In 1998 CG Welch asked a few Doc Savage website designers 20 questions...this is what they had to say...
Rob Smalley
Website designer for Doc Savage - The Supreme Adventurer
I'm a 39 year old guy who grew up in southern California (San Fernando Valley). I went to college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo where I got a degree in engineering, concentrating in air conditioning & refrigeration. I took a job in Arizona in 1981 after graduation. I've been here ever since. I live in Chandler, which is a suburb of Phoenix.
I work for University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors. I spent 12 years as a construction site mechanical engineer and project manager. The largest project I managed was the Phoenix Suns basketball arena, which was completed several years ago. I am now the chief mechanical estimator for the same company in Arizona. I am responsible for preparing design-build budget proposals and plan & specification cost estimates for bids on new construction of air conditioning, plumbing and process piping systems for large commercial & industrial facilities.
I'm married. My wife’s name is Debbie. We have one teenage girl.
I first met Doc Savage and his five remarkable aids in early 1971. I was 12 years old and in the 7th grade. Until that point, I was reading the Berkley paperback series of Sherlock Holmes adventures. Although I did not know it, I was priming myself for reading series-type adventures. Doc came into my life through a fellow named Gary Stevenson. 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). I immediately bought it as well as The Golden Peril, The Giggling Ghosts, and Poison Island. It was difficult, but I finally decided that The Golden Peril would be my first. With it I walked straight into an exciting world of adventure and brotherhood. I was to travel the globe with Doc and his men, and with them become life-long friends.
I read every new Doc Savage book as they came out, until the end of 1976. Then college reading took over. I continued collecting the books, although I read only a few in the years to 1984. By that time my career was taking off and my enthusiasm for Doc had waned. No doubt aided by the slow publication rate. Sometime in 1984 I stopped actively searching the bookstores for new books. My collection was boxed-up and remained that way. But this was not the end.
In January 1996 I discovered the Internet Fans Of Bronze (IFOB) and like a man who had been resuscitated, my enthusiasm for Doc was given new life.
Thanks to the IFOB and the alt.fan.doc-savage newsgroup, I have become a part of a world-wide fellowship of those who, like myself, "belong" to Doc. My Doc Savage book collection is now complete, and I am working toward completing the pulp set.
In early 1996 I began reading the adventures again, sampling some of my old favorites. In late 1996 I began re-reading the series in original pulp order. I am now on The Fantastic Island, the 34th story. I’ve been averaging an adventure about every two weeks, and enjoying it immensely. I have little desire to read anything else. The only other authors I’ve found that hold my attention for continued reading are Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald, and I have read most of their works. Incidentally, I think Ross MacDonald would have written some great Doc Savage stories. I have a complete set of The Avenger series paperbacks, but have not read one in 20 years. I guess in my mind, since there is so little free time it is hard to settle for 2nd best.
I cannot speak for others but, in all honesty, I believe that the reasons why the character of Doc Savage is so attractive to me are as follows;
1.) Doc is everything I wish I was.
That pretty much sums it up. Doc has herculean strength, a genius mind, ruggedly handsome looks, wealth, courage, a charitable heart, an honorable soul, and an adventurer’s spirit. Doc shows us what is the best in all of us, and what we need to make better in ourselves.
Being as close to Doc Savage as I have been, one cannot help become aware of the whole pulp genre and period. Over the years I have accumulated several books about the pulps. These books have inspired my interest and curiosity regarding those treasures of American popular culture. It wasn’t until last year that I had personal contact with a "pulp". I had known about them for decades, but I had never seen one, much less actually owned one myself.
Now I own quite a few. They are among my most cherished possessions. Currently, I am only interested in completing the Doc Savage pulps series. Later, who knows.
Through the medium of the Internet, I have found the alt.pulp newsgroup and subsequently learned of the annual convention, PulpCon. My wife, Debbie and I are planning to make what I hope will be the first of many trips. I am looking forward to meeting, face to face, so many of my new friends of the "Brotherhood Of Bronze".
As I mentioned, in 1996 I went on-line. My ISP at the time was AOL. As some of you may know, they offer a feature whereby one can generate their own personal homepage. I started tinkering with this and was able to create a very rudimentary website. I was needing a purpose for my new homepage, a focus for my efforts to teach myself HTML programming. . This is where the Doc Savage - The Supreme Adventurer website began. Needing to leave AOL for greener pastures I was required to buy a browser software package. Netscape Communicator looked desirable so I bought a copy and have been very happy with its Netscape Page Composer program. My Doc website has evolved slowly with occasional rapid eruptions of growth. Unfortunately, I am not able to devote the time to it that it deserves. It could be so much better.
Thanks to Jeff Sines we now have a Doc Savage webring. After Jeff, I hold the small honor of being the first to jump on. Jeff initiated this project and worked solidly for an entire weekend to get the ring to operate. That Sunday evening, it came to life. Jeff is to be commended for this most valuable contribution to Doc fans.
