May 24, 2013
Continuing to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Doc Savage and King Kong
Radio Archives continues to offers new King Kong and Doc Savage products, with one more still to come. Today we are proud to offer high-quality limited edition Joe DeVito posters. Click here to take a look at these four gorgeous paintings by this award winning artist.
Doc Savage: Skull Island Series 1, wraparound cover
Doc Savage: Skull Island Series 2, front cover
KONG: King of Skull Island, full montage
KING KONG
In the post-war years, America developed a new economic base with a new and ever-increasing standard of living. This new middle-class lifestyle, coupled with the baby boom that ran throughout the 1950s, created suburbia — with housing developments, highways, shopping centers, and all of the other hallmarks of this new society becoming the norm.As always, radio reflected the culture of its audience — and never more so than with the rise of the situation comedy in the late 1940s.
Originally, Father Knows Best was not much different than similar situation comedies of the period, the concepts of which were basically that “daddy is a well-meaning dumbbell, but we still love him.” However, by the time the show first aired over NBC on August 25, 1949, most of the clichés had been removed, and thanks to excellent writing and the outstanding acting talents of the principals, these hilarious slices of everyday life rise above the norm to make Father Knows Best one of the highlight series of late-era network radio entertainment.
As portrayed by Robert Young, who co-created the series with writer Ed James, the title character of Jim Anderson is a successful insurance salesman. He is ambitious, likeable, and a good provider for his family -- though he often grows exasperated by the turmoil of his everyday home life. The plots generally begin quite simply -- Jim surprises his wife Margaret (June Whitley) with tickets to a show, for instance -- then quickly become complicated as the plans, schemes, commitments, and miscommunications of their three children, Betty (Rhoda Williams), Bud (Ted Donaldson), and Kathy (Norma Jean Nilsson) and their friends and neighbors get in the way.
Heard today, Father Knows Best still retains its ability to hilariously reflect the interpersonal relationships of a typical American family, because, though times change, people don’t; raising good kids today is no easier or less complicated than it was in 1950.
The twenty shows in this collection have been digitally restored, resulting in ten full hours of family-friendly radio entertainment from one of the best and most enduring situation comedies of all time. 10 hours $29.98 Audio CDs / $14.99 Download.
Special 50% discount Offer
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is considered one of the greatest tales of horror to date. When one of the best, but most underrated producers of the Golden Age Radio added in his production and vocal skills, a true radio serial classic was born and is now collected in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Volume 1.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is just one of over 300 radio series and serials produced by George Edwards over the course of his twenty year career in radio. Telling Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of a man divided, this fifteen minute serial debuted in 1943, running for 52 episodes, and was produced by Edwards, a well-known Australian radio personality. The man behind other Australian series, such as Afloat with Henry Morgan and Adventures of Marco Polo lent not only his production skills to Jekyll and Hyde, but shared his amazing vocal talents as well. Edwards’ skill to do multiple voices in a single episode definitely fit the needs of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde, Volume 1 collects the first 28 episodes, 7 hours, of one of the best serial adventures of the radio era. The intense pacing of each episode as well as the high quality production values and the talented voice acting of George Edwards and the rest of the cast make this a must have for any fan of Classic Radio.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde now features a fantastic painting by Douglas Klauba.This painting was originally painted for the Scottish Tourism Board. The background behind the image relates to Robt. L. Stevenson originally writing Jekyll and Hyde based in Edinburgh, or at least upon his boyhood memories of the city and the streets.
7 hours. Regular Price $20.98 - Specially priced until June 6 for $10.49 Audio CDs / $5.24 Download.
It was the largest, most ambitious, and most successful military operation ever attempted -- and radio was there to cover it.
D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. It was the turning point of the war in Europe, the beginning of the end for the Axis as the Allies started their drive towards Germany. It was a momentous event that would change not only the course of World War II, but the history of the world. Radio Archives is pleased and proud to offer the complete and continuous NBC network coverage of the events of June 6 and 7, 1944.
Noted inspirational author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, King Haakon VII of Norway, Premier Gerbandy of the Netherlands, Premier Pierlot of Belgium, and US Senators Clark, Barkley, White, Hill and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce speak, as does the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. General Eisenhower speaks from SHAEF headquarters.
