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When you look back on the history of comics, you really can't leave out the influence of the pulps on early comic creators. Doc Savage, the Shadow and the Phantom are the prototypes for costumed super-heroes. Elements from these three pulp and newspaper comic strip heroes would inspire many of the golden age heroes who appeared in comics. The Phantom established the skin-tight costume with trunks over pants, high top boots, and enigmatic white eye-slits in the mask. The Shadow established the unrelenting pursuit of justice, no matter the cost. And Doc Savage introduced a code of conduct that aspired to self-improvement and to helping others. Many elements of Doc Savage's life and stories would inspire the creation of millionaire Bruce Wayne, the perfect fighter and detective. But, more than anyone, it was Superman who borrowed the most from Doc. Doc, was Dr. Clark Savage Jr., and he was know as the Man of Bronze, both for his deeply tanned skin and the fact that he looked like some classical Greek statue, cast in bronze. From time to time, he would retreat to his Fortress of Solitude, in the arctic. His strength, speed and endurance bordered on the super-human. Any of this ringing a bell? Superman is Clark Kent and he's known as the Man of Steel, for his impenetrable skin. He's a perfect physical specimen, though from a different planet. He retreats, from time to time, to his Fortress of Solitude, originally in the mountains near Metropolis, but later, in the Arctic. His strength, speed and endurance are super-human. I can't possibly cover all the influences Doc Savage has had on comics, good and bad, but I want to discuss a few of them. Many pulp stories were dark and somewhat depressing. Even when justice was served, it was a bleak kind of justice. Doc's stories often had their elements of darkness, but there was also a ray of hope, in that Doc was trying to seek justice, but also to root out the causes of injustice. There was always a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, with the application of intelligence, vigilance and perseverance, the problem need not repeat itself. To this end, Doc established his "crime college", a mental facility in upstate New York, where captured criminals were rehabilitated in a high-handed fashion which violates most civilized standards of human rights and individual free will. Through some sort of intricate brain surgery, Doc was able to remove the "gland" which causes criminal behavior. This is one of those bad ideas that sounds cool when you first propose it, and later you find you've written yourself into a very dark place. On the other hand, Doc was much less of a loner than other pulp heroes. He had a band of friends to assist him, comrades from the World War (remember, when publication began in 1933, there had been only the one world war). Doc was the youngest of them, and their first adventure together was chronicled, much later by Philip Jose Farmer in his 1991 novel "Escape from Loki". Artists usually exaggerate Doc's physique, making him some sort of body-builder, but he is described as tall, lithe and well-muscled. He's got a weight-lifter's strength, a gymnast's grace and distance-runner's endurance. His form is such that, from a distance, he does not appear impressive. It is only up close that one has a true impression of his size and presence. Contrary to many book covers, Doc is not blonde, his hair is a shade or two darker than his bronze skin. His eyes have a golden cast to them, as if there were flecks of the metal swirling.
 In the books, Doc is almost never described in jodhpurs and boots, though he's been depicted in nothing else for most of his career (and ripped shirt), but here I've put him in a tailored double-breasted suit of the period. Doc's assistants, sometimes known as the Fabulous Five (another influence on comics), though never called such, in the stories themselves were a group of men as singular as Doc himself. They would serve as the template for super-teams from the golden age and beyond. Each was, in his particular field, the best in the world.
Left to right is:
One other recurring character made appearances from time to time, to break up this "boy's club". Doc's own cousin, Patricia Savage, (shades of Supergirl) dropped in every so often to join in the adventure. Like Doc, she was taller than normal, and shared his deeply tanned skin and dark bronze hair.
 All these drawings are based on my impressions of the characters. I've read many Doc Savage stories and most of them are pretty good. I recommend Farmer's "Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life", for a treatment of the characters as if they had really existed.
That's all for now. Happy 75th, Doc!
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