Doc Savage websites vary greatly in their essence and character. As far as I’m concerned, any Doc Savage website is cool. Some take a magazine format, others an information directory format and others merely express fan appreciation. I wanted my site to offer to the visitor the experience of having fallen into Doc’s world. To me Doc Savage is as much a place as it is a character. Therefore, I have tried to offer content that will cause the visitor to be awed by Doc’s world. It is my hope that having experienced something that exciting, they will want a greater and more personal experience with Doc and his remarkable men. Achieving this with pictures and text is quite a challenge though.
Since I don’t seem to be able to ignore this subject I will only say this: Many fans speculate and dream of the best acting cast for wishful Doc Savage movies and TV shows. For some reason that I am unable to identify, this line of thought does not interest me the way it does so many others.
I strongly believe that the Internet is the best place to present the true flavor of Doc’s world. In my opinion, there is no substitute for Lester Dent’s written words and style for conveying the essence of Doc Savage. For this reason, I have used the material from the stories throughout my website.
The future of my site is such- as I read through the Docs in order I am dictating details of the characters, events and places into a small tape recorder. I plan to transcribe these tidbits to my website in a manner that will hopefully be interesting and exciting. It is my hope that by adding more detailed content to the individual pages, the world of Doc Savage will be better realized. As you can imagine, this will be a long evolution.
As far as what is next for me-
- Continue to learn and work hard at my job.
- Enjoy PulpCon with Debbie .
- Improve my Doc Savage website content.
- Work at completing my Doc Savage pulp set.
- Teach myself how to program in Java.
- Do some astronomical observing with my telescope.
- Continue to read the Doc Savage adventures in original order.
- and maybe play a little golf.
Cat Jaster
Website designer for
Frozencat
1) Tell us about your life off the web...what sort of work do you do? what part of the world is home? Family? etc?
President-Pulp Adventures, Inc. Small press publisher. New Jersey. 1 brother 1 sister
2) How did you discover Doc Savage?
stole The Devil's Playground from my brother's room
3) What drew you to continue reading the novels?
Different characters at different times. Sometimes Monk and Ham-sometimes Johnny
4) What other kinds of fiction were you reading at the time?
Mysteries, SF, Fantasy, Textbooks, Encyclopedias, History
5) Do you still read the novels? How often? Have you read them all?
yes. one a month or more. nope.
6) What else do you read now?
too many SPIDER novels, ha ha! Mags: Analog-F&SF-SFA-SFWAB-Asimov's-Reader's Digest-Bronze Gazette-CBG Books: Silverberg-McCaffrey-KSRobinson-Asimov-
7) Did reading Doc Savage novels lead you to other pulp characters (or vice- versa)?
Yes and no-Doc led me to the Doc Newsgroup which led me to the pulp NG which by eavesdropping I learned of other characters
8) What do you think attracts people to Doc Savage?
The variety and goodness
9) What novelist would have written a great Doc Savage novel?
Norvell Page
10) What does a 30s/40s pulp semi-super hero have to say to a generation raised with government distrust, global unrest and general malaise? (or is this a diatribe masqurading as a question?)
The same thing any cartoon hero has to say-think of the right!
11) What madness brought you to the role as a Doc Savage website designer?
Peer pressure
12) Who is your audience?
Anyone who will see it
13) What do you hope to accomplish with your website? What do want people to take away after visiting your website? Make it easy for people to find the Doc/Pulp places & people on the net
14) Do you visit the other Doc Savage websites? Ever get a chance to talk to the other website designers?
yes-I like seeing what is new. The others helped me by teaching me how to do html.
15) What's next for your website?
Emphasis on the Female pulp characters-especially Pat. Keeping the Pulpcon site updated. More pulp art. More fun. Maybe add more links.
16) Have you or will you attend Pulpcon? If you've been...what did you like best? What would you like to see?
Yes & YES!!!! I liked the fact that everyone there reads!!!!
17) What would like to see next for Doc Savage?
animated series
18) What's next for you "in real life"?
Horseback riding lessons. Publishing some goodies this year for pulps fans (other than the SPIDER)
19) If you were casting the movie today...?
I would shoot myself. It can't be done in live-action today. Unless...it was like the Phantom
20) If "The Adventures of Doc Savage" was a syndicated TV series...what cast member(s) would you drop to save costs?
The elevator operators and extras. Co-op with another period show to save $ on
props. Film it in Austrailia.
CG-Very sneaky! This was fun!
Meow,
Cat
Len Yacullo
Website designer for Doc Savage Reader Resource
1. I live in Clinton Twp, NJ. Single, 31, and am Director of Camp and
Child Care Programs at Hunterdon County YMCA
2. I really can't remember how I came to read the novels first, but I know my father read some of the Bantams when they first came out in the 60's. I know I was about 12 or 13 when I first bought Docs. I probably picked up my first in a used book store.
3. I am a completist by nature and of course wanted to have the full set. I also do not buy a book without reading it and as all of you know, once you read one Doc, it is never enough.