Regular NBC shows were included in the broadcast, “The Bob Hope Show”, “Fibber McGee & Molly”, “The Guiding Light”, “Vic & Sade”, “The Red Skelton Show”, “The Road of Life”, “Today’s Children”, “Ma Perkins”, “Pepper Young’s Family”, “Mary Noble, Backstage Wife”, “Stella Dallas”, “Lorenzo Jones”, “Young Widder Brown”, “When A Girl Marries” and “Front Page Farrell” among them.
Hear the events of the day as reported by Ben Grauer, Cesar Saerchinger, Charles F. McCarthy, David Anderson, Don Goddard, Don Hollenbeck, Ed Hocker, Edward R. Murrow, Elmer Peterson, George Wheeler, H. V. Kaltenborn, Herbert M. Clark, James Willard, John W. Vandercook, Louis P. Lockner, Lowell Thomas, Merrill Mueller, Morgan Beatty, Ralph Howard, Richard Harkness, Robert McCormick, Robert St. John, Tommy Traynor, W. W. Chaplin and Wright Bryan. Alex Dreier, in Chicago, recalled his experiences as the last western correspondent in Nazi Germany while Stanley Richardson offered an eyewitness account of the invasion from the Channel boats, and George Hicks reported from the beach-head itself!
These are recordings that many historians believe to be among the most valuable audio documents ever preserved. The NBC broadcasts — containing over 38 hours of continuous programming of news, music, drama, comedy, and entertainment — are history as it happened, in a special collection that is sure to occupy a special place in your radio collection. 38 hours. Normally priced at $113.98 Audio CDs / $56.99 Download, D-Day is Specially priced through the month of June at only $99.98 Audio CDs / $49.99 Download.
On June 6, 2004, in remembrance of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, the ABC Radio program Perspective featured a fascinating story detailing radio's coverage of D-Day as it happened in 1944. Written, edited, and narrated by ABC reporter Chuck Sivertsen, the feature utilized clips from the D-Day collection described above. We think this in-depth and well-presented piece provides an excellent overview of the historic content of this collection.
Will Murray's Pulp Classics #26
Read by Doug Stone. Liner Notes by Will Murray
They called G-8 the Flying Spy. History never recorded his exploits—and for good reason! No one would ever believe World War I was that wild!
G-8, the high-flying ace pilot of World War I, was born in the front seat of a car barreling through the Holland Tunnel. His father was Robert Jasper Hogan, who had made quite a name for himself as a prolific pulp writer specializing in aviation fiction during the glamorous era now styled Between the Wars. Among practitioners of that now-lost art, this school of writing was styled Yammering Guns, after the sound of contending synchronized machine guns in furious action.
It was the summer of 1933, and despite the Great Depression, Popular Publications was booming. Part of their Autumn expansion plans entailed launching The Spider, and a companion title to be aimed at the legions of readers who drank up fictionalized accounts of World War I Allied aces versus Imperial Germany’s various bi-winged counts and barons, red and otherwise.
One of Popular’s star writers, Hogan was doubtless the first writer publisher Harry Steeger considered when casting about for a suitable scribe. The unnamed magazine was on the schedule as a monthly. The designated author would have to know his rudders and ailerons—and be reliable. Hard drinkers need not apply. And Hogan had been an air cadet during World War I, although the armistice came before he could ship out and see action.
Steeger and Hogan hashed out an idea. It was part Eddie Rickenbacker and part What Price Glory?—which was a popular Maxwell Anderson stage play turned into a motion picture. Price stressed the horrors of war as counterpoint to the sentimental comradeship of the Allies in the trenches. Only in this case, by horror, Popular Publications meant something far more horrific than mustard-gas trench warfare atrocities.
For, envisioning the expected strain on the writer’s imagination a monthly novel would enact, Steeger and Hogan agreed that the new series would soon grow stale if they didn’t spice it up with elements of the fantastic. This recipe ranged from merely super-scientific death rays to the unabashedly supernatural manifestations. Nothing was taboo in G-8. Hogan was a pioneer of over-the-top plotting generations before the term was coined.
