Doc Savage • Pulp Links

Doc Savage

13 Min Read

Just under two years after The Shadow appeared on magazine racks, Doc Savage became the third pulp character to get his own magazine.

The world met the Man of Bronze in a novel titled “The Man of Bronze,” March 1933.

Doc Savage pulp magazines

Doc Savage was created by Street and Smith’s Henry W. Ralston, with help from editor John L. Nanovic, in order to capitalize on the surprise success of The Shadow magazine.

It was Lester Dent, though, who crafted the character into the superman that he became.

Dent, who wrote most of the adventures, described his hero – Clark “Doc” Savage Jr. – as a cross between “Sherlock Holmes with his deducting ability, Tarzan of the Apes with his towering physique and muscular ability, Craig Kennedy with his scientific knowledge, and Abraham Lincoln with his Christliness.”

Through 181 novels, the fight against evil was on. From a headquarters on the 86th floor of a towering Manhattan skyscraper, Doc, his five pals — Renny, Johnny, Long Tom, Ham and Monk — and occasionally his cousin Pat battled criminals the world over (and under) 12 times a year, from 1933 until early 1947; then the team’s exploits dropped to every two months until the final three quarterly issues in 1949.

Doc Savage is one of the few characters whose complete original pulp run has been reprinted in book form. Doc also appeared in a short-lived radio drama in the 1940s, a couple of serialized adventures on public radio and a 1975 movie.

Links

Doc Savage newsgroup
This is a great hangout for fans of the Man of Bronze. (If your internet service provider doesn’t offer access to this newsgroup, access it through Google Groups.)
The ultimate Doc Savage site
This is the site for Doc Savage fans. Chris Kalb has blended style with substance to create a thoroughly delightful exploration of the legacy of the Man of Bronze — and you get your choice of classic pulp or Bantam versions of the site. Plus there are some wonderful premiums to download.
Adventures in Bronze
Here’s the official site for new series of Doc Savage adventures being penned by author and pulp historian Will Murray. The site provides links for purchasing the new books, as well as information about the series, Lester Dent and Murray.
Arizona Doc Con on Facebook
The Arizona Doc Con’s Facebook page has all of the latest information about the next gathering of bronze. You can participate in conversations, post questions and interact with the organizers and attendees. (No Facebook account is required to browse the page, only to participate.)
Arizona Doc Con Videos
Check out the AZDocCon channel on YouTube for highlight videos of the Arizona Doc Cons beginning with the 2006 con, as well as a “Doc Savage Begins” video celebrating the 75th anniversary of the pulp character and one for the character’s 80th anniversary.
Collecting Doc Savage
Bob Bretall is surveying his Doc Savage collection with posts about various items and the character on this blog. It’s a companion to his ComicSpectrum website.

Books So Bad, They’re Good: The Adventures of Doc Savage
The “Books So Bad, They’re Good” blog features guest author “Xaxnar,” who introduces Doc Savage to those who’ve never read any of the pulp adventures. Xaxnar discusses the period when the novels first appeared, the plots and characters, as well as the stories’ influence.
Doc Savage Wiki
With around 100 pages, the Doc Savage Wiki includes information about the pulp novels, some of the main characters and a listing of adventures.
Doc in French
Here’s Alain Berguerand’s look at the various Doc Savage publications — paperbacks, magazines, comics — that have appeared in French. The site also is available in English.
Doc Savage: The Belgian Site [archived]
In addition to posting Doc Savage novels translated into French, Christian Vanderhaegen’s site also includes a bulletin board for fans and a bibliography of Doc’s adventures, with information on French and Italian language publications.
The dark side of Doc
In the Italian Web zine Delos Science Fiction, Massimo Pietroselli takes an in-depth look at the dark side of Doc: the Crime College and his upbringing. Those are two areas that often are not studied, but otherwise tarnish the Man of Bronze’s shine.
A Doc Savage FAQ
At Eclipse’s Web Warren, you’ll find a version of Cranford’s Doc Savage FAQ. You also will find Cranford and Murray’s Doc Savage bibliography here.
Another Doc Savage bibliography
Robert Finnan takes a different approach to the Doc Savage bibliography by basing his on the Bantam paperback order, with crossdating to the pulps and a brief back-cover description of each story. He also offers info on the Doc Savage radio programs and cover images from Bantam and the pulps.
The Doc Savage Library
Peter Silvestro’s website runs the gamut on Doc Savage: from the pulps to the comics to the movie and radio programs. It’s packed with info that’s regularly updated.
Lester Dent’s Pulp Master Fiction Plot
Here’s an absolute treasure. It’s the “Lester Dent Pulp Master Fiction Plot.” It’s a mouthful, but it’s also a fascinating instruction sheet on how to write a pulp novel. It’s available on several Web sites:

