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Welcome the return of the Hidalgo Trading Company Board of Directors. Doc Savage fans have a few common stories..the chance encounter, the cover of that first book... In any case, you'd be amazed just how much The Phantom City is responsible for bring fans into the world of Doc Savage. Some of these stories are from the early days of the HTC...and we'll be adding new ones in the coming weeks. You can join the Hidalgo Trading Company Board of Directors by writing us at info@docsavage.info. Just tell us how you discovered Doc. Or just leave a comment at the bottom of this page! | |
| Jeff Deischer 11 Sep 02 |
In 1970, I was nine years old. I was just beginning to collect comic books, which would become a serious, lifelong thing for me beginning the very next year. I had a Captain America coloring book that made a big impression on me; he remains my favorite superhero. One day, while waiting with my mother for her order at a little, local shoe repair/used book store near my home in Casper, WY, I spotted The Red Skull. I didn't know who Doc Savage was, but I knew the Red Skull as Captain America's nemesis. I had no idea who the figure on the cover of the book was, but was awestruck by the ultra-realistic Bama painting (I actually believed it was a photograph; give me a break-I was only nine years old). I was not disappointed by the read, either. The multitude of gadgets; the good-natured and witty ribbing between Monk and Ham; Doc's amazing foresight; the curiously melodious yet harsh names (Buttons Zortell, Lea Aster, Nate Raff, et al.). And that was the beginning of a serious, lifelong thing for me. |
| Gerald Cooper 14 Nov 99 |
My first Doc was The Golden Peril,in 1970. Like most of us I was instantly hooked. I read every doc I could find. Then I discovered Farmer. Doc became very real for me, he has been a major influence in my life, and now in my 6 kids lives. They got the jump on me, Doc has been in their lives since they were born. For a while I even put Christmas presents under the tree for them addressed from Doc Savage, an old 'friend'. They are surrounded by Doc every day. On car trips I make them listen to the code recitied by Ely, they groan, but I think they hear some of what Doc and I are saying. For 25+ years I thought I was alone,finding Doc on the internet was a great moment for me. There is so much to say about Doc and the code in my life but I will close with a thank you to Mr. Dent, Mr. Farmer, HTC, and all the fans. Long Live Doc Savage! Courtney lists Red Snow as his favorite story and the Roar Devil as his least favorite. |
| Courtney Rogers 14 Nov 99 |
Saw Doc Savage books in a local Korvettes store in Elmhurst, Illinois. Asked for some for Christmas, and got 4 from my sister for Christmas 1974. Never looked back and have been a continous Savageologist for 25 years now! Have a complete set of paperbacks, and am proud to be one of the Arizona Fans of Bronze. Don't forget to check out the Doc Savage convention in Arizona in November 2000! Courtney lists Golden Peril as his favorite Bantam cover and The Spotten Men as the worst cover. |
| Willis Couvillier 14 Nov 99 |
Was started are 10-11 by my mom, who gave me 3 novels, The Sargasso Ogre, The Secret in the Sky, and The Spook Legion. To this day, one of my favorite tales is The Sargasso Ogre. Nearly have the pb set, wish Bantam would publish more of Will Murray's Doc, and hope for a Doc movie that could live up to his greatness. (Editor's Note: Willis, I fixed the length of the fields on the Board page. Thanks for the input!) |
| Bill Colby-Newton | is another 28 year Doc veteran and almost has a complete collection. He "found a copy lying on an end table at a neighbor's house. Stared reading and the rest is history!" He has "too many favorites to pick just one." He believes any of Bama's covers are his favorite. The "modern covers by whomever" gets the quick vote for worst covers. |
| Richard Dowdell | is celebrating his silver anniversary with Doc. The Polar Treasure is his favorite story and The King Maker his favorite cover. The Red Terrors is his choice for worst cover and The Yellow Cloud gets his vote for worst story. Richard adds, "I am about 40 short of the Bantam Editions. I have several comics and one Whitman Hardcover. I had several more and got rid of them when I was a teenager. I am paying for it now." |
| Roger C. Blush | started late as Doc fans go...18. Now in his 24th year as a Doc fan he finds Death in Silver his favorite cover. The worst cover? "Any cover done by that jerk after Bama left" (Editor's note: You have lots of company there Roger.) |
| Arthur Sippo MD, MPH | started reading Doc novels 32 years ago at 12. The Man of Bronze is his favorite story and cover. The Roar Devil gets the worst story nod, and The South Pole Terror as worst cover. Dr. Sippo adds, "Doc Savage was an inspiration to me in both my personal and professional life. Like many others whom I have met on line, I owe a debt of gratitude to Lester Dent for the character he created." |
| Mark Trail | is another 2nd generation Doc fan. He found his first novel, The Squeaking Goblin, on his Dad's library shelf. That novel is still his favorite story. He also believes the Red Terrors was the worst novel. For covers he has both pulp and Bantam choices: Favorite: Pulp - The Green Death and Bantam - The Sargasso Ogre. The worst covers are: Pulp - The Man Who Fell Up and Bantam - The Land of Terror. |
| Kevin Koehler | My first "Doc Savage" was "The Polar Treasure" I bought It because I loved the cover. Just as I had started reading Tarzan basically because the of the attractive cover art. About the Bantam repeats I liked all of their reprint covers- Just that some were reprints or only small images- the half covers on the doubles. I since have collected all the reprints and have all but finished reading one of the doubles. I will have to reread them to have an opinion as to what is my favorite and as to what is worst in my opinion. Though I have enjoyed them all. updated: July 23, 2003 |
| Firdaus Juven | found us on an Internet search engine. At 29, he just hasn't picked a favorite novel. |
| Raymond Tom | is not called "Long" as far as we know, but he has been reading Doc novels for 28 years. He has only favorites: The Mystic Mullah is his favorite cover, but Fortress of Solitude gets favorite story. |