Normally, pulp publishers put house names on such fare, to protect themselves from ill, drunken or unreliable authors. But Hogan’s byline was pure pulp gold, so Steeger took a chance. The series would carry the author’s true name. Hogan never let him down.
Driving home to New Jersey from Manhattan, Hogan passed through the Holland Tunnel. While in traffic, he worked out the details of G-8’s first wild adventure. He named his hero after a Colorado ranch where Hogan worked one summer. G-8 never had another name. His wingmen, Bull Martin and Nippy Weston, were modeled on a pair of real-life flyboys named Bull Nevin and Nippy Westover. Pulp fans have accused Hogan of copying the friendly rivalry of Doc Savage’s wartime buddies, Monk Mayfair and Ham Brooks, in his depictions of Bull and Nippy. In fact, all those characters were derived from What Price Glory?’s memorable Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt.
The premier tale, which appeared in the October, 1933 issue of G-8 and His Battle Aces, exemplified the outrageous approach Steeger and Hogan envisioned for the series. Hogan called it The Bat Staffel. Therein he introduced a German mad scientist who would bedevil his new hero the length and breadth of the series—some eleven tortured years. This first time out, Herr Doktor Krueger unleashed monster bats as big as bi-planes on Allied Sopwith Camels and Spads. It made for fearsome reading.
With his canvas limited to the skies over No Man’s Land during the four years encompassed by what was originally called the Great War, Hogan went for broke, escalating from terrifying tales such as The Skeleton Patrol and Squadron of the Scorpion to unchecked phantasms of terror like Satan Paints the Sky, Here Flies the Hawks of Hell and The Bloody Wings of the Vampire. Hogan had a predilection for half-human antagonists, which manifested in an annual parade of beast-men, wolf-men, leopard-men, panther-men, even rhino-men. For G-8 and his battle buddies, the War to End All Wars proved to be a very long and hairy conflict.
Once, Hogan outlined a particularly gruesome G-8 plot for a queasy but mesmerized Popular Publications staffer. “My editor was nauseated,” he recalled. Readers ranging from ten years old to outwardly mature stockbrokers ate it up, however. They were so captivated by the Flying Spy that even the glamorous new all-metal aircraft dominating the skies of World War II didn’t squash their interest in the glorified kites of the prior conflict. It took a crushing shortage of pulp paper to force Steeger to finally and reluctantly cancel the magazine. After penning over a hundred G-8 novels, Hogan took it in stride and blithely switched over to writing quality stories for The Saturday Evening Post. His last editor was aghast. He didn’t think Hogan had it in him.
Before it was all over, G-8 battled weird menaces ranging from Martians to Zombies, with assorted undead minions of the Kaiser in between. If Hogan couldn’t concoct a fresh beast-man, why, a clutch of cave men or freshly-defrosted Viking berserkers would keep readers riveted. Recurring foes came and went. G-8 finally vanquished Herr Doktor Krueger late in the series. Or did he? Maybe they renewed their feud for World War II. If so, Hogan failed to record those encounters. No doubt they would have captivated ever-loyal fans of the one and only Flying Spy.
Through it all, Robert J. Hogan never seemed ashamed to have his Christian name attached to effusions bearing overblown titles like The Flying Coffins of the Damned. And he a minister’s son.
This inaugural G-8 audiobook is narrated by the talented Doug Stone. Stand clear! Contact! Zoooom! Tac-tac-tac-tac! Yammering Guns live again!
Nick DeGregorio composed the music for the G-8 and His Battle Aces series of audiobooks. 7 hours $27.98 Audio CDs / $13.99 Download.
RadioArchives.com and Will Murray are giving away the downloadable version of the newly released Strange Detective Mysteries audiobook for FREE.
If you prefer the Audio CDs to play in your car or home CD player, the coupon code will subtract the $11.99 price of the download version from the Audio CDs. That makes the Audio CDs half price.
Add Strange Detective Mysteries to the shopping cart and use the Coupon Code AUDIOBOOK.
