Will Murray (1) (1953–)

This should really be subtitled “The Strange Saga of The Shadow in pulp magazines” as that is where the majority of the book is focused. Each part covering a particular phase of The Shadow’s history in print.

While it was interesting to read about how editorial changes, and historical events (namely WW2) impacted the way that Shadow stories evolved, I would have liked to learn more about the radio show, movie serials, comics etc. which are only mentioned when they had some bearing on the pulp stories.

If you want to do a deep dive into the character’s pulp roots, and his creator Walter Gibson then this is a great resource.

But there’s more to The Shadow’s story than is told here.… (mehr)

Who Knows What History Lurks Behind the Shadows Laugh?... Will Murray Knows.

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?.......The Shadow knows, is a phrase many people are familiar with either through memory of the radio shows or in recent times a myriad of pop culture references. They have a vague idea of who or what the character actually was. Most do not know the origins of the character nor the literary legacy of the character at the pen of Walter Gibson guided by his editors. To paraphrase Lester Dent- The Shadow was just a voice until he was handed over to Walter Gibson.
The Shadow as a nemesis to crime has had 4 incarnations in different media. First was the pulp hero, second the radio show, third movies and fourth in comic books. Each incarnation keeps similar elements but also unique to themselves. This is a character that has survived in our culture to present times with a recent revamping by James Patterson
The Dark Avenger chronicles the history of the Shadow, the first masked crime fighter of the Golden Age of pulp magazines. Starting with his transformation from being a “host” to a detective radio show into a pulp magazine hero that transformed the pulp magazine industry.The Shadow debuted in his own magazine published by Street & Smith for a run of 325 issues over the next two decades. The Shadow’s success heralded a new phase in the pulp magazines with new titles being created to jump on the super heroic action adventure bandwagon. Street & Smith itself would follow up with Doc Savage and The Avenger among others.
The appeal of Murray’s Dark Avenger to me is threefold. As a literary historian, I was interested in the history of the character and his evolution. Murray gives an overview of many of the novels without giving away details of the stories. Interwoven with this is a history of the magazine, the writers, the editors giving the reader an idea of who these men were and their impact on the stories and the direction the stories went. Also interwoven in this tale of The Shadow is the impact of the culture and history of the times on the stories and magazine itself.
The book should appeal to those interested in this fascinating character, those interested in the pulp magazine phenomenon that peaked in the 1920s and 1930s and those who are intrigued by the origins of pulp culture. It’s an easy read, not a dry recounting of history. More like a discussion of the events with insight given by those involved at the time.
Highly recommended for Shadow fans, Pulp fans and those who are curious about our world 90 years ago.… (mehr)

Doc Savage: Skull Island is an interesting addition to the Clark Savage Jr. mythos while using the backdrop of Kong’s stomping grounds. This is an early Doc adventure adding Murray’s ideas about the origins of some of Doc’s philosophies and technologies. Although many would cringe at the idea, especially the canon purist, I felt the story added depth to Doc and now consider it part of the Doc Savage story.
I recently read Kong vs. Tarzan by Will Murray which was a Kong story with Tarzan playing a supporting role. As I read DS: Skull Island, I thought it was a seamless sequel to Kong vs. Tarzan. To my surprise I found that DS: Skull Island was published 3 years earlier. So Murray is going Wold Newton on us but personally I like the concept.
King Kong, the original movie, left the audience with two big questions. Filmatically answering those questions would have bogged down the story but they hung out there. The first was how did Denham get Kong from Skull Island to New York? The second- How did New York dispose of the body of Kong? Again neither answer would make for an exciting aspect to the film so they were rightfully left out of the movie. In Kong vs. Tarzan, Murray answers the first questions in a logical, reasonable fashion that leads to the meeting of Kong and Tarzan. The second question is answered in DS: Skull Island leading Doc to tell about a previous adventure he had with his father that put them on Skull Island and an encounter with Kong.
It is a fast paced read, focusing on the relationships within the Savage family. Doc, having just returned from Europe and WWI, sets sail with his father to attempt to discover if Doc’s grandfather Stormalong Savage is still alive. Murray steps away in his works from the original author Lester Dent by adding in deepening characterization. He still hits the action tropes of a Doc Savage story but doubles the page length by adding a lot more interaction between characters.
I recommend the book to Doc and Kong fans neither one getting short shrift in the story. The Kong scenes play out better in this adventure than in Kong vs. Tarzan. This is Kong’s world and he is king. When transported to Africa, he is out of his element but dominating lesser creatures so the scenes play out with little tension. Here we have Doc out of his element, still learning himself while trying to prove himself to his father. Lots of tension both with the action and between characters. The purist Doc fan might be perturbed, the don’t contradict or add to what was in the original pulp but this die hard fan thoroughly enjoyed this romp,… (mehr)

King Kong vs. Tarzan
By Will Murray
Cover by Joe DeVito

The cover title is the Wild Adventures of King Kong vs. Tarzan. Emphasis on Wild Adventures of King Kong. This is a Kong story with Tarzan as a guest star. It also answers one of the big questions left dangling in the original King Kong movie.
I used to teach film for my school. One of the discussions we would have is how a writer or a director will imply events in the story without actually showing them. A classic is the travel between the reunification of Wesley and Buttercup in Princess Bride and their adventures in the Fire Swamp. William Goldman in writing the screenplay was perplexed on how to get the characters from point A to point B. Eventually he came up with the narrative device that the story was being read by a grandfather to his sick grandson. It bypassed a section that would have bogged down the movie and slowed the action.
The other example I would give was the original King Kong. After the capture of Kong, Meriem C. Cooper and Ernest B. Shoedsack made the decision to jump to Kong being displayed in New York. No explanation or discussion of how Kong was transported from Skull Island in the South Pacific to the Atlantic seaboard of the U.S. A decision mirrored by Peter Jackson in his remake since it would slow the movie experience.
A main focus of this novel is answering that dangling question- How did they get Kong from Skull Island to New York. The answer starts on Skull Island and considers how they even got Kong on the ship. With that being the focus, Eventually the trip will take the Wanderer off the east coast of Africa and into Tarzan territory. Because the focus is on Kong and the characters from the movie, Tarzan doesn’t really make an appearance until the second half of the book.
Although the first half of the book is not action packed, the story is a fast read. Murray does a great job of capturing the characters of Jack Driscoll, Captain Englehorn and especially Carl Denham.
The second half has more action but what is exciting on film is a little more tedious in print. The action is Kong interacting with African wildlife. Visually it would be stunning, Kong’s size dominating each encounter. In print thes one sided battles are haunted by their inevitable outcome.
The Tarzan presented is the literary Tarzan, educated, well spoken noble savage of the jungle. Murray makes a nod to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs keeping the story consistent with Tarzan’s timeline and his own adventures. Straddling two sets of reality, Murray leans heavily on the Kong reality not delving into or deviating from Tarzan’s world beyond he is in East Africa. With the monkey, Nkima being his companion I envisioned this as a team up from my youth. The cartoons King Kong and the Adventures of Tarzan finally crossing over.
I recommend this to fans of the original Kong movie since Murray gives us a plausible but entertaining explanation of how Kong got from Skull Island to New York. If you are a Tarzan fan but would like to venture beyond the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs this isn’t a bad book. Keep in mind that it really is a Kong story with Tarzan being a supporting character. This isn’t the best book for an introduction to either Kong or Tarzan relying heavily on the reader having some prior knowledge of the characters. Although it is a fast read, the pacing can lag a bit mainly because Kong was created for film not for print. Because of the pacing and reliance on previous knowledge I can’t strongly recommend the book to the casual reader.… (mehr)