Friday, October 09, 2020
They don't fight a giant werewolf this month, sadly.
I was going to blog this issue the other day, when I was watching The Beast Must Die...y'know, I think I've seen it more than once, and still haven't guessed right at the "Werewolf Break"! Anyway, from 1973, Doc Savage #7, "Brand of the Werewolf!" Based on the story by Kenneth Robeson, adapted by Gardner Fox and Tony Isabella, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Frank Springer.
I am not especially familiar with the Man of Bronze; partially since I don't think he's ever had the comics presence his contemporary the Shadow did. In fact, I know I've read more pastiches and knock-offs of him than the genuine article! This issue, Doc's uncle in Canada is killed by a werewolf; and he and his crew take the train out to help his cousin, Pat. I believe she would be a recurring character in his stories, and she is established as "a capable young woman in a time before capable young women became fashionable." Unfortunately, this is a two-parter, and the next issue would be the last at Marvel!
Eight issues doesn't seem like much of a run; which makes me wonder how much the Doc Savage license was. I feel like, cheaper than Tarzan, more expensive than the stuff that ended up at Gold Key? Best guess.
Man, you're not kidding about the MANY, MANY Doc Savage knock-offs that flooded the market since he was 1st introduced. DC might be the company to ask seeing as how they've used him a couple times, with the last one being in that criminally cut short First Wave pulp series they doing in '08.
ReplyDeleteI'm mildly surprised no one has tried to use him, the Shadow, etc. as some kind of shared-universe movie thing. But I think the rights are probably more expensive than maybe they ought to be.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right or else it would've already happened by now.
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