Doc Savage at The Shadow’s Sanctum
Anthony Tollin’s Sanctum Publications has been reprinting Doc Savage doubles since 2006 (though the first 23 books were published in connection with Nostaligia Ventures). Each reprint usually features two novels, plus essays related to the featured stories.
Savage: The Bronze Journal
M.D. Jackson and G.W. Thomas offer opinion and commentary on the Man of Bronze in their online zine, Savage: The Bronze Journal. Topics have include “Doc across the Genres” and “Copies in Bronze,” a look at Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown.
Bronze Icon: Doc Savage
Tom Barnett’s Bronze Icon site looks at Doc Savage influences, “secret sequels” (he discusses links between Doc novels) and interesting factoids about the individual Doc Savage stories.
Doc Savage: A Hero from the Golden Age of Pulp [archived]
Here’s a short profile of Doc Savage and his publishing history on the AbeBooks website. The page also features a selection of pulp and paperback covers with links to searches for use Doc Savage books.
The Greatest Superhero Ever: Doc Savage
Dr. Larry Burris, a journalism professor at Middle Tennessee State University, discusses why Doc Savage is “the greatest superhero ever” in commentary for WGNS radio. His piece is available as text or audio.
Doc Savage: A Rogue’s Hero
Here’s a biography of Doc, along with .WAV files from the 1975 movie. (Make sure your speakers are turn down — especially if you are at work.)
Doc Savage Reviews: The 1987-90 DC Comics
Julian Perez, over at Julian Perez Conquers the World, takes a critical look at the DC Comics series from 1987-90, what worked and what didn’t.
Paul Malmont: Doc Savage [archived]
Novelist Paul Malmont (The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril) is scripting the DC comics revival of Doc Savage and provides short synopsis of the books on his Web site.
DC: Doc Savage
DC began a new Doc Savage comic book series in 2010. You can find out more about it here on the DC website.
Paul Malmont Gets “Savage”
Comic Book Resources interviews Paul Malmont, author of The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril and the 2010 Doc Savage comic book series for DC, about Doc Savage, the pulps and comic books.
Dark Horse Comics: Doc Savage
Dark Horse Comics may have back issues of its two-part tale of The Shadow and Doc Savage and a four-part Doc Savage: Curse of the Fire God series from the mid–1990s still available. Get the details here.
Bronzdom
Here’s a fond look back at the 1970s and the thrill of Doc Savage. You’ll also see photos of the Web site’s author meeting Philip Jose Farmer and Boris Vallejo, as well as photos of numerous Doc collectibles.
Doc Savage: International Hero
This British Web site gives a bio of the Man of Bronze and links to information about his aides, including the non-pulp aides Shoshanna, Bo and Ivanovitch — oh, and his son, Chip.
NagleWorks: Doc Savage Statue
Sculptor Shawn Nagle displays and sells a variety of statues, including one
of Doc Savage, at his Web site.
ReelArt Studios: Doc Savage Sculpture
ReelArt Studios is selling 1,000 copies of a $249, 20–inch–tall statue of artist Bob Larkin’s version of Doc Savage, sculpted by Tony Cipriano. The ReelArt Web site includes photos of the finished statue, details of it and shots of the original sculpture.
Doc’s Superfirer Machine Pistol
Dan Thompson explains a gallery of photos how he reproduced the superfirer machine pistol from the Doc Savage paperback and hardback covers, from the original model to his finished prop.
Lester Dent’s papers
Lester Dent’s personal papers now reside in the Univerity of Missouri’s Western Historical Manuscript Collection in Columbia, Mo. This provides a brief bio of Dent, details on when the papers were donated and an inventory of the collection.
Red Kelso: A Doc Comic Strip
Speaking of Doc-inspired projects, Red Kelso is a 1930s adventurer created by Gary Chaloner. Chaloner provides profiles of the characters and a timeline.