| Scott Slone | has been reading Doc Savage novels for 20 years. |
| Rob Smalley | A friend introduced Rob to Doc when he was 12. Now 26 years later he is just 6 short of a complete set. He says its "impossible to pick just one" favorite story, but if you press him, he'll offer "Dust of Death." His favorite cover is "again tough to choose" but he'll say Quest of Qui anyway. He has no problems with naming a worst story, The Lost Giant. And there is "no doubt about" The Land of Fear as the worst cover. Rob remembers his first novel, "I was introduced to Doc Savage in Early 1971 by a friend from school. I was in the 7th grade. This kid was absolutely high on Doc Savage. His enthusiasm was contagious and I just had to have some. After seeing his collection, I began to prowl the bookstores. The first newly released book I can remember seeing in the stores was The Munitions Master (March 1971). The stores were full of Docs, as many as 8 or 10 different titles on the shelves at the same time. I immediately bought The Munitions Master, The Golden Peril, The Giggling Ghosts and Poison Island. The whole thing just made my pulse race. I loved Bama's covers and I loved the stories. I was hooked, and I have been for life. It's 26 years later and just a few weeks ago I hit the "jackpot" when I found 26 Docs in a used bookstore. You know I still got the same rush of excitement at finding those Docs that I did when I was 12." |
| Dr. Jerry M. Allen | The good doctor started read his first Doc 26 years ago at 10. He's consistent his favorite story and cover is The Man of Bronze. The worst story and cover? Brand of the Werewolf. |
| Anthony Aranjo | One of the brothers who have set out to ink Arch Enemy of Evil, Anthony has been reading the novels since he was 12. After 27 years, his favorite story is The Annihilist. You can add another vote for Land of Long JuJu as worst story. His favorite cover was the pulp version of The Secret in the Sky and his worst cover vote goes to The Spook Legion. |
| Gordon Dymowski | He started Docs 21 years ago at 7. He found the giant sized Marvel comic on his own and that led to the novels. His favorite story is the Fortress of Solitude and he hasn't found his worst story yet. His favorite cover is White Eyes and Red Snow is the worst cover he's found. Now we'll present Gordon's comments verbatim -- "This is one of the coolest Doc pages I have ever discovered -- I'll probably write more about my first time reading Doc. However, this (and other Doc pages) really justify the Internet's existence. Good job, and keep it up! Gordon" (Editor's Note: Thanks Gordon! Flattery gets you everywhere. It's a good time to remind everyone that the HTC IS its readers. Those who drop by and add their comments. The fans who send us their articles and their art. Those are the people who deserve credit for the good work here.) |
| Thomas W. Gehris | At 34, Thomas has read the novels for 21 years. His parents bought him his first novel. Ask him to name his favorite story and he'll tell you, "impossible to tell i've throughly enjoyed all of the stories." Move down to the worst story question and you'll get "see above" comment. He can name a favorite cover, The Spook Legion, and a worst cover, The Evil Gnome. |
| James Michael Stuckey | It seems many Doc fans are in their 21st year of reading the novels. James found his first novel in the store at age 11 and 21 years later his favorite story is still that first novel, The Polar Treasure. He'll tell Flight into Fear is his least favorite novel. The Sea Angel gets best cover and he calls his worst cover nominee, The Evil Gnome, a "cheap reprint." He does have a suggestion for Doc fans everywhere, "If they ever print any new Docs, I think that everyone who can afford it should buy at least 2, possibly 3, copies of each book. I used to get one to read, one to keep, and one to give to someone else to try. The more they sell, the better chance the legend will go on." |
| Andrew Aird | Started at 6 and now in his 23rd year as a fan Andrew can't remember the worst story and counts most of the earliest as his favorites. |
| Catherine Welch |
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| Scott Saunders | He'll tell you the pulp version of Secret in the Sky is his favorite cover and the paperback cover of Brand of the Werework is his least favorite. Ask him to name his favorite story and he'll tell you, "I haven't read enough to pick." Ask for worst story and get "ditto." Gordon found Doc out due to illness, "I was sick one Sunday so I got to stay home that Sunday instead of going to church. The joke is that I used to be Baptist until I over slept one Sunday. Any way, George Pal's Doc Savage was on, and I loved it. I was eight -- I didn't know any better. I have my own web page with links to Doc Savage and other pulp links. Since I don't have that much, except for a few omnibus and and the 1970's Bantam reprints I'm always on the lookout for people who want to buy, sell or trade. |
| Thomas A Dyer | His parents gave him his first Doc at 11. Now, 29 years later, Thomas says his favorite story is Death in Silver. The best cover was Fortress of Solitude and the worst story was Jade Ogre. |
| David K. Smith | We can thank David's fifth grade english teacher, Mrs. Pane, for introducing him to the Doc novels. He can't decide which is his favorite story, Fear Cay or The Derrick Devil. He knows Bantam's The Feathered Octopus is his favorite cover. After 23 years he still remembers his introduction to Doc novels and fandom, "After burning through the seven or eight books that my english teacher had given me to read back in 73, I decided to do a Doc Savage project for special credit. I designed a movie poster for an adaption of The Freckled Shark. As a further fueling of my obsession, Mrs. Pane suggested that I write to Kenneth Robeson. After waiting approximately eight weeks, I received from Conde Nast a nice form letter informing me that Mr. Robeson was in fact Mr. Dent , and that he in fact he was Deceased. This kind of shook me up but a week later I received a nice postcard from Mr. Dent's widow thanking me for my interest in her husbands work and hoping I continue reading the books. Well I still have both letters, and a healthy obsession to this day." |
| Bruce Appelbaum | has been reading Doc Savage novels since he was 10. That's 33 years of fan appreciation! |
