In a previous posting I covered an interesting old proto-pulp character that has returned to prominence in recent years: Judex. Most are intrigued by The Shadow-like elements of the character.
The character starred in two French serials that came out in 1917 and 1918, which were novelized at the time. The first movie serial is available on DVD, but sadly most of the second one is lost. Only the first nine chapters of 12 survive.
Black Coat Press came out with a translation of the first novel, and has just come out with a translation of the second, “The Return of Judex”. Both were adapted by Rick Lai.
So who is Judex? Judex (Latin for “judge”) is similar in many ways to The Shadow. He is a mysterious avenger who wears a cloak and dark hat, is a master of disguise, has a group of agents helping him, uses high tech devices, has a mysterious headquarters, etc. In the first adventure, he goes after the evil banker Favraux, who had destroyed Judex’s family. After dealing with Favraux, his main opponent in the story is Favraux’s would-be fiance, Diana Monti.
Now, a year later, a new mission arises. Judex and his family are content. He is married and has a happy family with his wife and step-son. His brother has fallen in love with the foster daughter of Judex’s neighbor, an American inventor. No one knows who the real parents are of his daughter, as she was found in the woods as a baby. The mystery of her origins will be solved in the story.
But overshadowing all of this is a new foe. There is a new threat arising in Paris, a gang of spies and extortionists called the Secret Raiders. Their leader is a one-eyed mystic who is a master of disguise and can hypnotize people. He is known as Bebert or N’a-qu’un-Chasse, which means “One Eye” to the gang, though that is not his real name. He is aided by a vicious baroness (who is both a cat burglar as well as a fighter) and another girl (the mystery of who she is will also be solved).
Some other characters from the first novel return. Cocantin, the bumbling detective, is back, working for Judex. He provides comic relief, but also gives away information to the wrong people. But his wife is overseas and their adopted son is in school. Favraux is living in retirement, but is also menaced, as he apparently has a secret the villains want. As he is supposed to be dead, the revelation that he is still alive would have severe consequences for Judex and his family.
So can Judex overcome this new foe? This is difficult, as Bebert will hypnotize innocents to do his bidding. And Judex does not know who Bebert really is, whereas his foes know his real identity. Judex doesn’t do a good job of disguising himself.
It should be pointed out that Judex was created by silent film director Louis Feuillade and writer Arthur Bernède. They set out to create a more heroic character in response to previous serials that starred villains like “Fantomas” and “Les Vampires” (no, not blood suckers, these were a gang of thieves). Funny that Feuillade was the one who did those other serials. The villains of this story are similar in many ways to those. Bebert is like Fantomas, a dangerous foe who is a master of disguise. But unlike Fantomas, he is also a master of hypnotism! His female associate is very similar to Irma Vep, the leader of the Vampires.
In addition to the story (which includes the covers of the serialized novel), we get some additional materials. We get information on how the problems in the story were fixed. We get a chronology of the two Judex stories. And we get an article on Fritz Lang‘s Dr. Mabuse, who came later and is similar in many ways to the leader of the Secret Raiders. Lang actually based his movies on the work of Feuillade.
Overall, I thought this novel was pretty good, even better than the first one. The villains were more worthy of Judex’s talents than the revenge-based plot of the first story. For those wanting more Judex, check out the new stories with this character coming from Black Coat Press.
For more information on Judex, check out his page on Black Coat Press’s associated Cool French Comics site.
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