4. Mostly science fiction and fantasy.
5. Yes, I definately still read the novels. I recently started to read them in pulp order and am up to Fear Cay. I don't read them reguarly, but when I do I'll read two or three in a row and then put the adventures aside for another few weeks.
6. What else don't I read now...non-fiction (especially history and science), Dickens & Trollope, Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Nero Wolfe mysteries, science fiction (especially Asimov & Brin), fantasy (Kurtz, Feist, McCaffrey, Zimmer-Bradley), Tom Clancy, etc. etc.
7. I haven't read any other pulp heroes.
8. First of all, the covers attract people to even look at the books. I'm sure the fact that they are numbered also help attract people--lots of people love series. Once they begin to read, the nostalgia, the imagination and the action keep them coming back for more.
9. I think Isaac Asimov would have done great things with Doc and especially his gadgets. (Could Doc have built the first Asimov style
robot?)
10. Firstly, service - Doc could have done anything and has an endless supply of gold and yet he and the Five still choose to help others. That is something rare in today's "heroes" and different enough that
today's youth could actually take notice.
Ron Hill
Website designer for
The Illustrated Doc Savage Home Page
1) Tell us about your life off the web...what sort of work do you do? what part of the world is home? Family? etc?
Live in Cleveland, work as a cartoonist/illustrator/caricaturist, maried with 3 kids.
2) How did you discover Doc Savage?
Saw him glaring off paperback shelf in an Ann Arbor bookstore; I was actually looking for the latest Star Trek collection by James Blish...I was 13. Started mail-ordering direct from Bantam soon after that...
3) What drew you to continue reading the novels?
The action...and as I said, I was 13.
4) What other kinds of fiction were you reading at the time?
Start Trek, Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne, HG Wells...just starting SF and Fantasy and Pulp stuff...soon led to Avenger & Shadow & Sherlock Holmes & Tolkien & Lovecraft & Asimov & Niven &...should I stop now?
5) Do you still read the novels? How often? Have you read them all?
I read about ten or so a year. To be honest I have never read all of them, and am taking my time working through the Omnibuses (Omnibi?) and an occasional single...I think I've read Polar Treasure and The Monsters the most...
6) What else do you read now?
Classic Fantasy...recently collected many old Ballantine Adult Fantasy books (Lovecraft, Dunsany, CA Smith, Mervin Peake) and contmporary hard-boiled detective novels (Parker's Spenser and Burke's Robicheaux and Crais' Elvis Cole) and Stephen King. Even went through a Louis L'Amour and Destroyer rampage recently...
7) Did reading Doc Savage novels lead you to other pulp characters (or vice-
versa)?
Yes, Doc was first. Then Avenger, Shadow, Fu Manchu, James Bond, Tarzan (then Burroughs' Mars stories), Robert E Howard (though not a big Conan fan), never got into The Spider...does Dirk Pitt count as a pulp hero?
8) What do you think attracts people to Doc Savage?
The adventure (and the covers). But the adventure (and the humor) and the bigger than life aspect of the characters.
9) What novelist would have written a great Doc Savage novel?
Clive Cussler (I think he did in his Dirk Pitt series as a contemporary Doc saga). Dashiell Hammet, or I think Robert Howard would have given an eerie feel to an adventure...
10) What does a 30s/40s pulp semi-super hero have to say to a generation raised with government distrust, global unrest and general malaise? (or is this a diatribe masqurading as a question?)
Not much, honestly. I think you would have to look at the Destroyer for that answer. But I saw AIR FORCE ONE last night, and perhaps Harrison Ford's president character's attitude about "it's the right thing to do" in a cynical government setting would be the closest thing to Doc's attitude in a while...of course, Ford did play Indiana Jones...
11) What madness brought you to the role as a Doc Savage website designer?
When I got online two years ago and saw what was there, and I am finally doing what I felt was not out there at the time...a Doc parody (about the only legal way to do my version of a Doc comic).
12) Who is your audience?
What audience? Doc Fans and my Pure Baloney followers (only about 75 hits a day at www.Reuben.org/hill).
13) What do you hope to accomplish with your website? What do want people to take away after visiting your website?
Fun. and to come back and see what happens next. Also to build an audience for my comic art (to help in further marketing the Pure Baloney feature).
14) Do you visit the other Doc Savage websites? Ever get a chance to talk to
the other website designers?
Yes, some. Besides yourself Cat Jaster, Chris Kalb, Jeff Sines...
15) What's next for your website?
Just to continue doing the Pure Baloney comics 5 times a week. I hope the "Doctor Clark" character will be back, and I am starting a new "hero" feature that will probably be posted by April.
16) Have you or will you attend Pulpcon? If you've been...what did you like
best? What would you like to see?
Maybe Sunday, maybe Thursday/Friday. I already have a caricature job scheduled in Cleveland on Saturday, August 1st. I would like to some day.
17) What would like to see next for Doc Savage?
Some more books. Or a certain comic parody...
18) What's next for you "in real life"?
Just to try self-syndicating a comic feature with some other cartoonists. Only vaguely Doc-related.
