Doc and his party, outnumbered, are forced-apparently-into a motor gondola, which is cut loose into the sea. Doc, Monk and Ham have apparently died.

CHAPTER IX
Pizano commandeers the Zeppelin, forces it to sail well down the African coast, quits the craft and joins Blackbird, his old associate. Blackbird is enraged because the radio message was not apprehended, but news of Doc’s death pacifies him and he agrees to cut Pizano in on the treasure. Blackbird has the golden ornaments worn by Queen Lha and Franklin, as well as certain parts of Franklin’s plane, which are repaired with gold plate, as proof that there is a treasure. They haven’t found the papyrus; Renny won t tell where it is. They decide to kill Renny. But Doc, Monk and Ham-they were not dead, Doc having deceived Pizano into thinking that they were in the gondola which plunged into the sea-appear and rescue Renny. Renny gets the papyrus from where he hid it.

CHAPTER X
Doc is working on the cabalistic writing of the papyrus when Franklin staggers in, with a story of having escaped from Blackbird. He says he knows where the girl is held Not taking time to hear Franklin’s full story-Franklin faints from exhaustion a moment after he reaches Doc-the bronze man hurries to get the girl. But he encounters a trap, thwarts it, and does rescue the girl. Back at his hotel, he finds Renny, Monk, Ham and Franklin have been taken by Blackbird’s men during his absence. There is a note saying they will be released if Doc will turn over the papyrus roll and the girl.

CHAPTER XI
From the papyrus and the girl’s story-Doc with his fabulous learning knows a little of the lost language-the story of the Python Isle, the villainous Taxus and the treasure comes out. Doc accepts the offer of Blackbird to trade the girl and the papyrus for his men. But the bronze man has equipped the girl with weapons, and trailed her, so that when Blackbird attempts to kill Doc’s men instead of releasing them as he had promised, Doc is on hand to thwart the murders and free the prisoners. Blackbird, Prince Albert and Pizano, with some of their men, strike out in a large plane for the Python Isle, the location of which they have, Franklin admits, forced him to divulge.

CHAPTER XII
Doc, in another plane with Renny, Monk, Ham, Franklin and Queen Lha, nears Python Isle. They have trouble with the monsoon storms which makes ships steer clear of the vicinity, but get through and land. Doc sets the plane down on a valley before a city that looks as if it might have existed in Solomon’s day. The people are strangely garbed. There is no sign of Blackbird’s party or their plane, which has had time to arrive ahead of Doc. Taxus, the sorcerer, has taken over power during Queen Lha’s absence, claiming she was dead, and his followers now seize Doc’s party. Queen Lha, having come back from the dead, is now an evil person, Taxus claims, and Doc and his men are her servants.

CHAPTER XIII

The populace seems on the side of Taxus, and it is agreed to give Doc and his men the trial by the python pit which consists of a gladiatorial affair of making them fight enormous snakes. It is equivalent to a sentence of grisly death. As they are led into the city, Doc observes some who are under the strange spell of Taxus’ hypnotic and drug art, and the bronze man treats one of these, an old woman. Hagai by name, working what seems a miraculous cure. This is by way of refuting Taxus yarn that he is evil spirit, a devil from the outer regions.

But Doc is tossed, with Monk, Renny and Ham, in an ingenious torture pit into which sand filters steadily so that they cannot sleep, or even breathe in comfort. Here, they are to await death by the python pit. Queen Lha and Franklin are incarcerated elsewhere in the palace, as befitting individuals of more standing than Doc and his party.

Someone opens the sand grill and the fine particles threaten to suffocate them at once. They sight Blackbird’s features-he is on Python Isle and it was he who opened the grill. Not satisfied with waiting for the python pit, Blackbird wants Doc out of the way at once.

CHAPTER XIV
That night, Franklin gets in touch with Queen Lha, and they try to escape, only to be seized outside the palace by Blackbird and his men. Blackbird, against Prince Albert’s objections, orders one of his men to take the girl out to sea in the plane and drop her. Prince Albert balks at this so forcibly that they are forced to seize him and hold him. With Taxus, in whose cause he has enlisted himself, Blackbird cooks up a scheme whereby the people will be told that Doc caused the Queen to vanish.

CHAPTER XV
Doc has darts fastened to the bottom of a foot with adhesive tape, and he uses these to make one of the pit guards nauseated; then he tells the fellow he will be made well if he releases them. The terrified guard does so.

Doc overheard Prince Albert objecting strenuously to the girl’s fate, and that tipped him so that he was able to head off the flier who was to drop her into the sea. He rescues the girl.

Then Doc takes off in the Blackbird plane and deliberately drops it into the sea, escaping by a long swim and shark battle under water so that Blackbird will now think the girl and the pilot dead and know his plane is gone.

CHAPTER XVI
Doc and his party drain the gasoline from their own plane and conceal it. The girl is placed in a hiding place, with Renny left behind to watch over her. Doc, Monk and Ham now go in search of Franklin the girl having told them where he is held. But Franklin is not at the spot. Doc’s party is discovered by Taxus’ warriors; there is a fight, and near its climax, Franklin puts in an appearance, saying he has escaped on his own hook, and leads them out through secret doors.

CHAPTER XVII

Doc finds and talks to the old woman Hagai, who has been spreading the story of the miraculous cure Doc worked on her. This has given the populace something to think about; Doc may be stronger magic than Taxus. Friends of Queen Lha are with Hagai and they listen to Doc explain that Taxus is a fakir. Taxus and his men, with Blackbird and Prince Albert, appear and break up the meeting. Doc, retreating, learns that Renny and the girl vanished from the hiding place, taken away by Blackbird s crowd, it appears. A ship appears.

CHAPTER XVIII
The ship is Blackbird’s vessel, which has come under forced draft. It is to be used to remove the Solomon gold.

Doc and his party attempt to remove the treasure first, but are surprised and seized.

CHAPTER XIX
Doc and his men receive trial in the python pit, Blackbird s gang using the cover of the ceremonies to make away with the gold. By using a chemical vapor, Doc stupefies the pythons. His seeming power over the serpents arouses those of the populace who are on the side of Queen Lha, and they rout the followers of Taxus.

CHAPTER XX
Blackbird, Taxus, Prince Albert, Pizano and gang have seized Queen Lha and boarded the ship and are putting out of the harbor. Doc boards his plane in an attempt to head them off, but the craft is not a fighting ship and his tanks are punctured. He is forced down on a reef. In attempting to get close enough to him to kill him, Blackbird’s ship goes on the rocks, is broken up and sinks. Prince Albert, a debonair fellow after his way, is the last to drown. The plane is safe. Doc reaches shore. Queen Lha is safe, it develops, because Prince Albert had turned her loose prior to the sailing of the ship.

Lester Dent

Python Isle by Lester Dent is a post from: Doc Savage Organized