“Strange Detective Mysteries #1 is one of my favorite pulps and I am excited to produce it as an audiobook with my good friends at Radio Archives. It leads off with Norvell W. Page’s bizarre novelette, “When the Death-Bat Flies,” and includes thrilling stories by Norbert Davis, Paul Ernst, Arthur Leo Zagat, Wayne Rogers and others. Popular Publications went all-out to make this 1937 debut issue a winner. And they succeeded!”
Happy listening,
Will Murray
New Will Murray's Pulp Classics eBooks
The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray's Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and Captain Satan. Will Murray's Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday's Pulp today!
Poisoned medicine had flooded New York — and overnight all hospitals had been turned into a hell of betrayed human sufferers! For a strange and incredible horror had gripped the metropolis. Men gazed, terrified, upon a greenish Skull, glowing evilly in the darkness, then died! And no physician nor science could save them from unbelievable agony and death! Where once happy healthy citizens had dwelt was now a city of defleshed corpses. No help could come from the baffled police; and mercy in Manhattan was a forgotten word. Yet one man did not fear to challenge the Terror. Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, set out to find a way to battle the Skull — and save an entire city from an Epidemic of Poison Death! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.
What were these batlike monsters? What was the strange death they carried? G-8 and his ace buddies follow this horror staffel straight into action skies! G-8 and his Battle Aces rode the nostalgia boom ten years after World War I ended. These high-flying exploits were tall tales of a World War that might have been, featuring monster bats, German zombies, wolf-men, harpies, Martians, and even tentacled floating monsters. Most of these monstrosities were the work of Germany’s seemingly endless supply of mad scientists, chief of whom was G-8’s recurring Nemesis, Herr Doktor Krueger. G-8 battled Germany’s Halloween shock troops for over a decade, not ceasing until the magazine folded in the middle of World War II. G-8 and his Battle Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Dime Mystery Magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Dime Mystery Magazine, all written by Wyatt Blassingame, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Terror Tales magazine by Wyatt Blassingame, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
Perhaps the horrors Robert Brundage saw in that laboratory of Prince Ahmed had made him mad. Perhaps... In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
A grinning death's-head led Stephen Benedict to a house of hell, where hanging corpses looked down with sightless eyes on ugly, midnight rites. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
By hiring handsome Jim Raleigh on her ranch, Beth hoped to make Carter Ganes jealous enough to propose to her. But in carefully stacking Cupid’s deck — Beth forgot one two-faced queen!.” One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, "There's something about a cowboy." The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
Beautiful tomboy Nell could stand most anything – now that she was going to marry Lew – except Bill giving her a pretty silk nightgown... as a wedding present. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, "There's something about a cowboy." The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
Find these legendary Pulp tales and more in Will Murray's Pulp Classics, now available at:
Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
Receive an exciting original Spider adventure FREE! Part of the Will Murray Pulp Classics line, The Spider #11, Prince of the Red Looters first saw print in 1934 and features his momentous battle with The Fly and his armies of crazed criminal killers.
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps, this is a perfect chance to give one of these fantastic yarns a real test run. With a full introduction to the Spider written by famed pulp historian and author Will Murray, The Spider #11 was written by one of pulp's most respected authors, Norvell W. Page. Writing as Grant Stockbridge, Page's stories included some of the most bizarre and fun takes on heroes and crime fighting in the history of escapist fiction.
Even today Page's scenarios and his edge-of-the-seat writing style are still thrilling both new and old fans everywhere. For those who have never read one of these rollercoaster adventures, you are in for a thrill. If you already know how much fun a classic pulp is, make sure you get a copy of this classic.
See what the Total Pulp Experience is for yourself. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
Send an eMail to eBooks@RadioArchives.com and start reading your FREE copy of the Spider #11 within seconds! Experience The Best Pulps the Past has to offer in the most modern way possible!