| David Taggart | His favorite story is Dust of Death and he'll give another vote for The Thousand-Headed Man as the worst story. Dave thinks the worst cover was Brand of the Werewolf. Who ever forgets their first? Well, Dave didn't. He picked Terror in the Navy as his favor cover and his first novel was...we'll let him tell you, "Terror in the Navy was the first paperback I read -- after that I was spending my allowance to buy two every two weeks. Brand of the Werewolf was the one that really hooked me -- probably it was the Pat-angle that did it (blush!). What hurts is how many DOC paperbacks I've thrown away over the years. Somehow they never survived the moves. I'd love to pick up an original pulp, but the prices are just so high. Never was much on the comic books. Love the name of the Web page -- for years i have filled out various nosy forms listing myself as a se lf-employed salvage consultant with the Hidalgo Trading Company, and I often get junk mail addressed as such. (Editor's Note: That's where our mail is going!) |
| CG Welch |  "I found my first Doc Savage novel in my closet. I have no idea how The Phantom City made it into there. Of course, you could have lost Jimmy Hoffa in my closet when I was a kid. In any case, I devoured that book in a day. (Days were longer then.) It was May of 1975. I had just turned 15. I was the perfect age to come under the spell of a hero. It took many years of haunting book stores, yard sales, and one, I swear to God, date to complete my collection. Then they just sat there wrapped in plastic. Until I discovered the web...and Doc Savage fans everywhere! Now, I've pulled my novels out again. And I just bought a few copies for reading purposes. I wonder what time the used bookstore opens Saturday?" |
| gig and cribby drain | Every now and then we get a letter at the HTC that just cracks us up. This week it was the Drains: "We're really big fans, and we have some of the bantam novels, and some of the comics from marvel and dark horse. We live for Doc! We even have haircuts like Doc, but mine is more like Monk's in the movie. We try to get real Savage tans in the summer, and sometimes we do isometric exercises to be more like Doc. The only problem is we are forced to live in the basement of the science building with the lab rats and other test subjects. One day we will excape using the knowledge we have gleaned from the novels, and we will rescue our brother test subjects. and we will live in the Fortress of Solitude during the summer, and on the 86th floor during the winter. Keep up the good work of Doc..." The Drain's add that their favorite story is The Thousand-Headed Man and the World's Fair Goblin has to be the worst. The Polar Treasure gets worst cover with The Red Terrors their choice for best cover. |
| Darryl Alan Elliott | Another 21st year Savage fan Darryl, 36, was introduced to Doc Savage by a friend. (Now, that's a good friend.) He lists The Phantom City as his favorite novel, The Yellow Cloud as his least favorite. The Annihilist gets favorite Bantam cover nod and Spook Hole gets least favorite cover. Darryl remembers his first novel, "When I was that magic age of 15, a friend carried me to a local flea market, where I found in rapid sucession BANTAM # 10 (The Phantom City), the Marvel Comic of The Monsters (pt.1), and the Marvel B&W of "Ghost Pirates from the Beyond". From then on, I was hooked!! To this day, even though I've managed to read them all, PHANTOM CITY is still my favorite Doc. |
| Barry Ottey | had an encounter with the novel 30 years ago. I'll let Barry tell you about his 1st Doc...
It was the summer of my thirteenth year, and my family had moved to a small, northwestern Ohio town during the last 5 weeks of school. I was too busy trying to catch up on several of the subjects, to have a lot of time to make friends, and none of the neighboring houses held kids my age. I was looking forward to a really boring summer, when the lady who lived next door, hearing that I enjoyed reading, brought over a box of paperbacks that her son (grown and in the Navy) had discarded. The box was filled with Martian novels by Burroughs, Bond novels by Fleming, and many others, but at the very bottom of the box was a battered copy of Kenneth Robeson's "The Phantom City". I read it. I was enthralled. I was hooked! I'd finally found a hero that I could believe in. He was powerful, influential, altruistic, incorruptible, and a scientific genius who knew the value of education. (That spoke to the bookworm in me, the four-eyed geek whose test-scores always fouled up the class bell-curve!) I found a reason to help Mom haunt the flea markets - they were a source of "lost" Doc episodes. Not being granted an allowance for the household chores I performed, I discovered that (in the mid-60's) thirty four Coke or Pepsi bottles, collected as I rode my bicycle along the roads near the edges of the town, could be easily rinsed and converted into the price of the newest Doc Savage novel, once a month! (Believe it or not, we didn't always 'recycle' glass soda bottles. We sold 'em back to the bottling company at 2 cents, later 10 cents, apiece!) I've grown up and, like many others, added the adventures of James Bond, Jack Ryan, and Dirk Pitt, to my collection. But I regularly visit the section of my personal 'library' that contains my Doc Savage collection, reading the novels over again at least once every eighteen months. They take me back to a simpler time, when good and evil were yards apart, not two sides of the same coin. When the world was still full of unexplored places to have fantastic adventures in. When authors knew that there usually wasn't time for a roll in the hay in the middle of a perilous adventure. When a man could take a stand against evil and, aided by a few undyingly loyal friends, come out victorious. Heroes have come and gone since Kenneth Robeson penned the last of his Doc Savage novels. But, among them all, the Man of Bronze still stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. |
| Jonathan Brock | was 10 when he read his first Doc Savage novel, "My dad had them on his bookshelf, and I got bored one day and decided to read one." |
| Erika Frensley | was 16 when she read her first Doc Savage novel. Her favorite is Cargo Unknown. |
