tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707689571622754750.post8086392735003961576..comments2022-03-27T15:51:19.528-07:00Comments on Pulp Reader: Who really wrote "The Octopus"cash_gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04016914226368450646noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707689571622754750.post-24631113209617081162010-10-20T07:18:14.258-07:002010-10-20T07:18:14.258-07:00For some reason, I always thought that Robert Wein...For some reason, I always thought that Robert Weinberg was behind Argosy which renewed all of the copyrights from Popular Publications.<br /><br />As I noted, aspects of the novel does read much like a Spider novel, so I could see Page's influence in it somehow.<br /><br />And, comic companies did lift some things from the pulps. The first Hugo Strange appearance in Batman has marked similarities to the Doc Savage adventure "The Monsters" down to the title. Jack Cole ripped off the Avenger story "The Airwalker", creating a new character called the Defender. Doctor Mid-Nite and Two-Face stole directly from the Black Bat's origin though took them in different directions. The source of Batman's inspiration is almost word for word of that of the minor pulp hero The Bat, making it the most likely contender for where the character really came from.<br /><br />But, I don't think simply using the same name is stealing from the pulps, especially names that are fairly generic as Batman and Iron Man. And, the Octopus is even less obvious. It's a real stretch to claim that he was a direct inspiration, this was hardly the sole occurrence of the animal being used as a symbol of crime. More likely they all drew from the same well of man's collective subconscious fear and distrust of creatures with more than four limbs and the octopus who is both fascinatingly ugly and mysterious and graceful in his movements.cash_gormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04016914226368450646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707689571622754750.post-26378806744199461032010-10-20T06:22:52.160-07:002010-10-20T06:22:52.160-07:00Someone commented that Norvell Page did not write ...Someone commented that Norvell Page did not write The Octopus, told me that it had been disproven. Joel Frieman, the copyright owner, probably listed Page as the author just to include the story in the first Baen Books reprint of THE SPIDER. The selection of stories was probably chosen just to forward his assertion that Marvel and DC stole from Popular Publications.<br /><br />In all liklihood, the couple may have been in Page's neck od the woods, and he endorsed the check so that they could cash it. I've read that people believed that Ted Tinsley ghosted some SPIDER novels -- Page was in Florida, or someplace, and Tinsley merely endorsed the check so that Page could cash it.richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07947857899538327337noreply@blogger.com