Pulp fiction's Master of Men returns in two classic stories from one of the pulp era's best selling magazines. First, in "Scourge of the Yellow Fangs" (1937), a hidden fiend preys on the city's Chinatown. Soon, a new menace begins to spread, threatening to engulf Asian and Caucasian alike. Only The Spider has guessed the identify of the ruthless criminal behind the atrocities committed on the nation's newest citizens - but can he survive after being targeted for a ghastly death? Next, in "Death and The Spider" (1942), from Mar-lar-delan, ancient lama of Tibet, came the prophecy that when Death walked the Earth as a man, The Spider would die! Beseiged by terror and murder, the city struggles to survive as criminal forces rally to the man called Death! These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00
The Dark Avenger wages war on organized super-crime in two classic pulp mysteries by Walter B. Gibson writing as "Maxwell Grant." First, a city's financial system is threatened by the murderous machinations of "Intimidation, Inc.," until The Shadow beats them at their own game! Then, the Knight of Darkness strives to unmask the"Wizard of Crime," the hidden financial genius behind Intimidation, Inc., in a rare shadowy sequel. This instant collector's item showcases the classic color pulp covers by George Rozen and the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Paul Orban, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray.$14.95.
The original "Man of Steel" returns in three action-packed pulp thrillers by Paul Ernst and Emile Tepperman writing as "Kenneth Robeson." First, The Avenger is blamed when massive power outages black out North America. Can Dick Benson locate the mastermind called Nevlo in time to prevent a deadly final blackout? Then, Death in Slow Motion cripples an American industry, and Justice, Inc. must find an antidote in time to save hundreds from the deadly paralysis plague! Finally, a defeated crook returns to plot Vengeance on The Avenger in an exciting novelette by Spider-wordsmith Emile Tepperman. This classic pulp reprint includes both color covers by Graves Gladney, Paul Orban's dynamic interior illustrations and commentary by pulp historian Will Murray. $14.95.
80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze's anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent's original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of "The Midas Man," who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in "The Derelict of Skull Shoal." PLUS: "80 Years of Doc Savage": a Pictorial History of the Pulps' Greatest Superman! This landmark collector's edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban's original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze's anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent's original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of "The Midas Man," who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in "The Derelict of Skull Shoal." PLUS: "80 Years of Doc Savage": a Pictorial History of the Pulps' Greatest Superman! This landmark collector's edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban's original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
Featured Girasol Replica: Weird Tales #107 November 1932 [Pulp Replica]
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued - but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $35.00
Will Murray's Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
Doc Savage: Skull Island is the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.
By Dr. Art Sippo
While walking on the street, Doc Savage has his pocket picked. Well, not exactly. A pick-pocket puts something into his pocket. It is a warning that if he would prevent death to thousands, he should go to a house in a New Jersey marsh. When Doc and his crew arrive there, they witness a weird explosion that digs a perfectly straight symmetrical canal in an instant. As they did deeper into the mystery, they encounter the Cold Death, a hand-held weapon that shoots a beam of incandescent light which is as cold as the depths of space yet can cut a man in half in an instant. The ray beam is turned on Doc Savage and even the bronze man almosts succumbs to a freezing death! This weapon is the trigger to the most powerful explosive ever known: an explosive that harnesses the power of the atom itself. It is the key to a master plan of extortion where entire cities are held hostage. And New York is the first city on the list! At the center of this plan is a man with weird eyes that glow in the dark who appears to be the mastermind behind the scheme.
Who is the mystery man? Where does he come from? What is this weapon that brings Cold Death? Can even Doc Savage prevail against such a doomsday weapon?
This story was written in 1936 yet it eerily predicts laser-like weapons and the explosive power of nuclear fusion. The threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists and fanatics is timelier today than when the story was first printed. This is one of my favorites of the weird science Doc Savage sagas. Don’t Miss it! Double Novel reprint $12.95
Comments From Our Customers!
Dominick Cancilla writes:
I saw your note on the OTR list about your work with Radio Archives and wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you. I have purchased every single pulp audiobook Radio Archives has put out and enjoy them immensely.
Captain Satan and Captain Zero which you performed, were two of my favorites. You mentioned having a good time creating these, and I think that enthusiasm really shows in your performance. I am particularly impressed by your ability to deliver this kind of material without any hint of corniness or campiness. It makes me, as a listener, feel as if I’m “back in the day” reading the book as it was intended.
If you'd like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We'd love to hear from you!
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