19) If you were casting the movie today...?
I like others' suggestions of the guy from Broken Arrow. and physical resemblance to the Five...I was surprised thay couldn't find someone to play Monk in Pal's version that wasn't so fat...or Long Tom was too tall...the others seemed fine.
20) If "The Adventures of Doc Savage" was a syndicated TV series...what cast
member(s) would you drop to save costs?
Why drop any one? The pilot could be 2-hours with all Five (plus Pat) and the other 1-hour episodes could feature Doc, Monk, Ham and alternate the others as story called for...like the pulps did, or like, say, ER does, how they feature certain characters more each week (last week Anthony Edwards had 2 lines at the very end and they focused on Noah Wiley's character. I don't think cutting a few character actors is a way to save money; it would be in sets, location, special effects (which would not be on a "star trek" level by any means. More like a police drama each week. If the story was strong, and the acting not camped up, they could do it. But would people watch?
Jerry Sutton
Website designer for Doc Savage Home Page
1) Tell us about your life off the web...what sort of work do you do? what
part of the world is home? Family? etc?
I live and work in Jacksonville, FL. I am currently working in the Recruiting Department of a company that sets up netwroks of contractors to do property restoration for Insurance claims. I am set to move into the Information Systems department later this year. Part of my duties include developing and managing the company's internal and (planned) public web site.
2) How did you discover Doc Savage?
I discovered Doc Savage on a book rack in a "Dime Store" I saw copies (of the Bantam editions) for months. They intrigued me until I could no longer resist them, I've never been the same since.
3) What drew you to continue reading the novels?
I guess it was the innocnece and dedication of Doc and his men. It still is compelling in a world where there are few people who are that dedicated.
4) What other kinds of fiction were you reading at the time?
Everything. I am a very avid reader. I was reading Science Fiction and Mystery adventure mostly, but would read other things from time to time as well.
5) Do you still read the novels? How often? Have you read them all?
I will still read on occasionally, unfortunately I have never had the resources or the time to collect and read them all. I continue to pursue that goal, but it is getting harder and harder to find copies of those books I haven't read.
6) What else do you read now?
I still read a lot of things. I don't read as much Science Fiction as I used to. I still read a lot of Mystery and Adventure.
7) Did reading Doc Savage novels lead you to other pulp characters (or vice-versa)?
Reading Doc Savage probably lead me to reading things like The Shadow and The Avenger. Neither of those captuerd my attention the way Doc Savage did.
8) What do you think attracts people to Doc Savage?
I think it is a desire to be a better person, and to have someone who is the ultimate "citizen" to look up to.
9) What novelist would have written a great Doc Savage novel?
I never spent much time thinking of the mechanics of the novels..who wrote them or who should have wrote them.
10) What does a 30s/40s pulp semi-super hero have to say to a generation raised with government distrust, global unrest and general malaise? (or is this a diatribe masqurading as a question?)
I don't think the novels portray any great "golden era" of honesty and trust. I think they protray Doc Savage as a shining light in the darkness. I think we could use that in our own "dark times"
11) What madness brought you to the role as a Doc Savage website designer?
Well years ago when I got into online communications (local Bulletin Boards at the time) I chose Doc Savage as my "nickname" and that sort of leads to all sorts of madness including dedicating pieces of my web space for him. The Bulletin Board I ran for almost 10 years had a heavy Doc Savage influence as
well.
12) Who is your audience?
Hopefully those who aren't quite sure who Doc Savage is, and want to learn more.
13) What do you hope to accomplish with your website? What do want people to take away after visiting your website?
Bringing Doc Savage to others. I hope that after people leave my site they understand, if only slightly, my attraction to this character.
14) Do you visit the other Doc Savage websites? Ever get a chance to talk to the other website designers?
I have visited many sites, I have not had a chance to talk with any of the designers.
15) What's next for your website?
Good question. I haven't had much time to dedicate to it lately with everything else going on in my life. I'll have to spend an afternoon working on that.
16) Have you or will you attend Pulpcon? If you've been...what did you like best? What would you like to see?
I have not had the opportunity to attend Pulpcon
17) What would like to see next for Doc Savage?
I would love to see a new Motion Picture. I would love to see some additional novels as well. It's been far too quiet.
18) What's next for you "in real life"?
I am on the verge of being a "professional" web developer. That's kind of exciting for someone who got in to all of this as a "hobby"
19) If you were casting the movie today...?
I always dread these questions. The truth is I care less about the casting and more about the script and the direction. I take a very technical view of movies (strangely completely opposite of my view of printed material where I don't care who wrote it.. haha)
20) If "The Adventures of Doc Savage" was a syndicated TV series...what cast
member(s) would you drop to save costs?
The completely unecessary modern character inserted by the bozo executive who thought the show needed someone for the "common" person to identify with. The "tag along" (i.e. the Wonder Twins and the goofy teenagers with their dog from SuperFriends..*gasp*.. now you know what I did with my Saturday mornings.)
