Top Ten… Pulp Heroes!
Today, dear readers, we’re gonna be taking a look at a criminally overlooked subject that’s very close to my heart – pulp heroes! I’m not gonna include guys like Sam Spade and the like on this list, I’m gonna stick to the protosuperheroes – before the Punisher and Spider-Man, before the X Men and the Fantastic Four, these guys were the ultimate in fictional heroes. Onward!
10. BUCK ROGERS
First introduced in 1928, Buck Rogers is the space exploring hero that almost every boy who ever marvelled at the stars wishes he could grow up to be. Perpetually jetpacked and perpetually packing a ray gun, Buck Rogers, 20th century pilot transported to the 25th century was the inspiration for almost every space-age character that followed. After a movie serial in 1939 and a short lived TV show in the fifties, Buck eventually rode the crest of the “Star Wars” wave to another TV show in the seventies. Ironic considering that without Buck Rogers, “Star Wars” wouldn’t have existed.
9. THE GREEN HORNET
Another pulp hero resurrected for TV piggypacking on the popularity of something else (in this case the 1966 Batman series), the Green Hornet and his Asian sidekick Kato fought crime as masked vigilantes by night and masqueraded as a newspaper magnate and his valet by day. Created in 1936, the Green Hornet was made into a TV show in the sixties with a young Bruce Lee as Kato. Despite the popularity of the character, the Green Hornet has slipped into obscurity somewhat in recent years, but a planned movie for this year should remedy that. Cool car, too.
8. ZORRO
One of the earliest characters on our list, Zorro was created in 1919 in the pulp novel “The Curse of Capistrano” and has been a fixture in pop culture ever since. The classic silent movie starring Douglas Fairbanks and it’s even more classic remake starring Tyrone Power and the great Basil Rathbone are both great swashbuckling adventures, but the recent movies with Antonio Banderas in the title role brought Zorro back into the public eye. Interestingly, Zorro seems to be an inspiration for Superman in Zorro’s alter ego Deigo de la Vega is a weakling and coward (or, he pretends to be), much in the same way that Clark Kent is. Altogether now: Out of the night, when the full moon is bright, comes the horseman known as Zorro!”
7. TARZAN
Another ridiculously old character Tarzan of the Apes was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912 and is probably best known through the series of movies starring Johnny Weismuller as the titular apeman. The son of a British nobleman who was raised by apes in darkest Africa, Tarzan is a character who speaks to the anamilistic instinct in all of us. One of the most influenctial heroic characters in fiction, the “Lord of the Jungle” trope has been used by novellists, filmmakers and comic book writers, indeed a Tarzan clone named Ka-Zar currently stalks the jungles of the Marvel comics universe. The original books have come under some fire of late due to the treatment of African natives, but taken in to context of the time the books were written they’re still massivley enjoyable peices of pulp. Also worth reading is Phillip Jose Farmer’s excellent “Tarzan Alive.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwHWbsvgQUE
6. MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
Depending on your definition of “superhero,” Mandrake the Magician, created in 1934, may have been comics’ first superhero. Certainly he is one of the first. Created by comics genius Lee Falk, Mandrake is another character who is all but unknown today. People of my age and slightly younger may remember him as one of the “Defenders of the Earth” in the cartoon of that name, but with no recent media apperances he has been forgotten. Which is a shame because he is an incredibly interesting character. Using superhumanly fast hypnotic powers, Mandrake (and his African sidekick Lothar) fought mad scientists, aliens, mobsters and giant robots by creating illusions to trick them into traps or by causing himself to appear and disapear at key moments during the villain’s plans. An obvious inspiration for any number of later superheroes, Mandrake is an important part of comics history.
