The Bronze Gazette #93/#94 - Chuck Welch, ed.

I think I was a subscriber to the Doc Savage fanzine THE BRONZE GAZETTE many years ago. It would have been before the Fire of ’08, so I’m not sure. But I realized recently it was still being published, and since I’ve been enjoying THE SHADOWED CIRCLE so much, I figured I ought to check out this fanzine devoted to the other great pulp hero from Street & Smith. So I subscribed and just received issues #93 and #94, the current offerings. I’m really glad I did because I raced through them and had a great time.

While I love that so much wonderful material is available on the Internet, there’s something about the feel of a printed fanzine in your hands. Sure, there’s some nostalgia involved, but THE BRONZE GAZETTE is just a top-notch publication all the way around. #93 leads off with a great cover by Mark Wheatley, who also has an article inside about the painting and how he envisioned it as the way Doc might have looked if the novels about him had appeared originally in one of the slick magazines, like COLLIER’S, instead of in a pulp. I really like this cover. The back cover by Tim Faurote is another alternate vision and finds Doc and the Fabulous Five featured on a RESERVOIR DOGS-like movie poster for THE MAN OF BRONZE.

Inside this issue is an excellent assortment of articles: a look at a very obscure Doc Savage fanzine from the Seventies; a piece about using AI to create art; an exploration of a possible romance between Renny and Pat, and along the same lines, some speculation about Doc’s avoidance of intimacy; an interview with Doug Wildey about an unrealized Doc animated series; tributes to writer Mark Justice and fan/dealer Weatherly Hardy; and an examination of the Doc Talos series, another alternate take on the Doc Savage character. Writers include Will Murray, Craig McDonald, Howard Wright, Malcolm Deeley, Bill Lane, and Alexander LeVasseur. A fine job all around.

#94 has a fine front cover by Bob Larkin with an article inside about it. The back cover by Tim Faurote finds Doc and his pals cast in another movie, this one a Magnificent Seven-like take on THE MAN OF BRONZE. Chuck Welch leads off the interior contents with an editorial that generated considerable discussion on-line. He suggests that the current generation of Doc Savage fans may be the last generation of Doc fans, and I can’t disagree with the theory. We’re an aging group, there’s no getting around that, and younger fans aren’t really replacing the older ones who head off to that newsstand full of pulps in the sky. But I also agree when he says that as Doc Savage fans, we should rage against the dying of the light and maintain our passion for the character and the stories in any way we can. Reading THE BRONZE GAZETTE seems like a good start on that. I also intend to read the Doc novels by Will Murray that I’ve never gotten around to (there are still a few) and reread some of the original pulp stories that occupy a fond place in my memories. I don’t have time to reread the entire series, but I definitely intend to revisit some highlights.

Elsewhere in this issue is some great art by Rick Forgus; a review of THE DEVIL GENGHIS by Daryl Morrissy; a look at the final Doc novel by Lester Dent, UP FROM EARTH’S CENTER, by Steve Donoso of THE SHADOWED CIRCLE fame (I enjoyed this novel much more than I expected to); speculation by Glen Held on whether Monk was based on famous New York gangster Edward “Monk” Eastman (Held makes a good case); an essay on the possible connection between Doc Savage and Charles Atlas by Mark Lambert; and a final note by Howard Wright on the fanzine THE MAN OF BRONZE discussed in the previous issue. All in all, another fine issue.

I really enjoyed reading both of these volumes. They took me back to an earlier and in many ways better time, an era that I find myself revisiting more and more as I get older. A number of back issues of THE BRONZE GAZETTE are still available. I have a hunch I know what I’m going to be doing for a while. If you’re a long-time Doc fan like me, don’t overlook THE BRONZE GAZETTE like I did. I give it my highest recommendation.

The Shadowed Circle #1 - Steve Donoso, ed.

Regular readers of this blog know that I’m a long-time fan of The Shadow and have reviewed a number of the pulp novels over the years. I recently had a chance to read THE SHADOWED CIRCLE #1, an old-fashioned fanzine devoted to the character, and I had a great time with it.

Edited and published by Steve Donoso, with art and design by John Sies and assistance from deputy editor Rebecca Robinson, THE SHADOWED CIRCLE #1 is an impressive publication, starting off with a fine cover by John Jamilkowski. The contents include an essay by Will Murray about some of the female villains faced by The Shadow; this piece was squeezed out of the reprints from Sanctum Publications by a lack of space, and it’s great to have it available. As the leading expert on The Shadow, Murray’s work is always informative and entertaining.

John L. French takes a look at the Shadow novels by Bruce Elliott, who replaced longtime author Walter B. Gibson for a while late in the pulp’s run. These stories by Elliott are almost universally reviled, with a common criticism being that the character doesn’t even seem like himself. French comes up with an intriguing theory to explain that. I’ve never read one of Elliott’s Shadow novels, and I really ought to. I’ve read some of his other mystery novels that I liked quite a bit.

Craig McDonald contributes an article about the only villains who faced The Shadow in four separate novels, Shiwan Khan (created by Walter B. Gibson) and Benedict Stark (created by Theodore Tinsley, who backed up Gibson on the series for several years). I’ve read at least one of the Shiwan Khan novels, but I don’t think I’ve read all of them. I’ve never read any of the novels featuring Benedict Stark, and McDonald’s excellent article makes me think I need to do that, too. Ah, if only there was more time in the day!

There’s also an interview with James Patterson, co-author of the recent Shadow novel that puts a whole new spin on the character, and a lengthy review of that book by Henry Lopez. I’ve never met Patterson, although I’m acquainted with some of his co-authors, but everyone I know who has met him seems to think he’s a wonderful guy. That’s certainly the way he comes across in this interview, very affable, whether I agree with his take on The Shadow or not. (Brief personal story: I have been in the same room with Patterson several times without actually meeting him. At a mystery convention a few years ago, I happened to be in the hotel lobby at six o’clock in the morning, and there he was, sitting in a chair by himself reading a newspaper. I started to go up and introduce myself to him, but then I thought, no, he looked so grateful to be just sitting there with nobody bothering him, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I went on my way.)

Rounding out this issue are articles about Gibson’s work on a Batman story (his last published work), being a young fan of a pulp hero, short films featuring The Shadow from the early Thirties (I’d never even heard of these!), cover artwork from the pulp, and zombies in the radio show. It’s a very nice variety of material and all well-written and interesting.

Fanzines such as this have really fallen by the wayside with the rise of the Internet, but I read a bunch of them over the years, especially during the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties. Reading THE SHADOWED CIRCLE #1 was a wonderful reminder of that time, as well as being an excellent publication in its own right. I had an absolutely wonderful time with it. It’s available on Amazon, or you can subscribe to it. All the details are available on the magazine’s Facebook page. If you’re a Shadow fan or a fan of pulp fiction in general, I give it a very high recommendation.