Seriously the only full time Cast members a Doc Savage TV show would need would be Doc, Monk , and Ham. The others were never there all that often anyway. They could guest star from time to time but wouldn't be needed full time.
Jerry Sutton
Jerrystn@mediaone.net
AKA DocSavag
http://www.jacksonville.net/~jerrystn
"Let me do right to all, and wrong no man."
R. J. Jenson
Website designer for Jenson Artistry
1) Tell us about your life off the web...what sort of work do you do? what part of the world is home? Family? etc?
I work in a photo lab in Spokane, Washington. That's about 300 miles East of Seattle, near the Idaho border. My lovely wife's name is Kari, and I have two daughters--Kayleigh age 7, and Aubrey age 5.
2) How did you discover Doc Savage?
I saw the ads for the Marvel Doc comic in their other comics (more than likely MANTHING, SPIDER-MAN, WEREWOLF BY NIGHT if I recall right...) and had no interest about a dork in a blue vest. I spotted SPOOK HOLE at the Food Basket and picked it up, and the guy on the back didn't look like such a dork. The thought that I could read a REAL book about a super-hero really struck me for some reason, and I begged my mom to buy it for me. The rest, as they say....
3) What drew you to continue reading the novels?
More than likely Dent's style--although I probably didn't realize it at the time. I think I was able to figure out what was going on--the mystery of it, if you will. If it had been a hard read, or more mystery than adventure (say, like a Shadow), I may never have picked up another one. Heck, I was only 11 years old.
4) What other kinds of fiction were you reading at the time?
I'm pretty sure I was reading The Phantom novelizations at the time--some juvenile Lester Del Rey--I liked the 3 slueths stories "presented" by Alfred Hitchcock and some adventure stories about two brothers--can't recall their names, but they had titles like A WHALING ADVENTURE, and AN UNDERSEA ADVENTURE. And probably Tarzan and other Burroughs. Also, comic books.
5) Do you still read the novels? How often? Have you read them all?
I most certainly do, and I think Dent is probably the single biggest influence on my writing style.
6) What else do you read now?
Oh, lots. SF--not as much fantasy as I used to, but my favorite authors are Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, Larry Niven, David Brin, Harlan Ellison, Raymond Chandler, Sherman Alexie. Some of my favorite books read in the last year are UNDAUNTED COURAGE, COLD MOUNTAIN, THE MAN WHO LISTENS TO HORSES, DESTINY'S ROAD and INDIAN KILLER.
7) Did reading Doc Savage novels lead you to other pulp characters (or vice- versa)?
Sure. The Shadow, The Spider, G-8 and Operator 5. None can hold a candle to a Doc tale as far as I'm concerned--and if I never read another Spider I won't lose any sleep over it. Reading Docs helped me get back and re-read some Burroughs again, plus pick up the likes of Chandler and Hammet.
8) What do you think attracts people to Doc Savage?
Probably right off the covers grab the eye, but if they become a fan, then I would have to say it's the writing that "hooks" them, and a good balance of adventure and mystery. Plus, the characters are way cool.
9) What novelist would have written a great Doc Savage novel?
Heck, I don't know....Niven may write a good one--or the comic writer Peter David could do a good one. I would have liked to see Ross MacDonald do one like he had been asked to, but alas...
10) What does a 30s/40s pulp semi-super hero have to say to a generation raised with government distrust, global unrest and general malaise? (or is this a diatribe masqurading as a question?)
I think a lot of the stories address those very issues. One thing that helped re-print ALL of them was how shyster jokes and governmental red-tape are still applicable to today. Doc is repeatedly mentioned in the stories as being "too good to be true" and a "boy scout". Every age still wants heroes, no matter how jaded, and the good old days never are as good as they are remembered, after all.
11) What madness brought you to the role as a Doc Savage website designer?
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
12) Who is your audience?
Well, my site is more devoted to my artwork and what-not. I'm hoping to play the role of the preacher trying to convert those that stumble in because they wanted to look at my drawings or photography.
13) What do you hope to accomplish with your website? What do want people to take away after visiting your website?
Um, see above I guess. And I hope they at least say, "Well, that wasn't a complete waste of time..."
14) Do you visit the other Doc Savage websites? Ever get a chance to talk to the other website designers?
Sure. I've "known" Chris Kalb before his site went up, and dealt with and chatted with and met Jeff Sines, chatted and "hanged" with FROZENCAT in cyberspace, and Jim Gould is one of my best buddies, to name but a few.
15) What's next for your website?
Just adding new images more or less. I re-did my main page--added an image map. I do plan one re-doing my Fortress of Solitude wallpaper--making it look more "real". That is my next big project I guess. And maybe, just maybe, offering an actual 20 x 30 poster of it to hang above the ol' computer...
16) Have you or will you attend Pulpcon? If you've been...what did you like best? What would you like to see?
I would LOVE to go to Pulpcon, and someday I'll make it.
17) What would like to see next for Doc Savage?
Of course I'd love to see a new movie--a BETTER movie. I know how I want it to be like. But I would settle for the books to be re-printed again or new ones to come out.
