Customer Reviews

A History of the Doc Savage Adventures in Pulps, Paperbacks, Comics, Fanzines, Radio and Film

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The most recent monograph about the Man of Bronze, this tome deals with all the written supersagas in an amazingly rich and detailed manner. Rather than a simple rehash of story plots, we are treated to the most remarkable aspects of each adventure, both plot-wise as well as retrospectively; examining story points and details that have served to influence many varied aspects of media and pop-culture in the years since these tales were written. While not particularly image-heavy, the visuals that are included enhance and support the narrative in a balanced way. The many avenues of published history concerning Doc are explored in turn, as well as an examination of the amateurs and professionals that have contributed to the character as he has evolved during the past 76 years. A great affection for, and familiarity with the subject matter is readily and refreshingly evident, and this well written book is to be recommended for those familiar with Doc and his crew, but also to those who have yet to travel to that place where heroic thrills still dwell.

A History of the Doc Savage Adventures in Pulps, Paperbacks, Comics, Fanzines, Radio and Film is an in-depth compendium of information about the popular stories featuring legendary action-adventure icon Doc Savage. From Doc Savage's origin in a "Street & Smith" pulp magazine, to the changes (and the consistencies) in the character and his dramatic journeys throughout the decades, to Doc Savage's appearances in media ranging from paperbacks to graphic novels to radio, the silver screen, and even fan creations, A History of the Doc Savage Adventures lives up to its title with a wealth of meticulous research, including a spotlight on (and brief summary of the plot of) published Doc Savage stories. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this welcome addition to college library literary studies shelves with an emphasis on popular culture. A History of the Doc Savage Adventures is also, of course, a "must-have" for any diehard Doc Savage fan!

Bob Cotter's "A History of the Doc Savage Adventures in Pulps, Paperbacks, Comics, Fanzines, Radio and Film" is, chronologically, the second essential Doc Savage reference book to be published (the first being Larry Widen's "Doc Savage: Arch Enemy of Evil"). Cotter's book is also the first large format hard cover book on Doc Savage. It measure 7-1/8 by 10-2/8.

Bobb Cotter's ten page introduction places the series in an historical context and in the next section he does a fine job of summarizing each Doc Savage story, noting what's unique and talking about what gadgets or inventions Doc uses in each story. The story summaries take up about 146 of the 239 pages. Following the novel summaries are sections on radio, film, fanzine and comic book interpretations of Doc.

The appendices include essays on the people behind Doc Savage's creation, the best of the the novel, pulp and paperback covers, a chronological listing of both the original Doc Savage pulps plus the bantam reprints, and a Doc Savage comicography.


My suggestions to McFarland Publishing for future editions of this important and enjoyable book are: include more illustrations, devote a few pages each to talking about the former Bantam Doc Savage reprint series and the current (and excellent) Doc Savage reprint series (with historical essays by Will Murray) published by Anthony Tollin's Sanctum Books. And lastly, lower the retail price of $55.

With the 2011 publication of Will Murray's new Doc Savage novel, THE DESERT DEMONS, books like Bob Cotter's and Larry Widen's volumes will be well read.

A History of the Doc Savage Adventures
Doc Savage rocks! One look at the front cover of this book (originally Doc Savage #1 cover), and you know that you have a hit on your hands. Conde Naste, as part of their publishing empire, boasted two of the greatest pulp characters ever, Doc and the Shadow.
Each had their own audience of devotees, and while born from the same ashes of cultural discontent and disillusionment, both are surprisingly relevant today. It is not the technology, nor the sociological ramifications of their crime fighting techniques, but rather the straight ahead approach to righting wrongs, and stopping those who would trample the innocent.
That is only one reason I love Doc Savage. It is very clear that Robert Michael "Bobb" Cotter has a deep affection for the Man of Bronze and his band of adventurers. Consider the wide scope he cuts in the book. He discusses the pulp magazines in sequence from issue one to the final pulp book, Doc in comic books, Doc on the radio and in the movies, fanzines, and lastly the new adventures. This is a good overview of Doc in all his appearances. The appendices gives listings of all the comics, books, most of the creators, and important information for Doc collectors everywhere.
Cotter is well versed in Doc-ology. His summaries and short notes on all the books, and comics is good but clearly, he is more passionate about the books. Having reviewed the comics for Comics Buyers Guide, I was slightly disappointed the illustrated stories from DC/marvel did not receive greater visibility. I was confused by his highlighting of the Dave Stevens efforts, and thought the Marvel effort was worthy of far more verbage.
This book is good, but it could have been great. Consider the title, "A History of the Doc Savage Adventures", why not, Adventures in Bronze? Catchier, shorter, and more marketable. Where are the pictures? Listing the `best' pulp covers is okay, but where is the evidence for those who do not have the issues? At least, provide a link to a website that includes the covers. There is a little bias in the fanzine section as Mr Cotter has been part of the Doc movement for some time. I was slightly disappointed in the Doc Savage movie discussion, but this is a `short' view, and I eat up Doc. Moonstone Books published the complete radio plays in 2008/9, yet it garners only a sentence. The DC comics series First Wave, which had not come out yet, warrants more than a published book.
Those comments are nitpicking. Overall, it is a good book that Doc fans will enjoy. Doc books are rare, and until Will Murray comes out with his Dent biography and related books, this will have to do.
At $[...], this is still a good value.
Tim Lasiuta
[...]

Sometimes these types of books can be either nothing more than boring lists of items, or poorly edited "do it yourself" fan affairs but McFarland has published the ultimate, outstanding, superamalgamated, history of Doc Savage. This book is worth every penny. It is large sized and full of thoroughly researched content. The Savage novel synopsis's are not just plot rehashes but put into context of the times and the canon as a whole. Doc himself could not have put together a better book. It is both intelligent and entertaining. 5 stars!

Not to repeat the othr reveiwers that did an excellant job, but to give a little more insight. The reason most of us got hooked on "DOC SAVAGE" in the first place was because of the art work on the covers by bantom books. It sure would of been nice if we need to shell out close to $50 if the author would have shown all the covers in their repective glory of the series of books, both the pulps and bantom books. Do james Bama and the others the justice they deserve! Their is a paperback out there by Larry Niven I believe called "DOC SAVAGE ARCH ENEMY OF EVIL" that does but poorly ( the covers are all shown in black and white). Because of no full cover to cover depiction I can't give it a perfect score, because its not. They do have a chapter where they rank the top ten covers in both the pulps and bantom books which could lead to a heavy debate.

I was looking forward to this book, and I was disappointed in the book. While it did cover the pulp adventures of Doc quite well, it was also filled with praise for FDR and the New Deal, as well as shots at Herbert Hoover and conservatism. And at $55, it's way too expensive for a relatively short hardcover. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't buy this book, but would instead invest in more of the Nostalgia Press reprints with their wonderful articles by Will Murray that get no mentions in this tome.