December 7th was Pearl Harbor day, and though a peacenik, there is a fair amount of military history in my family (Grandfather, Navy WWI — Father, Air Force Korea — brother, Army Special Forces). In the pulp world during WWII, the creative and management people of Street & Smith made the choice to keep Doc Savage out of direct military service, which even though volubly explained in the pulp stories (one of the few times Doc expressed anger was when denied active service, and the government position — that he could do more for the country acting to take down spies, plots, fifth columnists, etc.) — still somehow didn’t sit right for me. So it is one of the instances where Doc Savage and Doc Talos lore diverge. Talos joined the Army after Pearl Harbor, and served in the Pacific. I’m in the process of writing a short story from that time in his life…a very humanistic tale in which he treats a wounded Japanese soldier, who is deeply philosophical and holds a hatred for war, but is torn by the demands of honor.
Portrait of James Talos, US Army by R. Paul Sardanas. Image modeled in pre-AI vintage 1999 Poser, with finishes in Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and hand painting.
Doc Talos 