18) What's next for you "in real life"?
Well, nothing definate. I'm working on a novel (with others in my head, some started). Still have drawings to draw, models to build, and the computer to mess around with.
19) If you were casting the movie today...?
Hmmm. If the movie could start shooting tomorrow, I guess...Howie Long as Doc (but would want a younger, unknown actor I think). Okay, I'm tired of defending this one, but I KNOW it could work if a LOT of make up were applied: Joe Pesci as Monk--the voice, the attitude, the height. He is pretty solidly built, when you look at him. Pierce Brosnan as Ham. Jeff Goldblum as Johnny. Steve Buscemi as Long Tom, and Clancy Brown as Renny. Ashley Judd as Pat and Daniel Day Lewis as John Sunlight for the sequels of course (and Sunlight had "the face of a poet"--so all of the current "pyscho" actors who's names crop up just don't do it for me). Oh! Salma Hyek as Princess Monja.
20) If "The Adventures of Doc Savage" was a syndicated TV series...what cast member(s) would you drop to save costs?
Well, as in the books, not all of the members were in each of the books, so you could pull it off. But my least favorite aide is probably Long Tom--not that I have anything against him, but Renny is cooler and I'm partial to archaeologists.
Michael Dean
Website designer for Doc Savage Home Page
1) Tell us about your life off the web...what sort of work do you do? what part of the world is home? Family? etc?
I am the production manager for a community newspaper, the Creston Valley Advance. Creston is a small town in British Columbia, Canada, just 20 minutes north of the Idaho Panhandle. I have been working in publication pre-press for over 12 years. I've been working at the Creston Valley Advance for the last 3 years. I have a wonderful wife, Frances and three terriffic kids, Ashleigh, Chantelle and Jillian.
2) How did you discover Doc Savage? When I was 13 years old, I was embarking on a dreaded "family vacation" which involved an immense amount of driving. My Mom gave me some money and sent me into a used book store in Maple Ridge, B.C., and told me to buy some books to read along the way. Amongst the science fiction paperbacks was this amazing paperback - Doc Savage: The Lost World. I devoured it on that trip and have been hooked ever since.
3) What drew you to continue reading the novels? The characters. The adventure was exciting enough, but it's really the characters that have kept me coming back well into adulthood.
4) What other kinds of fiction were you reading at the time? At the time I first discovered Doc I was reading a lot of science fiction; Heinlein's juveniles, Star Trek novels (the very early ones by James Blish), Asimov, Clarke, etc.
5) Do you still read the novels? How often? Have you read them all? I still read the novels. Usually once every couple of months. I've tried reading several at a sitting, but I find I can't savour them one after another. It's kind of like eating too many Ju-jubes at one time. I have not read all of the novels. I still have some elusive editions missing from my collection.
6) What else do you read now? I still read Science Fiction. Gibson, Robinson (Kim Stanley and Spider) I still enjoy Robert E, Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P. Lovecraft, etc., but have also, due to my overpriced education, found a taste for Joseph Conrad, D.H Lawrence, The Brontes, Hemingway, etc.
7) Did reading Doc Savage novels lead you to other pulp characters (or vice-versa)? Yes, Doc Savage led me to Edgar Rice Burroughs, Conan, The Shadow.
8) What do you think attracts people to Doc Savage? At first glance (especially if your first glance is at a Bama inspired representation of Doc) the whole thing looks really bizarro. This muscle guy with a wierd pig shave and widow's peak and a ripped shirt... what the heck's this all about? Then as they read I think it's the tone of the adventure and the wild characters that keep people interested.
9) What novelist would have written a great Doc Savage novel? Tom Clancy could probably write a really great "techie" Doc Savage adventure.
10) What does a 30s/40s pulp semi-super hero have to say to a generation raised with government distrust, global unrest and general malaise? (or is this a diatribe masqurading as a question?) I think doc shows to us a strong hero who stands by his convictions. He doesn't moralise, he doesn't have doubts about right and wrong. He sees a problem and he fixes it. He's a straight-up guy. He doesn't have secret vices, he doesn't dissemble (unless he's undercover). I think that that is a male image that is admirable today. Look at the popularity of groups like the Promise Keepers. People want men today to be more like Doc, to have a code and to stick to it. Doc has kind of a Harrison Ford quality as well of quiet determination.
11) What madness brought you to the role as a Doc Savage website designer? I got a web sight and didn't know what to do with it. I posted an article that I had written for a fanzine several years ago and it was the only page on my site that got any comment. It was a sign.
12) Who is your audience? I think it's the guy who's been reading Doc for years and doesn't know that anyone else out there even knows who he is or if anyone else likes Doc as much as he does. The answer I provide is Yes!
13) What do you hope to accomplish with your website? What do want people to take away after visiting your website? I'd like people to know that there are lots of other people like them out there, surfing the net, who like Doc and his adventures. Even if they feel they have to hide their paperback copies of a Doc adventure inside a copy of the Wall Street times. And if you're new to the net, welcome, and yes, there are other Doc fans all over the world, even if everyone else in your home town thinks you're a nut for wasting your time.