| Ron Hill | was 13. "When I was in the seventh grade, I was on an overnight field trip to Dearborn, Michigan. We were allowed a 30 minute stop in a mall for lunch. I had been reading James Blish adaptations of Star Trek, so I headed for the nearest book store. And it was there I first saw the Man of Bronze on a bookshelf in B. Dalton's. I think it was the Derrick Devil cover, and there were a few of those others in that range that had those real stylized, metallic textured covers. I was entranced by the colors and the exciting logo; the way they all caught the eye with those monochromatic color themes. But I wasn't entranced enough - I bought the latest Blish adaptation, Star Trek #9. This was in mid-May, and a few weeks later I ordered a new Star Trek via the mail with one of those forms in the back of the book. Along with that book was a catalog. While leafing through the catalog I was suddenly mesmerized by the Doc Savage logo, with that black and white Bama art of Doc and the Five from the back of the books. Suddenly tingling (I almost said trilling) I gave my mom $3.00 that she converted to a check and mailed that with an order for the first four books. A few weeks later they came, and needless to say I was hooked. Four days later (the time it took me to travel to Hidalgo, Indochina, Tibet, and the North Pole with Doc) Mom had to help me order another 4, and I re-read Man of Bronze and Polar Treasure again while waiting the weeks till the next ones came. That summer I found another 20-or-so in a used bookstore at Bowling Green University while visiting Grandma, and for a couple years afterwards she carried a list of the "Docs Needed" in her purse and visited the store regularly for me. It took all the way until October 1982 to find the last one to complete the collection to date, and that was Cold Death. I have to say that no series (and I collect a lot) has ever captured the "sense of wonder" and excitement that Doc Savage has, nor the thrill of the hunt." (Editor's Note: And I thought I was the only one who equipped my family with "Docs Needed" forms!) |
| "Professor Ling" | started a scant 10 years ago at 18, "THE FLAMING FALCONS! I had seen the DS paperbacks at bookstores for most of my youth, but never bought one. Then, I was at the University of Florida one afternoon in the student union when there was a Lost and Found Auction. I picked out a bundle of books, including one Doc Savage. I can still remeber sitting down to read it. It was weird. It was wonderful. Never looked back." |
| Bill Mann | has been reading Doc Savage novels for over 30 years. His favorite novel is Ost.
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| Bob Jenson | Bob has been reading Doc's for 25 years since discovering them at age 11. His favorite story is Fortress of Solitude (not suprising considering his wonderful background painting). He'll tell you The Flaming Falcons is the worst story he's read. Quest of Qui is his favorite cover, but don't ask him about any of the latter pulp covers. Now, his story in his own words,
"I first saw Doc advertised in the Marvel comics wondering why this guy in the stupid blue vest was running with a smile on his face. I would NEVER read that book I knew. Not too long after I spotted a book in the grocery store (Food Basket, now called Lucky) with the Doc logo--I'm sure that is what caught my eye --and there was the guy with the funny hair but not the stupid vest. For some reason I thought a REAL book about a super hero was the coolest thing. "I flipped it over and the ultra-real Doc seemed to be looking right into me, and after reading Bantam's famous description I knew I had to have it and begged my mom to buy it for me. "The book was SPOOK HOLE and after re-reading it over 20 years later I found it not to be the best of the stories by far but after I had finished it as a kid I was hooked. Maybe it's because I was proud of myself for figuring out a few of the plot devices ahead of time or just Dent's pure style that grabbed me. I'm just glad my mom caved and that day I became a Doc fan." |
| David Owens | has has two favorite novels, The Thousand-Headed Man and, at age 13, his first Doc novel, The Mystic Mullah. "I saw a copy of "The Mystic Mullah" on a rack in a 7/11 store. That dang cover ***hypnotized*** me, and I just had to have it. I got it home, read it in one sitting, and immediately mail-ordered all the other titles that were then available. I had never even heard of pulp fiction before. The idea of the pulp magazines, once my father had explained it to me, was utterly fascinating. I actually felt deprived and put upon because I was born to late for the original pulps! Fortunately, though, I was just the right age for the Pulp Revival of the '60's (spearheaded by Doc, of course). A lot of pulp fiction was being reprinted in those years, and I read not only the Bantam reprints of Doc Savage, but the Pyramid reprints of the Shadow, and the Corinth/Regency reprints of the Phantom Detective, Operator 5, Dr. Death, and Secret Agent X. This was in addition to the Ba of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars novels, the Ace reprints of his other SF novels, as well as the Lancer reprints of Conan. I had a helluva collection -- then one day I got strapped for cash and sold 'em all to a used book store. The foolishness of youth! But Doc was the first, and the most fondly remembered. Long live Doc Savage! |
| Mike Proto's | favorite story is The Man of Bronze, but he has a Phantom City connection, "Great cover art. I remember that the book store had around 5 different titles on the shelf and I couldn't make up my mind which to buy (only had $1). Decided to get the Phantom City. Now I have a framed Graphitti Poster of that same Bama cover in my work office." |
| Don Reynolds | At 29, on has been reading Doc Savage for 21 years. His favorite novel is The Red Spider. His favorite cover is Quest of Qui and considers The Red Terrors the worst cover. He adds though, "I do not yet own the complete set (only 60) so you have to take my best and worst with a grain of salt." |
| Arthur C. Sippo MD, MPH, LFIBA | makes another vote for The Man of Bronze as best novel. He adds that The Green Death is the worst novel. The Man of Bronze gets the nod for best cover, but The South Pole Terror gets worst cover. |
