An interesting pulp-inspired comic has appeared from France: Doctor Radar. It originally appeared there in 2014, and was recently translated and published here by Titan Comics under its Statix Press imprint.
Now, as is typical of European comics, it appeared as a 96-page graphic novel. I believe two appeared in France, but I am uncertain. The first was translated by Titan in a hardback book, then reprinted in three comic books, but I am uncertain if the third issue appeared.
Set in 1920, the story follows our hero, Ferdinand Strauss, the “Gentleman Detective.” A former flying ace, he is now an amateur detective, and appears to be independently wealthy, so he takes on cases that interest him. And what interests him is a series of seemingly unrelated deaths of several scientist working on space travel. First one is beaten, and his body tossed into the river Elbe. Another hung himself, after burning his notes. Now a third is murdered on a train via an injection of curare; his briefcase stolen.
Thinking there is a connection, Strauss is on the case, assisted by his artist friend Pascin, who has connections to the underside of Paris. Strauss has to deal with the police, in particular Commissioner Baignol. And then a female reporter gets involved and winds up kidnapped!
When another scientist is killed, this time by a scorpion, he learns the name of who is behind it: Doctor Radar. But who is he, and why is he killing these scientists? And he has a group of associates, including several strange folks including a snake charmer and a hypnotist from a local circus.
While Strauss is able to track down Doctor Radar and rescue the reporter, the Doctor gets away. But not before revealing who he really is and his motivations. He also takes care of his associates. This closes out the first volume, but as I said, it’s not clear if we get a second, or if it will be translated.
Overall, this is a great story. If it was a prose piece, I could see it coming out from Black Coat Press. But to be honest, I felt the artwork hurts it.
I am used to the very clean and well-done artwork in various European comic albums, such as what I see in series like XIII, Largo Winch, and others. This artwork is more abstracted and loose. Color is used in broad strokes. A panel may have only one color, sometimes one whole page will have just one color. When I read the first issue, as I read through it briefly, it didn’t take. I had to more closely read it to get into the story. Strangely, most of the reviews I read for this comic actually praised the artwork. But I think for the average reader, they might have been put off and didn’t buy it.
One item that got me was that one of the scientists killed was named “Saint-Clair,” the same name as the French pulp hero The Nyctalope. As the character is not in any way based on him, I have to wonder if this was done as a nod to the character.
Check out this story. I recommend getting the hardback album from Titan Comics. If you look, you can get it at a reasonable price.
