|
Comic Book Heroes: Doc Savage & Secret
Agent X-9 |
|
Doc
Savage is one of the archetypal
hero figures of the twentieth century, and his popularity and influence has
extended far beyond his initial pulp origins. The
basic concept of a man trained from birth to fight evil was created by Street
and Smith Publications executive Henry Ralston and editor John Nanovic, to
further capitalize on the success of their other pulp hero magazine success, The
Shadow. Ralston and Nanovic wrote a
short premise establishing the broad outlines of the character they
envisioned, but Doc Savage was
only fully realized by the author chosen to write the series, Lester Dent. Doc
Savage, whose real name is Clark Savage, Jr., also known as the Man of Bronze, is a physician, surgeon, scientist, adventurer,
inventor, explorer, researcher and musician — a renaissance man. A team
of scientists (assembled by his father) trained his mind and body to
near-superhuman abilities almost from birth, giving him great strength and
endurance, a photographic memory, mastery of the martial arts, and vast
knowledge of the sciences. Doc is also a master of disguise and an excellent
imitator of voices, though he admits to having trouble with women's voices.
"He rights wrongs and punishes evildoers." Dent described the hero
as a mix of Sherlock Holmes'
deductive abilities, Tarzan's
outstanding physical abilities, Craig Kennedy's scientific education, and Abraham Lincoln's goodness. Doc's
companions in his adventures (the "Fabulous Five") were industrial
chemist Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Blodgett "Monk" Mayfair and his pet pig, Habeas Corpus; lawyer Brigadier General Theodore Marley "Ham" Brooks and his pet monkey, Chemistry; construction engineer Colonel John "Renny" Renwick & electrical engineer Major Thomas
J. "Long Tom" Roberts.
On
Radio Doc Savage appeared in 26 episodes of his own 15 minute serial which
started in 1934. There was also a short lived 1943 series based on the comic
book version of the character. Unfortunately no recordings of either series
seem to have survived. In
1985 Canadian NPR produced 13
half hour episodes of The Adventures of Doc Savage, which were faithful adaptations of two pulp
stories: The
Thousand-Headed Man was published
in 1934. In it Doc and his aids upon arrival at Croydon Field, London airport
are thrown a black stick by a raggedy scarecrow
of a man. Doc then encounters the villain Sen Gat and his lieutenant Indigo.
Sen Gat is after treasure rumoured to be in the fabled city of The
Thousand-Headed Man. He wants the stick that has come into Doc's possession
because it is supposed to be one of three keys that will enable him to safely
enter the The Thousand-Headed Man's domain. Kidnappings, rescues &
escapes in exotic locations then ensue amid lots of high adventure. Also
published in 1934, Fear Cay is 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. Want
to check out an episode of one of this excellent series? - why not
"taste & try"? The
episode available for download below is a beauty! - its the first episode from the Fear Cay story, is entitled Kidnapped and it sets the scene for an exciting Doc Savage adventure comprising 7 thirty minute parts. This
episode can be freely downloaded to your computer - just right button click
on any link below and chose "Download Linked File" (or words to
that effect). The file is on an average about 20Mb - download time will
depend on your (broadband) speed ADSFC_1985-09-30
Pt. 1 Kidnapped.mp3 Another
pulp hero from the mid 1930's was Secret Agent X-9, created by Dashiell "The Maltese
Falcon" Hammett and drawn by
the great Alex "Flash Gordon" Raymond. Secret
Agent X-9 began when Hammett and Raymond were approached by King Features
Syndicate to begin work on a new, hard-boiled detective type of character.
They created an edgy loner who, by seamlessly infiltrating into the worlds of
both criminal masterminds and the upper crust of society could choose and
fight his battle with an insider's perspective. He was cynical, handsome,
gritty, and shrouded in secrecy - so much secrecy, in fact, that some critics
believe his ultra-mysterious persona kept him from ever becoming as popular
as he could've been. Debuted as a daily strip in 1934, Secret Agent X-9 was a quintessential character of the hard-chiseled
underworld of crooks, spies, gangsters, dames swells and dolls of the 1930s. In
1994, the BBC produced a
full-cast radio adaptation of the very first Secret Agent X-9 comic-strip adventure (coined You're the Top). It consisted of 4 episodes, each of 30 minutes
duration and had great sound effects, music and (don't worry) appropriate US
accents! This MP3 CD contains
both of the NPR productions of The Adventures of Doc Savage plus the BBC
production of Secret Agent X-9. Each episode is of 30 minutes duration. A. The Adventures of Doc Savage - Fear
Cay 1.
ADSFC_1985-09-30 Pt. 1
Kidnapped.mp3 2.
ADSFC_1985-10-07 Pt. 2
The Hanging Man.mp3 3.
ADSFC_1985-10-14 Pt. 3
The Disappointing Parcel.mp3 4.
ADSFC_1985-10-21 Pt. 4
Island of Death.mp3 5.
ADSFC_1985-10-28 Pt. 5
Terror Underground.mp3 6.
ADSFC_1985-11-04 Pt. 6
The Mysterious Weeds.mp3 7.
ADSFC_1985-11-11 Pt. 7
The Crawling Terror.mp3 B. The Adventures of Doc Savage - The
Thousand Headed Man 1.
ADSTHM_1985-11-18 Pt.
1 The Black Stick.mp3 2.
ADSTHM_1985-11-25 Pt.
2 Three Black Sticks.mp3 3.
ADSTHM_1985-12-02 Pt.
3 Flight into Fear.mp3 4.
ADSTHM_1985-12-09 Pt.
4 Pagoda of the Hands.mp3 5.
ADSTHM_1985-12-16 Pt.
5 The Accursed City.mp3 6.
ADSTHM_1985-12-23 Pt.
6 The Deadly Treasure.mp3 C. Secret Agent X-9 1.
SAX9_1994-01-01 Part 1
- Murder Mansion.mp3 2.
SAX9_1994-01-08 Part 2
- Carnage at Sea.mp3 3.
SAX9_1994-01-15 Part 3
- The Powers That Be.mp3 4.
SAX9_1994-01-22 Part 4
- You're the Top.mp3 |