If you missed the last ten…
Jack Mackenzie has finished his third Wild Inc. novel, Madam Murder. Here’s the cover for the book that will be coming out soon. To celebrate, we’ve have selected another ten Doc Savage novels with that little bit of a supernatural feel that makes them great for October reading.
Hero Pulps are those unique adventure tales where the good guys are the whole point. We get to watch them do what they do and the bad guys better be careful. Hero Pulps could borrow elements from any kind of story, a Western, a jungle story, an Arctic adventure. This kind of insertion into other genres made them fun but ultimately the point was the hero. Here it is Doc Savage but Conan the Cimmerian had the same ability. But then again, so did Scrooge McDuck under the able hands of Carl Barks or Herge’s TinTin.
Scary versions of these hero tales are no different. Doc Savage would face off against a terror only to find it the work of mobsters. After re-watching the Reacher TV show, I can say the hero Pulp is alive and well today. I doubt Reacher will ever have a scenario where he faces off against a fake werewolf, but then Doc Savage never did either. (But would you believe Little House on the Prairie…)
So here’s ten more to keep you happy until Halloween. They are arranged chronologically.
The Squeaking Goblin (Doc Savage, August 1934) (Lester Dent) has a long dead frontiersman helps Doc Savage uncover a gang of crooks.
The Mystic Mullah (Doc Savage, January 1935) (Lester Dent and Richard Sale) offers a mysterious magician bent on destroying Doc Savage! Richard B. Sale would go on to become a famous writer of sea stories and Hollywood producer. Here he is trying to be a Kenneth Robeson ghost at twenty-four.
The Spook Legion (Doc Savage, April 1935) (Lester Dent) Can Doc stop a legion of invisible thieves?
Spook Hole (Doc Savage, August 1935) (Lester Dent) features another location with an evil reputation that will ultimately be the hideout of crooks.
The Majii (Doc Savage, September 1935) (Lester Dent and J. Alan Dunn) has Doc and his five aides trying to debunk a terrible mystic. J. Alan Dunn was a prolific Pulpster. I had no idea he had tried out for Kenneth Robeson ghost. Most of his books are set in the jungle.
The Angry Ghost (Doc Savage, February 1940) (Lester Dent and William G. Bogart) shows the rumblings of war. The US had not entered the WWII yet but Doc was already protecting his country. William G. Bogart did several Docs, some with and some without Lester Dent. His last name is a type of goblin. Who better?
The Flying Goblin (Doc Savage, July 1940) (William G. Bogart) has another aviation-oriented villain in a pre-war encounter.
The Headless Men (Doc Savage, May 1941) (Alan Hathaway) was one of the novels written by Alan Hathaway. Unlike other Kenneth Robeson ghosts, Hathaway did not have to get Lester Dent’s seal of approval.
The Running Skeletons (Doc Savage, June 1943) (Lester Dent) If you are expecting a Ray Harryhausen skeleton fight, you are going to be disappointed.
The Wee Ones (Doc Savage, August 1945) (Lester Dent) has a strange elfin creature on the lose. The story description makes it sound unique and unusual, but Doc has faced several of these “gnomes”, “spooks” and “elves” before.
Conclusion
The Doc Savage novels crossed many genres (for more on that, go here). Bantam, the paperback publisher, wanted to push the Science Fiction aspects of the series, thus Doc’s strange buzz-cut. Lester Dent did on occasion dive towards SF, especially the lost world type. Sometimes that strangeness looked more like Horror. The novel Hex, which we selected last time, is a probably the most occult of the books. This time is The Majii, which uses elements of Spiritualism and fake mediums for its interest, is the top choice. Doc has seen some strange things in his time, including dinosaurs, but he isn’t going to be fooled by any charlatan.
We hope these books keep you shivering during pumpkin month, and if you prefer tales of real ghosts, fear not, we are only getting started. And Wild Inc. fans, keep your eyes peeled for that third adventure! If you missed the first two, look below.
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