| Duane Spurlock | has too many favorite stories to choose just one. (He names The Man Who Shook the Earth as the worst novel though.) He can look back 25 years for his first Doc novel, "I remember the first Doc I bought. I was in one of the local dime stores--Kuhn's, which always kept a wire-rack of westerns, mysteries, and romances by the stair leading down to the toy and pets section--when all those colorful Doc Savage covers caught my eye. I looked 'em over and read the blurbs. I ended up buying the one with the most intersting cover: #61, The Living Fire Menace. Nowadays, I can't say that it's the best or my favorite Doc adventure, but it made a big enough impression that I searched out more Docs and read each one as I found it. And the cover to #61 remains one of my favorite covers!" |
| Chris Twedt | is a recent convert to Doc Savage. After two years she can name her favorite, Fear Cay, and least favorite, Flight in Fear. Her first is easy to remember, "My first novel that I started reading was The Man of Bronze... it was a rainy day and I was at my boyfriend's apartment, looking for something to read. He has about a dozen of the paperbacks, and suggested I start at the beginning. I didn't really care for Doc back then, back in his killing days. I don't think I ever finished Man of Bronze, though I do own a copy of it. Ditto for Land of Terror. The first Doc I finished - and the one that got me addicted - was Land of Always-Night, which I simply devoured. My next novel was Fear Cay, which not only solidified me as a Doc Savage fan, but also made Johnny my favorite assistant. Is it any wonder that The Forgotten Realm is my favorite new Doc? :) I've nearly completed my Bantam collection (T-minus one single, one double, and three Omni's), thanks in a LARGE part to the crew on alt.fan.doc-savage! The discussions and insights on the board, the variety of Web pages devoted to Doc and the crew, and the advantage of having Will Murray right there on the newsgroup are fabulous, and I hope that we can soon convince Bantam to let Will write again... and convince Hollywood that there's a market for a new, non-camp Doc movie. After watching the 1996 Emmys, I'm sold on the idea of David Hyde-Pierce (from Frasier) as Long Tom! |
| Larry Widen | took the knowledge gained in his 25 plus years as a Doc Savage fan to write Arch Enemy of Evil, his guide to the Doc Savage novels. He'll tell you his favorite novel is The Man of Bronze, but wouldn't all any of the novels "bad." He can recall his first novel, "Land of Terror. I bought it at B. Dalton bookstore in my local mall because I liked the cover. If you guys check out the foreword in my book, "Doc Savage, Arch Enemy of Evil," I think I did a pretty fair job of telling what Doc means to me and why I was motivated to put that book together after all these years. |
| David Brown | Started collecting Doc novels 16 years ago at 14. He has too many favorite and least favorite stories to list. The Bantam "Man of Bronze" movie edition cover is his favorite and he casts another vote for The Monsters as his least favorite cover. He's still working on his collection, "Almost complete set of Bantams, still trying to find those last few. I'm trying my best to locate them personally, but I'm down to about seven or so and pickings are slim. I have one or two of the Golden press hardbacks." |
| Paul McCall | started read Doc Savage 33 years ago at age nine. He said there are too many good stories to choose a favorite, but any Pfeiffer or Boris cover gets his nod for worst cover. His favorite Bama cover is Death in Silver and his favorite pulp cover is The King Maker. |
| Terry Klasek | has spent the last 33 years reading Doc Savage. He started at age 17 and will tell you that The Freckled Shark is his favorite story. Terry has another Doc Savage connection: "I was the first fan to visit Norma Dent in 1975. I got her to come to a mini-con I held in St. Louis in Summer 1976. This was her first exposure to Doc Fans. We talked often about Lester Dent and Doc. She was a great person, and gave freely. I will miss her. We visited Lester's grave. I have been a Doc fan for a long time and would like to talk with other fans." |
| Andrew K. Henry | 35, picked up his first Doc Savage 22 years ago at the town library while visiting his grandparents. His favorite story is The Sargasso Ogre and he counts The Crimson Serpent as his least favorite. For covers he likes Escape from Loki and can't abide by The Stone Man. (Editor's Note: Now he has a better choice for The Stone Man with Ron Hill's version.) Andrew picks up his story: (I have) no complete sets of anything. I had several of the large Marvel Doc comics which I loaned to one of my cousins. His parents got divorced and they disappeared (I suspect his mother, who never liked us reading Doc Savage.) I'm still kicking myself for letting those get away from me. I am currently trying to buy up copies of the Docs I don't have in my collection. |
| Clay Dixon | 36, has been reading Docs for 23 years. Clay must have a connection to Vancouver because his favorite novel is "Murder Melody, because it takes place in Vancouver." He then relates that he feels the worst story is "Murder Melody. Despite Vancouver being its locale, the plot bites in a major way." Clay also finds Death in Silver to be the best cover, but dislikes anything after Bama. |
| Carl William Thiel | also counts The Sargasso Ogre as his favorite story. Carl, 41, has been reading Docs for 27 years. He called Land of Always-Night the worst story, but his collection isn't complete. "Like many fans I do not have all the omnibuses. Apparently they are hard to come by. Seemingly everybody wants or needs them." |
| Preston Wood | 35, started reading Doc at age 13. His favorite story is The Lost Oasis. He says the worst covers are "just about all the Bantam Omnibus covers." His favorite cover is Boris Valejo's The Roar Devil. (Editor's Note: I think that's the only Boris vote so far.) |
| Bob Oprondek | started reading Docs 21 years ago at age 14. He gives another vote for The Sargasso Ogre as his favorite story. The Melody Makers gets the nod as worst story. The Man of Bronze gets his vote as best Bantam cover. |
| Dominick Cericola | 28, sent us his story through email. "I don't recall exactly how I came upon Doc & his Amazing Five. All I can remember is it was sometime around the 5th or 6th Grade ('79-'80).. Not sure of the title -- was either The Monsters or The Thousand-Headed Man. I do remember that it took my breath away, and, most importantly, that my Life would never be the same ever again..! Doc & the Five have had a remarkable influence on my Life, and I believe their Adventures will follow me even into the Great Beyond..!
