A long-overdue review is of Art Sippo‘s take on Sun Koh, originally the so-called “Nazi Doc Savage.”
Created by Paul Alfred Müller-Murnau in 1933, Sun Koh was apparently created to being an Aryan take on Doc, and was one of several German pulp characters that existed prior to WWII, before the Nazis shut them down. However in his new writings, Art made changes to the character, as well as adding in other German pulp characters.
His Sun Koh appeared in five linked novellas. The first three shows up in several New Pulp magazines and comprise a sort of “origin trilogy.” The first two appeared in the first two issues of Professor Stone Adventures in 2007-08 from Wildcat Books, and the third in Thrilling Adventures in 2009 from Age of Adventure.
The five novellas were finally published together in book form by Age of Adventure (Wayne Skiver), but has been out of print for awhile with the demise of both Wildcat Books and Age of Adventure. Thankfully, Airship 27 has come out with a new edition of Sun Koh, Heir to Atlantis, with new cover and interior artwork, and new introduction and some background materials.
So, who is Sun Koh? Well, as noted, the question is are you speaking of the original version or Art’s take?
At the simplest, he is a prince of Atlantis from 10,000 years in the past, sent to the present (the 1930s) to escape the sinking of Atlantis and to usher in a new age when it arises from the waves. In the original, he is Mayan, has a Spanish mistress, and has a variety of associates, including a black prince. To contrast against Doc Savage, it’s important to keep in mind that Doc became the physical and mental marvel by a lifetime of training and education. Doc is meant to be an example for anyone, self-made man. Whereas Sun Koh was who he was because of genetics and breeding. A superior man because of birth.
In Art’s stories, Sun Koh is joined by a group of others, most of whom are also German pulp characters. There is Alaska-Jim, a western (or maybe northwestern) character (his stories were originally set in the Old West, so how is he still alive to join up with Sun Koh?). There is Jan Mayen, who is a scientist and adventurer, in the style of Robur or Captain Mors. He flew around the world in a super-science atomic aircraft. When the Sun Koh pulp was canceled in 1936, he moved to Jan Mayen’s title until that ended in 1938.
Sturmvogel is a commando and adventurer. Rolf “Shreck” Karsten is a hard-boiled detective and former spy. Ludwig Minx is an occult detective and magician. Nimba is an African prince and former boxer who became an associate of Sun Koh in the original pulps, though after he landed in London. Ashanti Garuda is the only original character, an Aryan from India and a devotee of Kali.
We get a slightly different origin, with him crashing in London in 1932, soon causing his allies and potential enemies to come after him, to either rescue or stop him. Sun Koh works on his agenda of preparing for the return of Atlantis. He develops a relationship with the Nazis, but it is one of convenience. Others work to stop him in later stories.
This is a world where there exist some of the creatures and races from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Further, we get hints of other literary characters as well. Hopefully the reader picks up some hints of these characters. The most creative is a character that appears in the fifth story that combines a couple of characters.
Since these stories, Sun Koh has been used by other New Pulp authors, most based on Art’s take. Barry Reese has including him in his Rook series (in volume 6). Matthew Baugh pitted him against The Avenger in a new Avenger novel. And Derrick Ferguson‘s Dillon went up against him in The Vril Agenda.
I wonder if Art will do more stories with Sun Koh? He had done some other works that I’d like to see reprinted as well, as they only appeared in a couple of fanzines. Until then we have these stories, which are pretty good.
Yes, Sun Koh is a bad guy, as his goal and methods are wrong, but he is an interesting character. Similar to how we have series that focus on the villains (Fu Manchu, Fantomas, etc).
