Hidalgo Trading Company - Latest Comments

Re: 029 01/40 The Other World

rgdmalaysia — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:17:13 -0000

Of the Doc in a prehistoric world stories, The Other World is the best. If just for the scene where Doc is pursued by giant hungry prehistoric weasels.

Re: 103a 04/44 The Whisker of Hercules

rgdmalaysia — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:09:22 -0000

This is a pretty good Doc. I like the villain's weapon (SPOILER super speed) espc. the scene where Monk takes it and how the effect is described. Perhaps the best of the later Docs.

Re: 007 04/34 The Monsters

rgdmalaysia — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:05:31 -0000

I've read all of the original Doc Savage adventures and this is hands down my favorite. It is the template for how a Doc Savage adventure should be written. It has a great weapon (killer giants) and the first couple chapters are the best intro of any Doc Savage story espc. what the pinheads and the fate of the guy who laughs at them.

Re: 014 12/35 The Fantastic Island

rgdmalaysia — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:00:31 -0000

I seem to be in the minority but I like this story very much because there's a lot going on - Giant carnivorous lizards, the thumbhole death (which I find interesting not straining credulity too much), Count Ramadanoff may seem like a hackneyed villain now but at that time I think he was quite good. Johnny is used well in this story and he is my favorite member of the five so that's good too. Also I live in Malaysia and they are large land crabs here so the idea of giant man eating crabs are a cool one.

Re: 031 12/34 The Annihilist

rgdmalaysia — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 04:51:28 -0000

One of the grimmest Docs - The torture scene is almost too much to bear. I like it - Gritty and powerful and an effeminate (euphemism for gay?) villain. I like the Ham and Monk scenes of this one.

Re: 011 09/34 Fear Cay

rgdmalaysia — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 04:48:06 -0000

Definitely one of my favorite Doc stories - Dan Thunden is a great villain, good use of the five plus Pat, neat device for villainy (ants) - Always a strong point in the best Docs plus the whole fountain of youth/Silphium thing. Pacing is great, moves really well and an awesome climax.

Re: Doc Savage Film News – Shane Black Edition

Jack Hoffman — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 08:29:15 -0000

My casting:

Doc: Dewayne Johnson
Monk: Michael Chicklis
Ham: Hugh Laurie
Johnny: Doug Jones
Renny: Jared Padilecki
Long Tom: Wm. H Macy

Doc’s Father: Bruce Willis
Patricia Savage: Nyna Rivera

Re: 149h 12/46 The Disappearing Lady

Gordy Skorseth — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 23:25:09 -0000

This is a straightforward mystery story, involving murder, greed, blackmail and vengeance. It is a pretty good story but if you are looking for a more "typical" Doc adventure with strange machines, enigmatic events and odd people in exotic locations you should read the pre-war stories. I happen to like the more mature writing style (in this case Chuck Welch) of the later Doc stories. Not everyone does, however. Even so, this is a decent example of the less superhuman, more accessible Doc. If you haven't read any of this type, "The Disappearing Lady" would be a pretty good place to start.

Re: Doc Savage Film News – Shane Black Edition

HAL52 — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 16:57:17 -0000

In his day, Howie Long would have made a great Doc!!!

Re: 186 07/92 The Frightened Fish

Steve Donoso — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:43:50 -0000

A great, and ultimately flawed Doc Story. The novel is very good -- except for where I take issue with THE FRIGHTENED FISH. In this novel, Will Murray changes one of the basic fundamental cornerstones of the character of Doc Savage -- that he never intentionally takes a human life. Sure Doc changed over the years, but I found this character change to be completely out-of-character. THE RED SPIDER is set roughly in the same period and is far superior -- without the character change.

THE FRIGHTENED FISH was written by Will Murray from brief notes found in Lester Dent's papers. I could be mistaken, but I would bet good money that Lester Dent DID NOT have anything in his notes about Doc taking a life.