I bought my last Doc novel, The Jade Ogre, at K-Mart. I haven't bought anymore in awhile, due to lack of funds at the time they came out. But, I am trying to get back into the new ones, tough to find, tho'.. My favorite novel is a tie -- The Majii & The Red Spider (*Note: I haven't had the luck of reading all of the supersagas, tho' I am getting close.) Dominick's least favorite novel is The Monsters. His favorite cover is the Bantam reprint of Resurrection Day and his least favorite cover is the Bantam reprint of The Land of Always-Night. |
| Toreen L. Augustine Salberg | Four years ago she married into the Doc Savage family and adopted the children, "The first Doc book I ever read was "The Man of Bronze" My fiancee, Martin, decided that if I was going to marry him, I should have some idea who the major influences in his life were. As I was already familiar with Superman and Captain America, he handed me the Doc Savage book. My mother-in-law promised me I'd love it and she was right. I saw a lot of my husband-to-be in this strange bronze figure. The more I read, the more I knew where certain attitudes, habits, and goals had come from. Believe it or not, this knowledge has actually made the transition from living alone to being married much easier. I have a better insight into his personality than I would have had otherwise. Not to mention, I LOVE the stories!" |
| John Gerard Bodner | At 14, 26 short years ago he discovered Doc Savage at school, "Two guys a grade ahead of me in high school were reading and discussing Doc paperbacks in the library. I was immediately intrigued by the James Bama covers. I quickley ran out and started my lifelong love and hobby of c ollecting Doc Savage and other related pulp material. Thank you very much for keeping and actually adding to the history and excitement that I have alway s associated with Doc Savage adventures." |
| Bill Mann and Chris Kalb |
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| Cat Jaster | At nine, the now famous "Frozencat" read her first Doc Savage novel. We can blame her "unusual" start on youth, "I stole one from my brother's room because I needed something to read. I need one book to complete my pb collection. I have 96 Doc pulps and am looking for the other 85." |
| Larry G. Gouliard Jr. | "likes 'em all" when it comes to Doc Savage novels. He started 25 years ago at age 12, "I remember reading Mad Eyes and Land of Long JuJu as a preteenager (my first two books). Have been hooked ever since. I reread my modest collection (need only 23, 29, 43 and 86 and the doubles) every two years or so. My reading interests are varied from electrical engineering to fiction but for PURE READING ENJOYMENT DOC SAVAGE CANNOT BE EQUALLED. (although I do have to admit that Clancy's Jack Ryan is pretty good) Dent's Doc Savage takes the reader back to a simpler time when evil was black and the hero always wore white. A time when science promised to cure all the world's woes." |
| Gary Miles | While the movie doesn't have a lot of fans, it brought Gary into the Doc world, "I saw (the) commercial for Pal's "Man of Bronze", then saw books. Got 7 books for Christmas from folks." |
| Cynthia J. Haldeman | told the readers of alt.fan.doc-savage about her start into the Doc Savage world, "I've been lurking on this news group for some time. It's been a joy to find people that share one of my oldest loves. I read my first Doc (Terror in the Navy) when I was about 10. My older brother had left it sitting out. After that I was forced to sneak in to his to swipe all he had and then eventually I ended buying them for myself. I'm now pushing 40 and I still love them. What's not to like? Great stories with humor, lots of action and adventure and characters that you can really look up to. I'll admit that I always like the stories that had Pat in them the best. Thiry years ago she was about the only strong female character you could find. I think that one of the best things was that Doc wasn't a super hero that you could never hope to match. He was human - granted, better trained both physically and mentally, but still within reach. Doc was a great role model - never too preachy but with sound moral values that I've found have stuck with me through the years." |
| Alain Berguerand | Now in his 21st year as a Savageologist, Alain is the curator of L'Homme de Bronze a French version Doc Savage web site. He counts Merchants of Disaster as his favorite story, and Flight into Fear as his least favorite. Add a vote for Dagger in the Sky as best Bantam cover and another vote for Land of Terror as worst cover. Now we'll let Alain continue, "I was 4 when first exposed to Doc Savage. We lived in small flat, and my father's library was located in my room. During the afternoons, while I was supposed to be taking a nap, I kept looking at the Doc Savage cover painting (from the french Marabout translation). I was really impressed by Bama's hyperrealistic art. Red Snow really frightened me. I thought Doc was the bad guy of the story. A few years later, having learned to read, I started collecting the french edition and eventually got the whole set (40). For a few bucks, I sold them and forgot Doc for about 15 years. In 1991, I found a few french Docs at a flea market booth and started to collect again. During a trip to London in 1993, I found several used Bantam paperbacks, the last Omnibuses and the first Will Murrays. I learned there were far more Docs in English than the mere 40 that had been translated in french. So I started collecting the Bantam paperbacks and eventually got the whole set in 1995. |