14) Do you visit the other Doc Savage websites? Ever get a chance to talk to the other website designers? Yes I do and I have. Before I began I raved to Chris Kalb about his 86th Floor sight and since then I've spoken to alot of other designers and fans all over the net
15) What's next for your website? I hope to post a page of illustrations I've done based on what I feel an animated Doc Savage series might look like.
16) Have you or will you attend Pulpcon? If you've been...what did you like best? What would you like to see? No.
17) What would like to see next for Doc Savage? I'd like to see someone turn him into an adventure series for TV somewhat akin to Xena or Hercules. Done with the right respect for the material (of course) It would be a great show.
18) What's next for you "in real life"? I'm hoping to move to a bigger city (small town living is too wierd for me)
19) If you were casting the movie today...? Call me nuts, but I think Clint Eastwood would kick ass as Doc, even though he is older than the character. I'd rather see Clint than Dolph Lundgren or Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Actually I'd rather see some talented unknowns with a great costume design, art direction and make-up effects.
20) If "The Adventures of Doc Savage" was a syndicated TV series...what cast member(s) would you drop to save costs? If I had to I'd probably drop Long Tom and Johnny, but I wouldn't see why I'd have to. Lots of other series have big casts of regulars (DS9, Babylon 5, E.R.) I think making use of computer generated imagery would be a more effective way to save costs and bring more into the picture. Imagine virtual 30's art deco sets. The art directors could go wild. CGI zepplins, Autogyros, the Hell Diver. It would save on production costs and end up looking a lot better.
CG Welch
Website designer for Hidalgo Trading Company
1) Tell us about your life off the web...what sort of work do you do? what part of the world is home? Family? etc?
I am the Alpha Nerd at my company.. That means I get to play with computers all day long. I am a pig in mud. Not in the literal sense. Just a bit of Southern humor. I am a father and husband.
2) How did you discover Doc Savage?
I was panning for gold in my closet. I had not cleaned it out since 1964 and I wanted to see what I could find. A golden glow led me to a Bantam copy of The Phantom City. I sat down to read and I've never looked back.
3) What drew you to continue reading the novels?
God knows what weird habits a 15-year-old boy will develop.
4) What other kinds of fiction were you reading at the time?
Samuel R. Delany, Harlen Ellison, Kurt Vonnegut, and Raymond Chandler. I know this because I kept very detailed lists of what I read for a few years. I told you I was strange.
5) Do you still read the novels? How often? Have you read them all?
Yep. Well, not very often and Are you serious?
6) What else do you read now?
The Internet. And I try to pick up books at random among the stacks in the library.
7) Did reading Doc Savage novels lead you to other pulp characters (or vice-versa)?
Doc led to a short look at the Avenger.
8) What do you think attracts people to Doc Savage?
The lack of a coherent mythology in the American society.
9) What novelist would have written a great Doc Savage novel?
Raymond Chandler. No doubt about it.
10) What does a 30s/40s pulp semi-super hero have to say to a generation raised with government distrust, global unrest and general malaise? (or is this a diatribe masqurading as a question?)
Yes it is. And Doc is dead as a character in any form as long as his copyright is controlled by the -insert sarcastic tone here- wonderful folks back East.
11) What madness brought you to the role as a Doc Savage website designer?
Sheer greed. After all, I make millions off my nude pictures of Princess Monja.
12) Who is your audience?
The small select few who developed a fetish for gold flaked eyes while still in their impressionable years.
13) What do you hope to accomplish with your website?
What do want people to take away after visiting your website?
I hope to accomplish absolutely noting. I put the HTC up cause I wanted to see all of the "gold flaked eyes" fetish people get together and get out of the dark corners of the bookstores.
14) Do you visit the other Doc Savage websites? Ever get a chance to talk to the other website designers?
I travel many miles each year to learn at the feet of Chris Kalb. Not to mention simply the chance to see the feet of Catherine.
15) What's next for your website?
Soon to come....The Clark Savage Combo, Doc Savage's Sister! and the oft-quoted, barely seen Bleeding Sun pulp.
16) Have you or will you attend Pulpcon? If you've been...what did you like best? What would you like to see?
Oh, yes. Like best? Well, the cheap copies of the pulps is hard to beat. What would I like to see? Hmmm.... the moon's horizon through a faceplate, but I doubt that'll will happen in '99.
17) What would like to see next for Doc Savage?
I'd like to see the poor guy finally move out of that trailer park in Tampa.
18) What's next for you "in real life"?
Je veux apprendre des Français
19) If you were casting the movie today...?
I would convince Jody Foster to play Ham.
20) If "The Adventures of Doc Savage" was a syndicated TV series...what cast member(s) would you drop to save costs?
The Empire State building. I'd move them to the Chrysler Building.
Catherine Lavallée-Welch
Website designer for
L'homme de Bronze
1) Tell us about your life off the web...what sort of work do you do? what
part of the world is home? Family? etc?