Re: Doc Savage Film News – Shane Black Edition

Gary Stevenson — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:35:25 -0000

Holy Cow! It's on FOR REAL! Okay, we had to wait for Iron Man 3 to get made. It's made. NOW IT'S OUR TURN. Most of you know by now that Shane Black got the green light to make Doc Savage. For us Doc fans this is the best news we've had in years (apart from the new novels). While it's great to hear that Doc is on his way, we need to remember that it will probably be a summer 2015 release. So we have lots of time to simmer in suspense. Over the years a lot of ideas have been posted as to who should play who. At this point I find myself not really worrying over casting. The fact that Doc is getting a huge budgeted second chance is exciting in and of itself. I've been a Doc fan for 40 years and and honestly, if the core stuff is all there: the 86th floor, superfirers, mercy bullets, anaesthetic grenades and gadgets, Monk really looking like an ape, Ham's sword cane, Renny with serious big fists, a little blood and some ass kicking fights, I can warm to any actor in any role. Just STAY FAITHFUL TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL.3 years ago I had mentioned on this site that whomever the producers chose for certain parts was bound to irk certain fans, but I think right now it's a case of "wait and see". Personally, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS! I'll bet some of you agree with me.

Re: 021 09/36 Cold Death

Rich_Mo — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 09:56:53 -0000

Cold Death - yeah, this was interesting to me primarily
because it was the first non-Lester Dent Doc Savage that I’ve read. Lawrence Donovan rattles off an action packed
if somewhat convoluted yarn here. I have to confess his non-adherence to plot
points he had previously established in the story messed with me a bit though. There
were a handful of semi-confusing details and odd pointers I could quibble about,
but maybe it’s just best to write these rough spots off as being anathema to
quickly written pulp stories. On the subject of the Cold Light weapon employed
here, even though it did do some significant damage – I was a little bored with
it. I much prefer the Doc stories where the menaces start with seemingly
weird/supernatural overtones – only to be exposed as some new cutting edge
scientific device. There was an interesting reference to an earlier Doc story –
The Land of Always-Night where Doc & crew had previously encountered a
similar illuminating force. Too, the character of Charles Vonier is mentioned
as someone who is familiar with this Cold Light (one of only six people in New
York, the other 5 being Doc and his aides, presumably from the Always-Night
adventure.) That showed some continuity
home work, which I liked. Also, on the
plus side, I thought the aides were handled well in this story. Monk was fun,
going so far as to tear up an iron maiden- like robot while trapped inside - and
inadvertently eating “gum drops” which turn out to be a chemical explosive
component to the Cold Light ray. Long Tom gets a lot to do in regard to working
up a machine to neutralize the ray, though the initial idea for the device is
proposed by Doc. Renny takes a bullet to the shoulder but still wades into a
pretty excellent fight at Doc’s Hildalgo warehouse towards the end. The
final fate of VAR reminded me a bit of the climax to Will Murray’s recent Horror
In Gold. There were a fair amount of good Dent-inspired character references by
Donovan I thought. I like it when Doc refers to his aides as
“brothers.”… But, overall this story was
pretty grim and humorless which I think to me was one of the biggest indicators
that Les Dent wasn’t at the helm here.
Donovan sure likes his plane crashes too – I think there were 4 of them
in this story. The cover had a sweet Walter Baumhofer painting– of Doc squaring
off against a machine gun wielding Wheeze McGovern… (I read the Nostalgia
Ventures edition.) Think I’ll wait a bit and then read The South Pole Terror
which is also in this volume. Thanks brothers!

Re: 021 09/36 Cold Death

Rich_Mo — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 20:48:12 -0000

Re: 040 12/39 The Dagger in the Sky

Tim Bateman — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:18:08 -0000

I actually started reading this and my first reaction was that it was not Dent but one of his sub-contractors. Then Sanda MacNamara appeared and I knew I was reading the real thing.

This is a novel in the transition period between the supersagas and the lower-key wartime exploits: there is still a conspiracy run by a criminal (or at least semi-criminal) organisation and a long voyage but there is no over-the-top technology and Doc behaves in a far more human manner.

Perhaps the most interesting point about this Doc novel, however, is that it prefigures the central scheme in Atlas Shrugged.

Re: Doc Savage Was Born on…

Jeff Deischer — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:09:51 -0000

That is something that Farmer made up for his book.

Re: Doc Savage Was Born on…

Jeff Deischer — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:09:01 -0000

What evidence is there in MOB to indicate that Doc was 29 in it? Or that it occurred in 1933?