| Scott Johnson | has been reading Doc Savage since he was 12. After 23 years he's decided that Fortress of Solitude is his favorite story and Meteor Menace as his least. |
| Steven Finlay | At 33 Steven makes it three in a row for 21st year Doc fans. He said he started reading Docs after seeing one at the store, "The Green Death cover pulled me in!" But, his favorite novel is Fortress of Solitude and The Yellow Cloud is his favorite Bantam cover. His worst cover vote is for The Brand of the Werewolf. He continues, "In my opinion, the best treatment of Doc in the comics was Dave Stevens' representation of him in the Rocketeer. Second best was the Millenium run, which I have a colored page from. Having bronze colored hair myself, I am a fan of Doc with hair that looks like hair. Bama is great, but he ruined it for all artists following." |
| Robert Howard | was introduced, at 12, to Doc by a relative. (Blood is thicker than water!) And has been reading them for 20 years. A first vote for Quest of Qui as favorite novel comes from Robert, with least favorite going to The Monsters. The Red Skull gets favorite cover status and Land of Long JuJu comes in as worst cover. |
| Chris Kalb |
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| Tim Handley | also started at 12 and now, at 35, still feels the Man of Bronze is the best novel. He cared least for The Lost Giant. His Bantam cover nominations are: The Flaming Falcons for best cover and worst cover is awarded to The Devil Ghengis. Tim has a very sad story to tell, "I lost my complete set of paperbacks and several pulps in a move several years ago. As I recall, however, the pulps were extremely difficult to find and outrageously expensive. Who can afford to have a complete set of them?" (Editor's Note: I think Cat's heading that way...) |
| Hardyboy | has made a name for himself on alt.fan.docsave. The 46 year old Mr. Boy started reading Doc Savage at 19. His favorite story is Land Of Always Night and another land story gets worst novel, Land of Long Ju Ju. He counts World' s Fair Goblin as the best Bantam cover and Metal Master as Bantam's worst. |
| David E. Oxford | started Doc at the golden age of 12 and has been reading the adventures for 32 years. His has a double favorite in The Man of Bronze (favorite story and cover). The Red Spider gets the nod for worst story and "most of the doubles" are his least favorite covers. |
| Jerry Sutton | is 30 now, but saw his first Doc Savage novel at 16 in the store. He reports that he has "never read one (novel) I didn't like" but his favorite novel is The Red Spider. (He and Davaid Oxford would have a lot to discuss.) Jerry relates his story, "As an avid reader at a young age, I often passed by the book racks at any store I happened to be in. I was facenated by the covers of Doc Savage novels. The massive MAN OF BRONZE standing in his customary pose, fists clenched, glaring at me from the shelf. I finally succumbed and bought a novel. I was hooked from the very first. Someday soon I hope to retrieve my collection (in a closet somewhere at my parents home) and complete it." |
Comments (11)
Been reading Doc Savage since childhood (which was a Bantam childhood, not a pulp childhood). Absolutely love the series. Not only fun to read, but Doc provides a great role model. Makes every person want to be a superhero, and realize that anything is possible but you are responsible for your actions.
One of the best things about the series, is the amazing sense of wonder and curiosity generated. I learned so much from the series: exposed to new concepts and cultures, languages and sciences, I was constantly racing to study geology, geography, chemistry, engineering, electronics, linguistics, history, archaeology, etc. I helped shape and drive my lifelong curiosity.
The downside of the series is really part of the nature of the beast. I never knew why I had trouble or disappointment with some books and not others, noticing glaring differences or problems, until I learned years later that some were ghost written and all the series was churned out at an unbelieveable rate. So mistakes and problems had to occur, and at times the prose, story, and characterizations suffer from lack of density and attention. C'est la vie. When you generate that amount of text per week, nothing more can be expected, and, truth be told, the Doc Savage series is perhaps the best in the world of its kind, especially given the frantic pace of writing. That it maintains a good quality level throughout almost 200 hundred books is astounding.
If I have to pick an absolute worst book, it will probably be He Could Stop the World -- or as I like to add, "He Could Stop the World From Ever Reading Doc Savage Again." That has to rank as one of the worst-written books ever. A bloody Mount Shasta of a bad book!
