Hidalgo Trading Company

I'm sorry, but the Bama covers of Doc Savage will always be the Man of Bronze likeness I relate to. My teenaged (and early adult) years were filled with collecting the Bantam paperbacks until I'd acquired all 181 stories. I guess I just led a sheltered life, but I didn't even know about the earlier pulps until I came across one in a rare book store in Glendale California around 1990 - and by then I was 36 friggin' years old! I of course snatched up the pulp (I think it was "Devil On The Moon") but I've always just kinda shook my head at the pulp cover renditions of Doc as if they depicted a total stranger.

Now I know that a lot of you are "purists" who feel the pulps more accurately depict Doc as envisioned by Lester Dent (a "Clark Gable look-alike, etc) and I can respect that, but all I'm saying is that the bronzed giant with the "smooth skullcap" (as described in so many of the paperback editions - were they "poetic license," added by Bantam editors in the 1960's?) will always be the Doc Savage I relate to and identify with.

Your brother in Bronze,
-Nicholas Cain

My first image of Doc was from the Bantam reprint "Secret in The Sky" by James Bama. I then started collecting the paperbacks and it was many years before I ever saw one of the original pulp covers. Some of the pulp covers are quite nice, and I like the old style paintings, but Bama's work is the Doc I see when reading the books.

The novels describe Doc's hair as being like a "skullcap", which Bama accurately captures. However,Baumhofer captures Doc's hair color more accurately as well as what Doc wore. Having said that, Bama's depiction of Doc is what I see and prefer.

The novels describe Doc's hair as being like a "skullcap", which Bama accurately captures. However,Baumhofer captures Doc's hair color more accurately as well as what Doc wore. Having said that, Bama's depiction of Doc is what I see and prefer.

Bama's rendition is more accurate. Baumhofer's drawings lack the muscular power in the face and neck, and the hair certainly does not fit Doc's description. Bama captures an awe inspiring effect, but does not color Doc's hair a darker shade of bronze compared with his face. Bama's Doc is eyecatching, and hard to forget!

I, too, grew up on the Bama DS covers, and after seeing the pulp covers, I have to give Bama the nod. Dent's Doc was supposed to be handsome, but in a rugged way. Baumhofer's depiction is more "pretty-boy" handsome, and Doc doesn't seem at all impressive in musculature or presence. Although I don't think either caught the hair (Bama's seems TOO short, and the widow's peak is WAY out there), the overall build, the musculature, the raw presence of Doc, is captured best by Bama.

The Bama version of Doc is indeed the definitive one for me. One of the things which the supersagas always made clear was Doc's seeming to be almost more than human, something which is not at all evident in the original artist's work, but quite clear in Bama's. The original artis's renditions lack the 'presence' of Bama's work.

The Bama version of Doc is indeed the definitive one for me. One of the things which the supersagas always made clear was Doc's seeming to be almost more than human, something which is not at all evident in the original artist's work, but quite clear in Bama's. The original artist's renditions lack the 'presence' of Bama's work.

I'm another guy that grew up with the 'Bama' renditions of Doc, but the Baumhofer image is kinda growin' on me. It's not photo realistic, but it evokes an image of Doc in the 'thirties' that is hard to beat. I'd like to see artist merge the two renditions just to see what comes of it (and, yes I've seen the Bama first cover of Doc with the long hair....that is not good)! Or better yet, a new rendition of Doc that takes into account the realistic Bama potraits and has some of the fun of the cartoonistic Baumhofer style.

I should-shouldn't we all-but since most of us remember or first encounter the widowed peek James Bama cover-we see that guy.Shame on us all.Well,least-sometimes I see Ron Ely.Hey,I hated movie at first,but after a few veiwing it has become a guilty pleasure.Ok,it's not Indianna Jones or James Bond,but try not to sign along the theme song-and you'll find yourself humming the movie music or singing all day long-weeks after.
Long live the Man of Bronze..
ps,I have a funny version too-but if I sang to some fans,they want to give me brain surgery.What do you think rymes with Doc Savage the Man of Bronze is here,and you get my point.

I'm one of the rare few that prefers Baumhofer's version. I agree that the hair shouldn't be flipping about but I also think there shouldn't be a huge widow's peak. Bama's version is dynamic and I think it was partly responsible for kids picking up the paperbacks and renewing an interest in Doc for a new generation. However, Baumhofer's Doc shows the intelligence, strength and proper coloring that I expect.
P.S. Strangely neither version could Doc be wearing the gadget vest mentioned in so many stories considering the preference the artists have for open/ripped shirts showing bare chest.

Am I the only person who's first view of Doc
was from those 6 Golden Press hardcovers that
came out in the '70s? Those covers were pretty
much in-between Bama's and Baumhofer's. I
remember stumbling upon my first Bantam
paperback in the used bookstore, the one
that was formerly known as OST, then renamed.
Anyway, I was freaked out by the post-Bama
old man that met my gaze, but luckily I found
the Bama versions not too long after, though
it took me a while for the widows peak to grow
on me. I think I'll always lean more towards
Baumhofer than Bama, though I like both.

John

I always thought it would be neat to see Bama's Doc with bronze hair, as described in the novels, rather than the blond hair we see. Does anyone know if Bama experimented with bronze hair first before settling on blond hair? Since I was first exposed to Bama's rendition of Doc in the mid 60's, this is the version I prefer.

I first saw the Bama covers, and am very fond of them, not just because of the portrail of Doc, but also the attention to even the smallest detail. Some of them almost (when I was a kid) apeared to be photographs. I thought it took a great deal of skill to achieve that type of rendition. Also Doc has the skullcap, and super-human look. However, as my collection grew (and other paperback artists were introduced), I started to notice things (like the gun Doc has in The Freckeled Shark) that the artists didn't KNOW much about Doc, or the stories.

I remember reading in the front of the paperbacks that they were reprints from Doc Savage Magazine (such & such Issue), but didn't know anything about the pulps intil PJF's Doc Savage Biography came out in '74 or '75. The original Bio Cover featured part of a pulp cover, showing Monk & Doc. My thought at the time was "WOW", "...lots more covers, and maybe some interior art!". The first pulp I saw was "The Stone Man", and I loved the artwork. I think it has a more 30's feel to it, so I would lean towards Baumhofer's Doc - Who also appears to have golden eyes!