I live in Québec, Canada. My "title" changes with what I do at the moment(and all for the same employer!): information specialist, librarian, records manager, information broker, intelligence gatherer, webmaster, etc. I work alot with computers and the Internet.
2) How did you discover Doc Savage?
I first read Doc Savage in French. I followed in that way my big sister's footsteps. I was 11 the first time I picked up a Doc but I put right back on the library shelf because of the back cover (I have to explain now that the front cover of Bantam's The Man of Bronze was on the back covers of the French books). I found that guy a little too freaky to my taste. But I cameto my senses a few months later and got hooked. I would actually practise mytyping with excepts of the books.
3) What drew you to continue reading the novels?
The characters. The thrills and the zany devices and plots used by the
villains to conquer the world.
4) What other kinds of fiction were you reading at the time?
I was reading the Bob Morane series. It was another boys series published by the same publisher to Doc Savage in French. Plus all bunch of stuff: surely some Agatha Christie's, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jean Ray, …
5) Do you still read the novels? How often? Have you read them all?
I try to have one "currently in reading" all the time, but I don't have much time to read for my recreation. I'm reading in pulp order now (after picking stories here and there); I haven't read them all yet.
6) What else do you read now?
In general, I read whatever I find. Some favorites, back then and now: Amin Maalouf, Toni Morrisson, Stephan Zweig, Romain Gary, Michel Tremblay, Réjean Ducharme, Italo Calvino, John Irving, John Steinbeck, Jules Renard, etc etc.
7) Did reading Doc Savage novels lead you to other pulp characters (or
vice-versa)?
No, Doc fans lead me to other pulp characters!! I was lured into reading the Spider. As I always like a good detective novels, maybe some day I'll start in on the hardboiled stuff. Hey, I'm still young, I've got time!
8) What do you think attracts people to Doc Savage?
Isn't the first paragraph of a pulp novel supposed to do that? (s). I think people like the same thing that kept going to Doc: characters and plots.
9) What novelist would have written a great Doc Savage novel?
Let me take the easy way out and suggest Henri Vernes, the author of the Bob Morane series. He sure knows how to write an adventure story. But I think he would have trouble with Doc being wary of women. His own hero is quite a
ladies' man!
10) What does a 30s/40s pulp semi-super hero have to say to a generation raised with government distrust, global unrest and general malaise? (or is this a diatribe masqurading as a
question?)
Dedication, self-giving and responsibility? On a more litterary level, that it is not necessary to have "blood and guts" all over the place to make a
good plot?
11) What madness brought you to the role as a Doc Savage website designer?
I wanted to try other stuff in HTML. Doc seemed a good subject to do it. My first Doc project actually was one of the adventure maps.
12) Who is your audience?
The prime audience is the french-speaking fans who might be intrigued to know, like I was for a long time, how much faithful the French translations
were to the original text.
13) What do you hope to accomplish with your website? What do want people to
take away after visiting your website?
For the French-speaking fans, I hope that it will maybe make them want to read the stories in the original text. Or at least, bring back good memories for them. For the English-speaking fans, that it will show them something new about Doc that maybe they didn't know existed, or had no access to. Even if they cannot read French, they can learn a little something anyway via my experience.
14) Do you visit the other Doc Savage websites? Ever get a chance to talk to
the other website designers?
I went around the Web Ring and more. I've talked with a lot of fans and other designers by e-mail and was lucky enough to meet some of them in person at some pulp show or another.
15) What's next for your website?
At Pulpcon 27, several french-challenged fans asked me to translate in English the French translations so that they could see the changes made. Now, they don't realize that if I do that for the French translations, I have to do that, in French, for the original text in the French portion of my site. Now, is that comprehensible? Just trying to explain this is enough to give me an headache, imagine the actual work!
I think I'll do another adventure map first.
16) Have you or will you attend Pulpcon? If you've been...what did you like
best? What would you like to see?
Yes! I attended, as mentioned above, Pulpcon 27. I had a great time. What I liked best was the fact that everybody enjoys the same thing you do: pulps! And nobody looks at you in a funny way and you don't have to explain yourself or keep in the closet. It actually took me awhile to get used to proudly announce: "I'm a Doc fan".
17) What would like to see next for Doc Savage?
New novels, and maybe a new movie!
18) What's next for you "in real life"?
I intend to keep on with the work I'm doing now, but always trying to know something more about managing textual info and databases.
19) If you were casting the movie today...?
I would have suggestions for the "supporting cast" but I still haven't found "my" Doc. I don't think it should be a over-muscular actor, good presence is
mandatory.
20) If "The Adventures of Doc Savage" was a syndicated TV series...what cast
member(s) would you drop to save costs?
I think the obvious answer would be Long Tom and Johnny but I don't want that since LT is my favorite aide. Keep them all around, some more prominent, some more discrete or absent, in turns, as episodes go by. I would definitely go for a 30's feel.
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Voices on the Radio
"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?"
