Man of Bronze Explodes From Dynamite
By Philip Schweier
December 9, 2013 - 18:49
In my youth, as my years began to be counted in
double digits, a staple of my Christmas gifts was as many Doc Savage novels as
Santa could manage. Since a brief stay in the hospital in 5th grade, I was a
fan of the Man of Bronze.
So it seems appropriate that Dynamite Publishing is launching a new Doc Savage
series beginning this month. Chris Roberson is the writer, with Bilquis Evely
handling the art and Alex Ross providing the covers.
Well, it was bound to happen. My only regret is it didn’t happen sooner. But DC
Comics held the comic book rights until late last year. It seems reasonable to
believe that once those rights were relinquished, it takes a while for other
interested parties to enter into negotiations and for details to be ironed out.
Doc debuted in his own magazine in March 1933, published by Street & Smith.
Some sources indicate he was created in response to the popularity of The
Shadow, who spawned a host of imitators, such as the Spider and the Phantom
Detective. Rather than return to the same well again and thereby divide its
audience, the editors at Street & Smith instead chose to create a hero who
was everything The Shadow was not. Where The Shadow was a mysterious vigilante
who prowled the night, its new hero would instead be a public figure who worked
in cooperation with law enforcement authorities. Written by Lester Dent under
the pseudonym Kenneth Robeson, Doc Savage was published more or less monthly
until its final issue in the summer of 1949, 181 adventures in all.
The influence of Doc Savage on Superman is obvious, even beyond the “Man of
Bronze/Man of Steel” appellations. In the 1950s, Superman editor Mort Weisinger
appropriated Doc’s arctic Fortress of Solitude for Superman, and also
introduced a female cousin to join him in his adventures, much as Pat Savage
had become a part-time member of Doc’s supporting cast. Having been raised form
childhood to combat crime, Doc may have also had an impact on Batman.
With the runaway success of James Bond in the early 1960s, the market was ripe
for similar heroes. His arsenal of gadgets in his war on crime and
would-be world dominators instantly put him in league with the British secret
agent. Bantam Books began re-publishing the original Doc Savage novels, which
were hugely successful for many years. Eventually, the quality of the stories
began to suffer as the publisher reached the lesser stories published during WW
II and afterward. In 1990, Bantam republished the last of the original novels.
It tried to continue the series with new novels, ghost written by Will Murray
from original material by Dent, but by then the series had run out of steam.
After more than 50 years, two pulp legends meet for the first time
Doc Savage is one of the most popular pulp characters,
though his history in comics is somewhat spotty. In the early 1940s, Street
& Smith twice attempted to adapt its creation for the comic book market but
with little success. The comic book incarnation was radically different from
the original version, presenting Doc as a super-powered hero fueled by a gem he
wore on his forehead.
Gold Key published a single issue of Doc Savage in 1966, borrowing the cover
from the second of the Bantam paperbacks, The Thousand-Headed Man. In
1972, Marvel Comics tried its hand with the character, adapting a handful of
original Doc Savage adventures for a series that ran for eight issues. In 1975,
Marvel tried again with a large format black & white magazine of new
stories. It also ended after eight issues.
In the mid-1980s, DC had revived The Shadow, modernizing him to some success,
and attempted the same with the Man of Bronze in 1987. Unfortunately, a more
up-to-date version of Doc Savage failed to find an audience, and following his
first-ever crossover with The Shadow, Doc was returned to his original 1930s
time period. Nevertheless, the series ended after 24 issues.
After that, the character was featured in a handful of limited series published
by Millenium, and later Dark Horse, where he again co-starred with The Shadow
in a two-issue adventure.
More recently, Doc Savage was featured as part of DC Comics New Wave line,
which took place outside the continuity of the DC Universe. Instead, it
featured pulp-style characters such as the Spirit and Rima the Jungle Girl, an
original DC character form the 1970s. The concept struggled, perhaps due to its
inability to establish a cohesive universe. It included an alternate Bat-Man
who was perhaps intended as a substitute for The Shadow. While Bat-Man may have
seemed a popular character intended to hook readers, the fact that he carried a
gun made him significantly different from the established DC Universe version.
Also, in the eyes of some, it created a confusing overlap, preventing the First
Wave titles from establishing their own continuity.
The Doc Savage title seemed the most successful of the First Wave titles,
running for 17 issues before being cancelled with the advent of DC’s New 52
initiative. Regretfully, for fans of the title, the series had one final chapter
that was never published. At the end of 2012, DC Comics announced it no longer
held the license for the character, clearing the way for Dynamite to pick it
up.
In recent years, Dynamite has become home to pulp-era characters
such as The Shadow, the Spider, Zorro and the Lone Ranger. So it left many
wondering why Doc Savage had never been included in its publishing line,
especially with the recent Masks series – also written by Roberson – which
saw many of its characters teaming up to fight a common menace.
Ron Ely as the Man of Bronze in the 1975 movie
The new Doc Savage series from Dynamite may benefit from a new film being
planned. In May it was announced that Iron Man 3 director Shane Black
had been given the green light for a Doc Savage film. This will be the second
big-screen adaptation of the Man of Bronze. In 1975, Warner Bros. released a
Doc Savage movie starring Ron Ely. Like many super-hero films in those pre-Star
Wars days, it followed the formula established by Batman in the 1960s –
light and campy. In the late 1990s there was talk of a new Doc Savage movie
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, to be directed by Frank Darabont, but it failed
to get off the ground.
As Christmas approaches, and I rewatch the Ron Ely film again, I am charmed by
its Christmas season ending, as Doc places gifts under his tree, only to be
interrupted by his next great adventure. And as the familiar strains of John
Philip Sousa announce "Have no fear! The Man of Bronze is here!" I
can only hope to find some new Doc
Savage adventures under my own tree.
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