Re: Doc Savage Was Born on…

Jeff Deischer — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 02:22:16 -0000

Chuck, to address your points: 1. I'd never seen this article until I commented on it -- so I couldn't have commented earlier. Likewise, I didn't see your response until just now. 2. You started with the assumption that Doc was born in 1901 to do your weather research. I proved that Doc was too young to have been born in 1901 -- which I DID mention in my comment. So you started from the wrong place. 3. The mention of the midnight sun in PERIL IN THE NORTH proves that Doc's birthday was between May and July (inclusive). You ignored this evidence ... which also I mentioned in my comment. So, 1. There is no proof that Doc was born in 1901. 2. There is no proof that it was November in PITN. 3. So your research was shoddy (though maybe that's too harsh a word) and 4. I pointed out these facts in my earlier comment, as you requested. I didn't make any conjectures about the month of Doc's birth, and deduced from evidence in the series -- not "conjectured" about it, nor did I take, in my opinion, any "leaps of faith" -- the year. I used evidence that no one else had discovered and logic to reach my conclusion. It appears that you used information in Farmer's book as your starting point, which was, as I proved, inaccurate -- without doing actual research in the series yourself. If you don't call that "shoddy", what do you call it?

Re: Doc Savage Group Novel

Mace Draper — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:26:35 -0000

Hi! I have been writting new doc savage stories for quite a few years now way before anyone ever thought of it. Except in the ones I wrote they take off starting with Doc Savage disappearing from the scene for forty years. By sheer luck he was awaken later by scentists at one of the bases located at the artic in 1978 or so. The scentists were experimenting with reviving frozen people when an escikmo found a body frozen in a large piece of ice showing a large man of bronze skin inside an ice berge.
The body was delivered to the american base there where the experiment was about to be started with an animal until this esckimo was delivered to them. Since the body looked in perfect shape they decided to experient with this mysterious bronze looking giant. Little did they know but one of the nurses that worked with them was a young lady name merlyn mayfair daughter to Doc savage.
Merlyn had no idea who or what this giant really was. All she knew was that he looked very hansome and incredibly fit. They started the machines and surems and she watched in facination.
Moments later there was a large explosion just outside the base perimiter and all hell broke lose.

Re: DC Doc Savage Comic Completes Run with Digital Release

Tír-Ná-Nóg Banshee — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:04:14 -0000

Where's Long Tom? I see Doc, Renny, Monk, Ham, and Johnny. Is Long Tom hiding behind the Wooly Mammoth, or sitting this one out while inventing some new electrical device? Hmmmmm.

Re: DC Doc Savage Comic Completes Run with Digital Release

Tír-Ná-Nóg Banshee — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:03:39 -0000

Where's Long Tom? I see Doc, Renny, Monk, Ham, and Johnny. Is Long Tom hiding behind the Wooly Mammoth, or sitting this one out while inventing some new electrical device?

Re: Lester Dent Short Video Biography

Tír-Ná-Nóg Banshee — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:40:23 -0000

Lester Dent: The original Man of Bronze.

Re: DC Doc Savage Comic Completes Run with Digital Release

Rip Jagger — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 06:41:57 -0000

I finally got hold of the First Wave trade, mostly for the Rags Morales artwork. I read it with gusto, enjoyed it and was mildly eager to see the other stuff, but this discussion leads me to believe I'm better off without it.

Rip Off

Re: DC Doc Savage Comic Completes Run with Digital Release

Larry — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:58:02 -0000

What you really need is to have someone of an older generation in charge of these projects that have historical connections, rather than kids raised on MTV who actually believe science fiction began with Star Wars. So, when you "reimagine" a concept along with all its characters, you have no right to blame the original concept for your failure. The proof of the pudding is the wild and well deserved popularity of the new Doc Savage books currently being written by Will Murray.

Re: 225 04/78 The Clockwork Man

Cainnech Roberson — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 22:57:03 -0000

The Doc Wildman adventure has been updated and published on the Web as the Doc Hazzard adventure ANIMUS EX MACHINA. The serialized novel A SPECIES OF MADNESS is now BRAINSTORM! You'll find them both, along with placeholders for several more Doc Hazzard adventures at:

http://www.dyarstraights.co...

Re: DC Doc Savage Comic Completes Run with Digital Release

Chad Cloman — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 12:01:55 -0000

It seems like whenever they try to update Doc to the modern era, which they did in First Wave after the first couple comics, they fail miserably. The previous DC Doc Savage series had the same problem.