After too long, we finally get the second Doc Atlas volume from Airship 27. Doc Atlas was created by Michael A. Black and Ray Lovato as a clear homage to Doc Savage. I have posted on him before, but Airship 27 teamed up with the authors to reprint all the stories in a consistent set of volumes, with hopefully some new works.
This second volume came out in 2025 with a new cover and interior artwork by Rob Davis.
For those who haven’t seen my prior postings, Doc Savage and friends were all World War I veterans (which is when they met), and the heyday of their adventures was the 1930s and ’40s. Doc Atlas and friends are all World War II veterans (which is when they met), and thus most of the stories are set post-WWII. So Atlas is not a total copy of Savage (similar in the way Solar Pons was created as a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, but as a separate individual set in the Edwardian period).
Doc Atlas has just two assistants, plus a girlfriend (which Doc Savage didn’t have). One assistant is a lawyer like Ham, the other is physically like Monk, but works as more of a construction foreman. The Ham analog is named “Ace” Assante, a former captain in the Army Air Forces and a bomber pilot. The Monk analog is “Mad Dog” Deagan, a former lieutenant colonel in either the Army or Marines.
Atlas’s girlfriend is a reporter, Penelope Cartier, who writes up his adventures (under a pseudonym) and sells them to the pulp magazines. It’s an interesting idea, except this was the twilight of the pulp magazines.
Doc Atlas also has a group of secretaries running his office (the main one, Polly, “Mad Dog” hits on) and some kind of computer. Missing is the equivalent of Doc Savage’s special Flearun elevator from his Empire State Building headquarters to his Hudson River warehouse of vehicles, as well as Doc Savage’s special commissions from police to aid in his work.
Bottom line, Doc Atlas is a Doc Savage pastiche that the authors decided not to place exactly in the same time period or be a total mirror of the Man of Bronze. And that is good, as Black and Lovato can make Atlas more original.
Atlas is a doctor, inventor, and explorer; big, blonde, and with yellow eyes (dark amber). But he is not as emotionless as Doc Savage, and has a relationship with Penny (something the earlier Doc avoided). He’s not above killing his opponents if forced. There are no mercy bullets or the like.
This second volume contains four stories. Time-wise, they occur from 1946 through 1953.
“Death Ray” may be a new story; at least I have no idea where it previously appeared. Set in 1946, someone called The Dark Destroyer is threatening New York City with some kind of death ray, which may have been based on Tesla‘s work. Can Atlas and team find out the ones behind this and stop them before more are killed or destroyed? This is also the story that introduces both Penny and Polly.
“Killer Gorilla” first appeared as “Gorilla Killer” in Double Danger Tales, #16, and was later reprinted in the book Tales of Masks and Mayhem, Vol. 1. Atlas has to deal with a case of a dead mobster whose brain has been transplanted into a gorilla.
“Satan Plague” first appeared in Gryphon Double #19 (Gryphon Books, 1999) and later reprinted in Tales of Masks and Mayhem, Vol. 3. This one is set during the McCarthy era, and reveals some info on Atlas’s background. Someone is spreading a deadly plague. Can Atlas and his friends figure out who and what is behind this and stop it before it becomes a pandemic?
“Arctic Terror” first appeared in Gryphon Double #9 (Gryphon Books, 1994) and later reprinted in Fading Shadows’ Exciting UFO Stories #3 and later still Tales of Masks and Mayhem, Vol. 2. This story is set in 1953, and pits Doc Atlas against something like the Thing From Another World (from the old b/w movie). Or does it?
This is another great volume of Doc Atlas tales. If this is your first time with the character, welcome. There is a novel that hasn’t been reprinted, and hopefully, we’ll see some new stories as well. I’m not sure what comes next, but I look forward to it.
sweet
already in my amazon cart