Cheers,
Thomas
Posted by Thomas Fortenberry | November 12, 2002 4:01 AM
Posted on November 12, 2002 04:01
Started reading Docs at about 10, that was 27 years ago... drifted away for about 25 years or so, but have just gotten back into them and voila! I have drained my savings purchasing about 200 of the books (lots of backup copies of certain stories) over the past 4 months! Well worth it though, I enjoy them even more as an "adult" (whatever that means.) I can't even come close to picking a favorite and least favorite story and cover. But I can say what I do not like... the art on all the Will Murray novels is just terrible, it all looks like it just came out of a plastic mold. The omnibus covers are pretty lousy, with #2 and #3 being the biggest jokes of all. Can't really complain about any of the Bama covers. Pfeiffer has some of the worst, but also some of the very best covers. And, personally, I like Boris as much as Bama, and only wish he had the chance to do more covers. Bob Larkin's art is pretty lousy for the most part. Since I have about TWENTY books in "my top ten," and if that isn't allready confusing enough, I cannot possibly narrow it down to a favorite. I still have lots of the double volumes to get, and a few of the omnibuses, but I will never have a complete collection, because the omnibus #3 stories are so vapid and boring that I don't even consider them real Doc stories. I have had 2 copies of #3 but I couldn't get rid of them fast enough. And personally, I hope they never make another Doc movie, because after watching the 1970's atomic bomb of a mess, it took about a month to get those campy images out of my mind while reading the books. Don't want to go through that again. The best, or worst part, of that movie was the scene of Doc doing a few toe touches and swinging his arms back and forth... and that was supposed to be his intense 2 hour excercise routine.
Posted by Scott Kimball | September 27, 2003 7:47 PM
Posted on September 27, 2003 19:47
I'm not sure exactly how old I was, but my first encounter with the Doc must have been watching the movie on TV. Even at that young age I was a comic book fan, and knowing my Superman mythos well, I was struck by the parallels - Man of Bronze, Clark Savage, Fortress of Solitude... what the hell?! It was only a few years later when I came across some Bantam paperbacks in the library that I realized that Doc preceded the Last Son of Krypton. I armed myself with a copy of Farmer's Apocalyptic Life, and the rest is history. Now 33, and still trying to painfully piece together a complete set of Bantam paperbacks and/or pulps in as inexpensive a manner as possible, even resorting to electronic format.
Posted by Terence Chua | October 5, 2003 7:32 PM
Posted on October 5, 2003 19:32
I was in early high school, we were going to spend some time at my Uncle Bob's opal mine 9 miles from Lightning Ridge, NSW, Australia. The weather wasn't looking too good so I grabbed a paperback in a little shop in Walgett. It was Brand of the Werewolf and it started a passion that's lasted 30 years so far.
Posted by Warwick | November 5, 2003 8:41 AM
Posted on November 5, 2003 08:41
I was 15 in 1968 & I kept seeing Doc Savage books at the drugstore & the used book store. I bought a used copy of QUEST OF QUI and that was it. During Christmas vacation I made some money shoveling snow and went to this department store & bought every DOC they had including the newest one, DUST OF DEATH. My favorite is THE LAND OF TERROR. Worst is a tie of THE MIDAS MAN & THE DERRICK DEVIL. Ugh, I dislike those two. I have a complete set. I used to have 70 of the original pulps but have since sold most of them. Best cover is a tie of the pulp versions of THE SECRET OF THE SU & UP FROM EARTH`S CENTER. The worst covers are any of those horrible pulp covers from 1947/1948.
Posted by Randy L Jepsen | January 25, 2004 11:02 PM
Posted on January 25, 2004 23:02
I first discovered Doc Savage in 1972. I was 22 years old. Now some 30+ years later I have bought and sold hundreds of the paperbacks to obtain a near pristine collection, along with an original fan club pin, a Doc Savage bust, comics, hardbacks, articles, posters, one of Lester Dent's business cards, and on and on. I've even visited La Plata, Missouri just to see where Dent lived. As you can see I have been a Doc Savage fan for decades.
Posted by Dave Saville | February 21, 2004 1:47 AM
Posted on February 21, 2004 01:47
IN SUMMER 1973,THROUGH SOME FANCY WHEELING-AND-DEALING,I MANAGED TO COMPLETE MY COLLECTION. I HAD NOT MISSED A BOOK FROM 46 ON. I DID LATER
MISS ONE OR TWO APIECE OF THE DOUBLES AND THE
OMNIBUS VOLUMES,BUT I NOW HAVE THE WHOLE SET,IN-
CLUDING THOSE WRITTEN BY WILL MURRAY. MY FAVORITE
COVER IS MAN OF BRONZE MY FAVORITE STORY IS THOU-
SAND HEADED MAN MY LEAST FAVORITE(OF BOTH) IS HE
COULD STOP THE WORLD.
Posted by BILL SULLIVAN JR. | March 12, 2004 9:58 PM
Posted on March 12, 2004 21:58
I have about 100 Doc Savage paperbacks which I would like to sell.
Posted by Eric Barger | September 17, 2004 5:40 PM
Posted on September 17, 2004 17:40
Martin and I now have a 2 1/2 year old boy, Ian Philip. A new Doc fan in the making...
Posted by Toreen Augustine Salberg | December 10, 2004 8:20 PM
Posted on December 10, 2004 20:20
My parents bought me The Man of Bronze and The Thousand Headed Man for Christmas back in 1977, when I was 13... and I was absolutely hooked from the first page. I had been a big space opera fan before that, but these books exposed me to unbelievable adventure and a writing style that I just couldn't get enough of... it was the first time in my life that I literally couldn't put a book down.
My favorite book was the Sargasso Ogre... does anyone else have memories of that one? Doc encountered a foe who could match his physical strength (Bruze), which was the first time that I recall that happening!
Posted by Steve DeLong | December 15, 2004 11:26 AM
Posted on December 15, 2004 11:26
My first Doc Savage was the bantam paperback #75 "The Land of Fear" when I was in Junior High, I went on to haunt used book stores until I had a complete set of the paperbacks, and continued buying them as they came out in those combined "omnibus editions" into the 90's. I then read the new stories by Will Murray.
Posted by Bob Bretall | September 17, 2005 11:49 AM
Posted on September 17, 2005 11:49