Doctor Death (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Doctor Death was the title of a short-lived pulp
science fiction magazine
published by Dell Magazines
in 1935, as well as the name of the main character featured in that magazine. An earlier, somewhat different, version of Doctor Death appeared in the magazine's predecessor All Detective Magazine.
In these stories, Doctor Death is a dangerous mastermind of a foreign crime syndicate. No information is given as to his real identity or motives.
. These new stories were written by Harold Ward under the pseudonym of "Zorro". Although an apparent change of author, Robert Weinberg
has stated that "Edward P. Norris" was also a pseudonym of Harold Ward. Since Weinberg's claim, Ward's work has been more thoroughly examined, and it was determined Ward did not write those early stories.
Only three issues of Doctor Death were published, in February, March and April 1935. Each of these issues contained a complete Doctor Death novel under the byline of Zorro. In chronological order, the three novels are:
In addition, there are two additional stories, which were unpublished at the time:
In these novels, Doctor Death is Dr. Rance Mandarin, formerly a professor at Yale University
and now a master of the occult
with an insane hatred of scientific progress and industrialization. He believes it is his mission to return the world to a blissful primitive state, which he attempts to do with the aid of zombie
s, elemental
s, dissolution rays
and communist
heavies. He hopes to reduce the human population, and return us to the stone age. Opposing Doctor Death is an organization known as the Secret Twelve, led by supernatural detective Jimmy Holm, with the President of the United States
himself as its figurehead.
Two unpublished novels, Waves of Madness and The Red Mist of Death were reprinted in the pulp fanzines Nemesis, Inc #28-30 and Pulp Vault #5-6 respectively.
In 2008, Altus Press
reprinted the four early Doctor Death stories from All-Detective: "Doctor Death", "Cargo of Death", "Death’s I.O.U." and "Thirteen Pearls." In 2009, Altus reprinted the five Harold Ward Doctor Death stories in two volumes.
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
science fiction magazine
Science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
published by Dell Magazines
Dell Magazines
Dell Magazines was a company founded by George T. Delacorte Jr. in 1921 as part of his Dell Publishing Co. Dell is today known for its many puzzle magazines, as well as fiction magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Asimov's Science Fiction, and...
in 1935, as well as the name of the main character featured in that magazine. An earlier, somewhat different, version of Doctor Death appeared in the magazine's predecessor All Detective Magazine.
First Doctor Death
The character of Doctor Death first appeared in a short story "Doctor Death" in the July 1934 issue of All Detective. That first story was written by Edward P. Norris, who went on to produce three more Doctor Death stories: "Cargo of Death", "Death’s I.O.U." and "Thirteen Pearls", which appeared in the September 1934, October 1934 and January 1935 issues of All Detective respectively. In these stories, the hero is Nibs Holloway, who works for a jewelry company. Nibs appeared in 2 stories without Doctor Death: "The Death Gambler" (Rapid-Fire Detective Stories, 5/33, published by Rapid-Fire Pubs) and "A Deal in Phonies" (All Detective, 8/34, Dell). Obviously, Doctor Death was meant to only appear in the second Nibs story, but was instead brought back in the fourth and subsequent stories. At the end of each story, he was seemingly killed off, only to reappear in the next story.In these stories, Doctor Death is a dangerous mastermind of a foreign crime syndicate. No information is given as to his real identity or motives.
Second Doctor Death
In February 1935 All Detective was replaced by a new magazine entitled Doctor Death, which featured a new, somewhat different version of the character. While the original Doctor Death had been a straightforward criminal mastermind, the new one was an archetypal mad scientistMad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
. These new stories were written by Harold Ward under the pseudonym of "Zorro". Although an apparent change of author, Robert Weinberg
Robert Weinberg (author)
Robert Weinberg is an American author. His work spans several genres including non-fiction, science fiction, horror, and comic books.-Biography:...
has stated that "Edward P. Norris" was also a pseudonym of Harold Ward. Since Weinberg's claim, Ward's work has been more thoroughly examined, and it was determined Ward did not write those early stories.
Only three issues of Doctor Death were published, in February, March and April 1935. Each of these issues contained a complete Doctor Death novel under the byline of Zorro. In chronological order, the three novels are:
- 12 Must Die
- The Gray Creatures
- The Shriveling Murders
In addition, there are two additional stories, which were unpublished at the time:
- Waves of Madness
- The Red Mist of Death
In these novels, Doctor Death is Dr. Rance Mandarin, formerly a professor at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and now a master of the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
with an insane hatred of scientific progress and industrialization. He believes it is his mission to return the world to a blissful primitive state, which he attempts to do with the aid of zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s, elemental
Elemental
An elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus in the 16th century. Traditionally, there are four types:*gnomes, earth elementals*undines , water elementals*sylphs, air elementals...
s, dissolution rays
Raygun
Rayguns are a type of fictional directed-energy weapon. They have various alternate names: ray gun, death ray, beam gun, blaster, laser gun, phaser, etc. They are a well-known feature of science fiction; for such stories they typically have the general function of guns...
and communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
heavies. He hopes to reduce the human population, and return us to the stone age. Opposing Doctor Death is an organization known as the Secret Twelve, led by supernatural detective Jimmy Holm, with the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
himself as its figurehead.
Reprints
In the 1960s, Corinth Books reprinted the 3 Doctor Death novels, plus a fourth book reprinted the short stories from the 3 issues.Two unpublished novels, Waves of Madness and The Red Mist of Death were reprinted in the pulp fanzines Nemesis, Inc #28-30 and Pulp Vault #5-6 respectively.
In 2008, Altus Press
Altus Press
Altus Press is a small-press publisher of works primarily related to the pulp magazines of the 1920s and 30s. Founded in 2006 by publisher Matthew Moring, Altus Press has focused on four categories of publications: Lost Race Library, New Pulps, Pulp Histories and Pulp Reprints.Altus is also the...
reprinted the four early Doctor Death stories from All-Detective: "Doctor Death", "Cargo of Death", "Death’s I.O.U." and "Thirteen Pearls." In 2009, Altus reprinted the five Harold Ward Doctor Death stories in two volumes.