Pulp Fiction Marvel Style: A Review of MYSTERY MEN

Every once in awhile, Marvel does something in its comics that actually surprises me with not only how good it is, but how much I like it.

I had heard multiple praises given to their recent Mystery Men miniseries (which is due out in hardback in July, if Amazon.com is to be believed)...and quite frankly, having gotten my hands on all five issues, I have to say - it's definitely worth the hype.

In the past few years, Marvel seems to have been taking a lead from its Distinguished Competition - while the latter has been working towards distancing itself from its past (to the point of last month's reboot), Marvel seems to be building upon its Golden Age past, creating unique series that take advantage of its characters and recasting them in a slightly different tone.

Mystery Men goes one better, as writer David Liss (whose
work on Black Panther: The Man Without Fear I really enjoy) gives us some new, pulp fiction-inspired Marvel characters, yet sets this series firmly in the Marvel Universe. It's really cool, having had some casual exposure to the pulps, to see the various sources and archetypes that fueled these characters (You say "Surgeon", I say "Spider"; you say "Operative", I say "The Shadow with a healthy side order of Raffles").  It's also a story that really engages and has some great Marvel-style shadings, and Patrick Zircher's art? Simply incredible - solid, driving, and has the same effect that Weston's art had in The Twelve - creating this unique historical context while simultaneously giving the story a sense of realism and groundedness that a story told in this manner needs.

Marvel's also showing a great willingness to take creative chances, but keeping those efforts within its smaller books. Its expansion of its "cosmic" line in recent series like Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy is a great example - yes, Marvel does engage in "Big Events", but their strategy seems to be allowing Big Event sales by driving creativity and expansion in its smaller books. Their willingness to take on a "pulp"-flavored book is surprising. Perhaps in these troubled economic times, there's the feeling that looking back into the past and seeing how pulp fiction provided simple escapism can fuel some great creative efforts. Since this series is also building the Marvel Universe with new characters, there's a great potential for this to "trickle up" into current Marvel continuity.

Although the collection will not be out until January, you might wish to head down to your local comic shop and purchase all five issues. Trust me, you don't want to wait until the collection to enjoy comics that are this well-written, well-drawn, and well-read. Mystery Men, quite simply, is that good.

Buy this. Now.

Surviving SNOWMAGEDDON: Adventures of Doc Savage

(Quick note - this is post # 1501, for those keeping count)

Something I'm not proud of admitting...once, long ago, I downloaded MP3s of this audio via a now-defunct Doc Savage site. I enjoyed it - after all, I am a closet pulp fan (and don't worry - just wait until tomorrow's blog entry for another pulp-flavored jolt), and thought it was enjoyable despite a rather murky sounding drama.

Thankfully, Radio Archives has released an eight disc set of the Doc Savage radio drama, originally presented on NPR in the mid-1980s. Thankfully, with a much better sounding remastered version, this thirteen-chapter show (dramatizing two Doc novels, Fear Cay and The Thousand-Headed Man, is brisk, enjoyable, and quite frankly, one of the best releases of 2010.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this is that it really evokes the 1930s in tone, dialogue, and even style (much of the dialogue has an exposition-style tone, e.g., "Let me throw these anesthetic globes at them, Doc!"). For those who are weened and familiar with other audio dramas (say, Big Finish), this might come across as rather quaint and old fashioned. However, there's something about the energy throughout the drama that gives it a certain lift, and that makes it very age-appropriate entertainment.

(Given that Doc Savage pretty much defines "pop culture touchstone", this might be a great way to introduce the younger set to a character who has influenced much of what we consider to be our heritage. You may be tempted to download this via bitTorrent - don't. Trust me, this is well worth purchasing, and the sound quality is quite extraordinary. You would swear it was recorded yesterday...and you even get, as part of the package, a documentary called The Sound of Bronze and two other old-time radio shows in a bonus disc. It's a really nicely presented product that really deserves to sit on the shelf of any serious pulp and pop culture fan)

The only weak link that I see in this are some of the vocal talent....more specifically, Daniel Chodos as Doc. His voice sounds a little too high to connote the Man of Bronze's power....but that's a personal opinion, not a fact. In short, the rest of the cast pulls it off, especially the actors playing Monk and Renny. (And quite frankly, having a clean, clear copy makes Ham sound much more human than on my previous dubiously-downloaded files).

During these long winter months, why not give yourself the gift of wild, pulp-filled adventure? I've always been a Doc Savage fan, but now...this audio has me seriously wanting to reread the pulps.

Buy it. Now.

DC Does Doc Savage Right (Kind Of...)

Imagine a Saturday night - hanging out at Third Coast Comics, arguing with other comics fans as part of a Meetup, and then heading into the shop to browse. There, on the lowest rung of a rack....I see a fine treasure: a newly released trade paperback of Doc Savage comics by DC.

There were two things that surprised me about DC's Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze trade paperback. The first...is that this is a compilation of Marvel's initial run back in the early 1970s (minus the black-and-white magazine stories or the Marvel Two-in-One Doc/Ben Grimm crossover)

(Yes, I double checked. Thanks, Wikipedia!)

