P.J. Lozito‘s Silver Manticore is an interesting mix of pulp, radio, movie series, and comicbook characters that at times almost gets out of hand.
The Silver Manticore himself is a mix of the Green Hornet, The Shadow, and the Copperhead (the hero of the Mysterious Doctor Satan movie serial), and so creates a generational hero in which new people step into the role of the Silver Manticore. He is assisted by others who are pastiches of various pulp and comic characters, and his foes are also pastiches of various pulp villains (and later comicbook), first off being the Fu Manchu-inspired Hanoi Tsin and the Shiwan Khan-inspired Siam Khan.
Silver Manticore: Still at Large, from Pro Se Productions, is a novel set in 1967, unlike the prior two works that were short story collections dealing with various characters in different time periods. The most recent Manticore, District Attorney Anthony Dent, has been killed (this occurred in the Friends and Foes volume). But a new person is stepping into the role. Or is it an old person? Of course, as Dent was exposed as having been the Manticore, there are many looking more closely at the Manticore, including the police. As the Manticore is like the Green Hornet, most people, including the police, think he’s a bad guy. Also coming out of the woodwork are various villains — like Tsin and Khan — that the Manticore has had to deal with.
And as always, there are a wide range of pastiches here, so it can be difficult to keep up. For instance, this time we get pastiches of several European villains such as Fantomas, Diabolik, and The Spider (no, not the pulp hero, but the British comicbook villain). The person who becomes the new Manticore, is a pastiche of the Scorpion (the pulp-inspired comicbook character I previously posted on), so hopefully people pick up on his old name and his current one and where they come from.
It’s another enjoyable read. Another Silver Manticore story is in the works, and I’m looking forward to it. No idea if it will be a collection of short stories, deal with prior Manticores, or be more a sequel to this one. Guess we’ll find out.
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