5. CONAN THE BARBARIAN
“Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.” That’s how Conan’s creator Robert E. Howard first described Conan in1932 and it’s a description that’s yet to be bettered. The first of a long line of barbarian heroes, Conan was first introduced in the pulp magazine Wierd Tales and he has been in the public eye almost constantly ever since. From those original tales to great Marvel comics of the seventies to the films starring Arnold Swarzanegger to the current Dark Horse comic series, Conan is another character that appeals to our savage, animalistic instincts. From the mythical land of Hyboria, Conan has fought and won battles with giants and monsters, has sailed with pirates, has conquered cities and has even worn the crown of a king. Incidentally, US President Barack Obama is a Conan fan and has a pretty impressive collection of Conan comics.
4. THE PHANTOM
Eagle eyed readers will have noticed that the above image has a caption reading “by Lee Falk author of Mandrake.” More than Seigel and Shuster, more than Stan Lee, I think Lee Falk is the single most influencial man in comics history. Those who don’t accept Mandrake as the first superhero invariably accept the Phantom as the first and either way Lee Falk was the creator of the character. The Phantom, created in 1936, is known as “The Ghost Who Walks” – and with good reason: he seems to be immortal. In fact, the mantle of the Phantom is passed on from father to son and in this way the Phantom has been fighting crime since 1536. The current Phantom, Kit Walker, was another member of the “Defenders of the Earth” and the subject of two movie serials in the forties and fifties and a film starring Billy Zane in 1996. It’s not a masterpeice, but it is a fun movie and well worth a look.
3. FLASH GORDON
dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum FLASH! AH-AAAAH! HE’LL SAVE EVERY ONE OF US! He’s been saving every one of us since 1934 and he’s the ultimate space hero, Flash Gordon was created by Alex Raymond and has enjoyed a long media career including three forties serials with Buster Crabbe, several live action TV shows and animated series including “Defenders of the Earth,” the classic 1980 movie with Sam Jones and, most recently, a Sci-Fi channel “reimagining.” Flash and his archnemesis Ming the Mercliess, are two of the most famous and influential characters in both comics and science fiction, just ask George Lucas who, when he couldn’t secure the rights to the Flash Gordon stories, changed the names around and called it “Star Wars.”
2. DICK TRACY
The square jawed detective with a rouge’s gallery the likes of which Batman could only dream, Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy investigated his first case in 1931. Initially relativley serious (it could be argued that Chester Gould was the inventor of the “police procedure” genre), the series became more light hearted in tone with the intorduction of Dick Tracy’s now legendary villains inclufding Flattop Jones, Lips Manlis, Mumbles, Pruneface and of course, Tracy’s archnemesis Al “Big Boy” Caprice. Despite the more comedic villains, Tracy remained staunchly conservative in his views on law enforcement. Like other characters who were first introduced in the pulps or on the funny pages, Dick Tracy has had a varied media career appearing in several films with Ralph Byrd and Morgan Conway as Tracy, a TV series starring Byrd, a now infamous cartoon series and the 1990 feature film starring Warren Beatty (which, like “The Phantom” is better than you might have heard.) Dick Tracy can still be found on the comics pages of US newspapers, making him one of the longest running characters in comics.
1. THE SHADOW
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” Created in 1930 by Walter Gibson the Shadow is one of the most influential characters in fiction – so much so that Bob Kane “borrowed” wholesale from the Shadow books and radio dramas when he created Batman. Socialite and man-about-town Lamont Cranston by day, mysterious crime fighter with the “power to cloud men’s minds” by night, the Shadow is number one on our list of pulp heroes. With a media career spanning radio, books, comics and film the Shadow is the prototypical “Dark Knight” superhero – sticking to the shadows, covering his face and not exactly “by the book” in his methods of crime fighting. Like Dick Tracy and the Phantom the live action film based on the character is better than it’s reputation and is an obvious influence on “Batman Begins.” The Shadow also inspired the character Darkman who was created by Sam Raimi when he couldn’t secure the rights to the Shadow (shades of Lucas and Flash Gordon.) Rumor has it the Shadow is going to stalk the screen once more in an upcoming remake of the film, but is there any truth in rumors? Only the Shadow knows!
So there ya go. If you’ve never heard of some of these guys I hope you’ll hunt them down and check them out – especially if you’re a fan of the comic book characters they inspired. As always, post comments if you have any. End transmission.