What Doc Savage Can Teach Us About World War One
This article by H.W. Crocker III for the website of the conservative magazine The American Spectator pulls from Philip José Farmer’s interpretation of Doc Savage as it links the Man of Bronze and his pals to World War I.
The Clark Savage Institute
Mark Eidemiller’s site blends his Doc Savage interests with his Christian faith and includes nine Doc Savage adventures written by him, his wife Karen Eidemiller and Barry Ottey. Stories include: “Bronze Refined as Silver,” “More Precious Than Gold,” “Bronze Avengers” and “The Abduction of Amy Roberts.”
Doc Savage and the Sinister Plot of Helmut Faust
Doc Savage fan Jean Michel has written an original story that takes place in its own fictional universe and with its own “refashioned” characters.
The Pfeiffer Pfiles
Scotty Phillips and Courtney Rogers have put together a tremendous collection of paperback cover illustrations by Fred Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer, whose artwork was featured on 14 of the Bantam Doc Savage paperbacks, turned out scores of paintings during his short life.
Bob Larkin: The Illustrated Man
Scotty Phillips, Courtney Rogers and Terry Allen highlight the artwork of Bob Larkin on this site. Larkin painted 47 covers for the Bantam Doc Savage paperbacks and continues working today. He also does commissions, some of which can be seen on this site.
Doc Savage Fantasy Cover Gallery
Kez Wilson has been creating Bantam Books–like covers for fictional Doc Savage adventures. They well done and pretty entertaining. Titles include: “Tokyo Terror” (with Godzilla), “Black Lagoon,” “The King of Skull Island” and “Zombie of Bronze.” Kez has added a separate gallery where he has given the Bantam paperback covers “makeovers,” including splitting up the doubles and standardizing the graphics.
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze
The Internet Movie Database page for the 1975 Doc Savage movie has all of the usual cast and credit listings, but also photos and a trailer, which features different narration and music from the movie.
Doc Savage Movie Idea Page
“Old Punk” takes an honest look at what he thinks it would take to make a successful Doc Savage movie.
Doc Savage (????)
The Internet Movie Database already has a page up for a potential Doc Savage movie, though there is scant information there.
Mike Uslan on The Spirit, Batman, The Shadow and Doc Savage
Producer Mike Uslan talks with Big Kevs Geek Stuff at the 2008 Big Apple Comic Con about movies in production, including Doc Savage.
From Doc Savage to Mac Bolan
The full title of this article on the HitFix website is “From ‘Doc Savage’ to Mac Bolan, Hollywood Seems Poised for Pulp to Replace Superheroes.” Writer Drew McWeeny namechecks a number of pulp characters in the first paragraph, then discusses potential movie projects involving some of them.
A Tribute to Doc Savage, The Man of Bronze
Dave Mitchell gives a bit of background on Doc Savage and touches on film developments as of early 2014 at A Place to Hang Your Cape.
Doc Savage The Movie (2000)
At one time, Warner Bros. had registered four domain names (three in 1999, one in 2002) related to a potential Doc Savage movie. Since then, the project has moved to Sony Pictures. Warner Bros. still retains ownership of DocSavageTheMovie.com, though it points blank landing page.

Doc Savage movie (2013)
On May 7, 2013, Sony Pictures announced that writer/director Shane Black would be working on “Doc Savage” as his next film project. Following are links to the Sony press release and more than two dozen articles on the planned film:

Pulp events

Events are subject to change.

April 4-6, 2025: Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Lombard, Ill.

Aug. 7-10, 2025: PulpFest 2025, including FarmerCon, ERBFest, and Doc Con, Pittsburgh, Pa.

On–going:
• Gotham Pulp Collectors Club, 1 p.m. the third Saturday of each month via Zoom. Check its website for location.