Doc Savage (2013) #2 Comic Book

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Characters

Listed in alphabetical order.

Doc Savage, Ham Brooks, Johnny Littlejohn, Long Tom Roberts, Monk Mayfair, Pat Savage, Renny Renwick.

Title:

(No title given)

Date of Publication
January 2014

Cover Price
$3.99

Our Rating:

Credits:

Chris Roberson

Writer

Bilquis Evely

Penciler

Bilquis Evely

Inker

Daniela Miwa

Colorist

Alex Ross

Cover Penciler

Alex Ross

Cover Inker

Alex Ross

Cover Colorist

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Comic Book Synopsis / Plot

Written by Peter Silvestro

1949: Doc Savage is at his Fortress of Solitude so his cousin Pat fills in for him. She helps the aides capture mad scientist Archibald Vitas who wants to conquer the world with his devitalizing ray. Pat, Monk, and Ham deliver Vitas and his henchmen to Doc’s Crime College but the villain has a surprise in store: one of his gang is under a post-hypnotic command to become a suicide bomber, leading to a scene of destruction and horror. Renny, Johnny, and Long Tom contact Doc and fill him in: Vitas is holding Pat, the aides, the staff, and the patients hostage. At the College, Vitas is using his ray to torture staff into revealing Doc’s secrets. Pat intervenes to save a young man’s life and ends up trapped under the fiendish device. Doc and the guys arrive in autogiros and the Man of Bronze crashes through the window by jetpack and subdues the bad guys. Shock: the devitalizer has made Pat age into an old woman but Doc rushes her off for a secret treatment with Silphium, the ancient Roman longevity drug, and Pat is soon back to normal….

Comments

Peter Silvestro (January 30, 2014)
Correction: the second sentence in the review should read "And the villain, while still a caricature of a bad guy, is actually competent at his villainy."

Peter Silvestro (January 30, 2014)
Comments: First appearance of Pat Savage, the Fortress of Solitude, the Helldiver, and the Crime College in this series. Silphium, the real-life ingredient in Doc’s longevity serum, was first mentioned in the Doc novel FEAR CAY (September 1934).

Peter Silvestro (January 30, 2014)
Review: Well, the second issue is slightly better than the first; the art and character design are still a problem but the story is a little more interesting, in that it has actual action and suspense. And the villain, while still a caricature of a bad guy. In fact, the bane of the series so far is one-dimensional characters. So far, Chris Roberson has made Doc Savage a heroic empty suit; nothing is shown to explain why the pulp hero has such a large fan base 80 years after his first appearance, or why any reader should find him interesting. These perfunctory early issues had better be leading up to something to justify the revival. As it stands, the Alex Ross cover is the best thing about it, even with the extreme “torn shirt” motif.

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