Comments on: SDCC’08: Doc Savage Returns to Silver Screen

By: mark

mark — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:17:03 +0000

I have read several of the pulps and paperback. The pulps have cliff-hanger endings which were trimmed from most of the paperback novels but very little if any of the story has been changed.

What has always captured my attention, is how Doc is portrayed on the pulps vs. the paperbacks and in print. The pictures of Doc used for the bantam books seem to fit the discription better.

By: Kimmer

Kimmer — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:30:00 +0000

I grew up reading and collecting the Bantam editions of Doc Savage. I was pleased to run across the new reprints of the 1930’s magazines. It’s been a kick reading the “Man of Bronze” 30+ years after I read it for the first time. I don’t recall the 1930s style writing in the Bantam editions. For any of you who have read both, did Bantam update the 1930s langauage when it published them in the 1960s and 1970s?

As for movie, that would be cool, but unfortunately I fear it would go the way of other similar remakes–heroes from a different period that won’t interest or be appreciated by the modern masses. Too bad, and hope I’m wrong.

By: mark

mark — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:57:00 +0000

I have had the opportunity to read all the Doc novels. Trying to find one to make an initial impact isn’t hard, there are so many to choose from. I would start with Red Snow or Cold Death. Both are entertaining and can be easily updated. Secret in the Sky is another. To start, Docs aides can use their real names and perhaps nick names can be added in flash backs (loose the monkey, chemistry.)

And get someone with CHARISMA to play Doc. Doc has had more than one face over the last 70 some odd years. But he has always been striking.

By: Junior

Junior — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:25:14 +0000

I don’t think I agree about the inclusion of Doc’s practice of lobotomizing crooks — in the ’30s that wasn’t considered a sinister thing to do, but now it’d unnecessarily complicate the character. I personally enjoy the moral complexity of Doc’s fascistic inclinations, but you do that now and it’s a political movie (one I’d like to see, but I don’t think Doc Savage is the place to do it).

By: Cory

Cory — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:32:35 +0000

I liked “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” however the others mentioned weren’t so good.

I lurv, Doc Savage and The Shadow. In order for the Movie to be creatively successful it would probably have to stylistically match the way “The Watchmen” trailer is. It CANNOT be like “Indiana Jones and the Atomic Refridgerator of Doom”. And it probably has to have the style of dialog that “Batman: The Dark Knight” has except done in the 1930’s period. WARREN ELLIS or Matt Fraction would have to write the screenplay.

By: Mark I.

Mark I. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:01:28 +0000

True, true…although (don’t kill me) I thought Sky Captain was a bit dull and muddled at times. The Superman Robots were awesome though. The Shadow especially gets a bad rap, but it might have to do with the way it seemed to try and be the Burton Batman with a dash of the Beatty Dick Tracy.

Which is funny, because the plot of Shadow isn’t miles away from being Batman Begins, if you think about it.

By: Stephen Schleicher

Stephen Schleicher — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:44:34 +0000

Mark I said: THE SHADOW, THE PHANTOM, THE ROCKETEER, AND SKY CAPTAIN.

Then I said: All great movies that didn’t get the credit they deserved.

By: Mark I.

Mark I. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:16:32 +0000

I’m afraid the most successful interpretation of Doc Savage will probably contiue to be the flashbacks of Jonas Venture on THE VENTURE BROTHERS. A modern Doc Savage film would have to kick thirty kinds of ass to even have a chance to be successful, and even then audiences might treat it the way they treated THE SHADOW, THE PHANTOM, THE ROCKETEER, AND SKY CAPTAIN.

By: Stephen Schleicher

Stephen Schleicher — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:43:08 +0000

You need to start with Man of Bronze – that explains everything, from Doc’s history, to where he gets his wealth, to some of the more interesting aspects of Doc Savage. Man of Bronze is a globe spanning tale that takes you from New York to the South America and features mystery, assassination attempts, and a lost city of gold!

By: Bean525

Bean525 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:30:29 +0000

Hey Stephen, this is great! I’ve been meaning to get a few of the Doc Savage double novels from Nostalgia Ventures, because the Shadow ones are great, any particular stories a newbie should read first to get a feel for the character?