Title:
Cities of Fear (The Heritage of Doc Savage: Part 2)
Date of Publication
December 1987
Cover Price
Our Rating:
Credits:
Andy Kubert
Cover Penciler
Comic Book Synopsis / Plot
Twenty years later, Clark Savage III has grown up without any of his father’s talents or values, embittered at not being able to live up to his heritage. One evening, Clark and his girlfriend are harassed by a gang and the distraught young man’s only recourse is to return with his father’s gun and shoot down his enemies, leading to his being slain by police. Doc’s aides (minus Long Tom, who has entered a monastery) decide it’s time to abandon the adventuring and depart for Doc’s Fortress of Solitude to concentrate on the scientific part of the Savage heritage; accompanying them is Clark’s girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child. Another twenty years pass; Clark “Chip” Savage IV has inherited his grandfather’s abilities but the grim course of his father’s and grandfather’s lives has led him to renounce violence. When word comes that Heinz Wessel has escaped from prison, the aides set out to bring him to justice, accompanied by their two protégés, rambunctious Southerner Bo Faulkner, and psychic Israeli Shoshanna Gold. Chip refuses to participate. In Hidalgo, the party is soon captured by Wessel’s Nazi followers but Shoshanna manages to escape and get word to Chip Savage.
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Reviews
By Peter Silvestro
The issue begins with a shock, as the tragic fate of Clark III begins to subvert the Doc Savage mythos. It was a risky move on O’Neil’s part but acceptable, so long as one doesn’t demand this tale be “canon.” The 1966 plot serves as a second prologue to the main tale, which begins in earnest here: introducing Chip Savage as another counterbalance to Doc, setting up the personal conflict in the fourth issue. As for the other new heroes, Shoshanna Gold is introduced nicely, with her strength, determination, and special abilities shown succinctly. Bo Faulkner, on the other hand, has a way to go, presented here as a loud good ol’ boy and nothing more. He would improve.
Score: 2 (out of 5)