Why You Should Care is a new feature at CraveOnline Comics that hopes to enlighten you on some characters that are damn cool, but under-utilized or long dormant. Sometimes they may be making a comeback in the monthly titles or have a new interpretation appearing soon, but more often than not, this is just us imploring you to dig through the back-issues at your local comic shop and seek out some new characters and stories that you might not have been aware of previously.
As always, we want to hear your feedback and suggestions on this feature, so don't hesitate to contact us!
With the coming of DC's new
First Wave line of books that incorporate the pulp characters of the DC catalog into a new genre specific universe, we thought it was only prudent to take a gander at the center piece of this new initiative, the one and only Doc Savage. Also be sure to check out our
preview of the Batman/Doc Savage Special by Brian Azzarello and Phil Noto, in stores today.
First Appearance: Doc Savage Magazine March 1933
Real Name: Clark Savage, Jr.
Created by: Lester Dent, Henry Ralston and John Nanovic
Why You Should Care: Doc Savage comes from an age of radio serials and pulp characters like The Shadow, and has appeared in almost every medium you can think of. Comics, novels, radio, television and film have all been graced with some sort of Doc Savage adventure, and now the character has come under the DC Comics umbrella, where he will be the focal point of their upcoming First Wave series of books, featuring pulpified versions of their own characters like Batman and Black Canary, but incorporating the original pulp classics like Savage and The Spirit.
Doc Savage is the archetypal adventure hero, upon which modern characters like Indiana Jones and James Bond draw influence from. He was born Clark Savage, a child whose father trained him to be the absolute peak of human capability, ultimately forging him into the world's greatest...everything. Detective, medical doctor, inventor, scientist, muscian; no title is absent from Savage's resume.
As far as comic books go, Doc has had a long publication history, having gone through multiple publishers, including Marvel, DC and Dark Horse, until finally arriving where he will presumably stay for a very long time, back at DC.
Much like Superman is the American icon for comic book superheroes, Doc Savage holds a similar position when it comes to the American tradition of pulp serials and magazines. The way DC is presenting him will allow almost any reader to jump right into his history, but his long back catalog of adventures in various mediums will surely hold a renewed interest once First Wave arrives in full force.
Recommended Reading:
- Shadow Comics #1
- Doc Savage (Marvel) #1-8
- Doc Savage: Curse of the Fire God #1-4
- Batman/Doc Savage Special
