The last new pulp hero from Thrilling Publications was the short-lived Purple Scar.
This hero was published in Exciting Detective as their cover feature (maybe hoping to have another success like The Black Bat in Black Book). But it was not to be. After running for three successive issues in 1941-42, the last story was published in 1943. All four stories appeared under the name of John S. Endicott. Altus Press has reprinted the whole series in a single volume (see my review of that).
The Purple Scar is really Dr. Miles Murdock, a successful and well-known plastic surgeon. When his brother, a cop, is brutally murdered, he dons a purple mask made from a mold of his brother’s face, to imitate the scarring caused by acid. Using contacts he had made among the down trodden, he starts to work against criminals.
The Purple Scar also has a few assistants. In the first story, we met all three: one is a police detective who is told his identity, and who accepts the Purple Scar’s help; the second is his nurse (and possible love interest), Dale Jordon; and the third is the Sticky-Fingered Kid (Tommy Pedlar), a reformed thief now serving as the doctor’s aide.
The underworld is apparently scared of the Purple Scar, yet he never kills. So he’s by and large not being chased by the police, though he avoids them. He’s treated more like a detective then a vigilante, usually bringing all the key players together at the end to expose the guilty party. This is typical of the various Thrilling heroes.
Now, finally, Airship 27 has brought out a collection of new Purple Scar stories after dropping hints for the past year or so. This collection contains four new stories.
One thing that is notable in this collection is that Airship 27 has been prominent in emphasizing what the Purple Scar really looks like. While we have him described in the stories, the artwork we had seen of him doesn’t match. Kind of like how The Spider‘s covers rarely matches what he looked like. So the cover and artwork on this collection emphasis his real and horrifying appearance, as do the stories. I think this is good, as too often the pulp heroes were not used to their full extent. Further, these stories have the Scar kill, something he didn’t do in the originals.
This collection gives us four new stories. Jim Beard kicks it off with a crooked politician who tries to turn the police against the Purple Scar to his advantage. He is backed by a sinister figure. The Scar needs to uncover the truth behind the politician and expose him before its too late.
Jonathan Fisher has the Scar in the middle of a gang-war that first destroys his free clinic for the the poor. Will he be able to find out who is behind this who likes to leave shrunken skulls and put a stop to it before other innocents are killed?
Next up we have the Scar looking into a case of missing drugs, which turns out to be part of a larger mystery. Gene Moyers‘ story is actually similar to the last Purple Scar story that has the Scar deal with the then current matter of WWII. While I won’t like to see a lot of future Scar stories with such tie-ins, a few are nice.
In the final story by Gary Lovisi, the Scar must go up against a murder syndicate that includes a beautiful girl. And find out who is behind their murders and their purpose after they kill a political candidate among others.
Overall, I found this a good collection of stories. All used the Purple Scar to his full use. I am told that Airship 27 is working on another collection that should be out soon. Look for it.