What's also surprising was that although these comics are not word-for-word recreations of the pulps, there's a really good synergy between Lester Dent's prose and plotting and the "mighty Marvel style". Roy Thomas (for the first two issues), and then Steve Englehart do their best to adapt some classic Doc stories and with Ross Andru's art (with Tom Palmer inking), makes for some crackling good reads. (Although, at some point, I would love to read the black & white material again, just out of my own curiosity).

(Obviously, I prefer the Millennium comics run as the most true to the material - hey, Checker, when are you going to reprint those? Especially since Marvel seems to have handed the material over to DC without much of a fight...)

But given Dent's own special formula for writing, it makes a lot of sense for his prose to mesh with Marvel-style writing, and given only eight issues of material, makes for a pretty decent starter read. For those of you new to Doc, this is a really strong first taste...just be sure to avoid DC's other trade Doc Savage: The Silver Pyramid (in which Denny O'Neill gets Doc so wrong, Conde Nast should sue for defamation of character) and begin ordering the reprints from Adventure House. You will thank me later. Seriously.

It's ironic - I've complained bitterly about the way DC has handled Doc Savage, and now, they get it right...but only by publishing their competitor's efforts.

Draw your own conclusions, but this is one Doc trade you have to read.

Savage Pulp Writing

I always love it when an author surprises me...when I read something that they do that's a little off their beaten path, that reminds me of their style, yet has enough of a difference that it's worth my attention.

Honey in His Mouth  is remarkable for several reasons, not the least of which is that it has the byline of "Lester Dent". Better known as "Kenneth Robeson" who wrote the vast majority of Doc Savage pulps. Dent, who had his own well-known formula for creating remarkable stories (and who, in his own way, revolutionized pulp writing the way Stan Lee's "Marvel method" influenced comic writing). Published under the Hard Case Crime banner, Honey in His Mouth is not only classic Dent, but in itself is a really impressive pulp thriller.

The story seems simple - a small-time hoodlum is picked because he's a near dead-ringer for a South American dictator - but the story is not that simple. There's a real sense of place - more specifically, Missouri, where Dent grew up - that helps ground the novel and gives it a slight sense of realism. The beginning jars a bit, but for me, it was more due to my expecting a Doc Savage novel. There's enough imagination in the writing that gives it an edge over most literature of the time...but if you're expecting a Spillane or a Thompson, you won't get that.

Admittedly, there are some passages that read rather awkwardly, at least in my eyes - however, given that this was written towards the end of Dent's life, it may have been more out of a sense of obligation (wanting to "keep up with the Joneses" stylistically) than out of a sense of storytelling. However, the book is brisk and brief enough that they're easily glossed by.

Written almost 20 years after his debut with Doc Savage, Honey In His Mouth proves that Dent didn't waver in his writing skills...and that we're now lucky enough to be able to read one of his final works.

Buy this. Now.

A Different Glance At the Golden Age, Part Two

When I attended the Windy City Pulp & Paper Con back in April, I was speaking with fellow Comic Related amigo Ron Fortier, and I posted this question:

How could Paul Malmont, who did such a great job with The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, fail so miserably with DC's First Wave: Doc Savage?

It's not like Malmont doesn't do a great job connoting that 1930s - 1940s pulp atmosphere. The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril is everything you could expect in a pulp novel, an imaginative story involving how Walter Gibson (writer of The Shadow) and Lester Dent (who wrote Doc Savage) fight a great, pulp-inspired threat. It's the kind of novel that is a great, enthusiastic read, not just for the inspired in-jokes and references (such as to HP Lovecraft and L Ron Hubbard), but it's a well written, taught novel that hits all the right spaces.

Malmont's work on First Wave: Doc Savage? A thudding, immense disappointment.

Unfortunately, although I am enjoying First Wave, the mini-series...I'm not warming to Doc Savage, a man of the future, walking around in a neo-present atmosphere. These two issues are non-stop action, and not in a good way. Characters don't ring true, the art looks horrendous, situations seem extremely implausible, and....well, after two issues, I'm ending it from my pull file. Normally, I give a book three issues before I quit. It's enough to make me miss the "glory days" of Chip Savage 

(Yes, I said that out loud. And I hated O'Neill's run on Savage)

And the "Justice, Inc" backup feature? Well, I took Ron Fortier's advice and purchased the reprint of The Avenger # 1 from Adventure House. It was taught, suspenseful, and could have easily been made into a movie the way John Huston made The Maltese Falcon (1941) - just take the novel and add camera directions.

But anyway, my other major enjoyment was Martin Gram Jr's 800 page of The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and TelevisionIt's possibly one of the best pop culture histories I've read this year. And I'm hoping to, within the next week, start Lester Dent's Honey in His Mouth

(Post Script: I read Honey in His Mouth in June 2010 - here's the review)


If you're looking for great, pulp-influenced action, then avoid First Wave: Doc Savage. Go straight to the source - just click on one of the photos  below. (I get a small amount back from every order). You'll enjoy some great reading, and quite frankly, get a better sense of Doc Savage than Paul Malmont does.