Green Lama
Encyclopedia
The Green Lama was an American
pulp magazine
hero of the 1940s. In many respects a typical costumed crime-fighter of the period, the Green Lama's most unusual feature was the fact that he was a practicing Buddhist
. Slightly different versions of the same character also appeared in comic book
s and on the radio
.
using the pseudonym
of "Richard Foster". Writing in 1976, Crossen recalled that the character was created because the publishers of Double Detective, the Frank Munsey
company, wanted a competitor for The Shadow
, which was published by their rivals Street & Smith
.
The character, partially inspired by explorer Theos "the White Lama" Bernard, was originally conceived as "The Gray Lama" thinking that he could hide in the shadows and sneak around, but tests of the cover art proved to be less than satisfactory so they changed his color to green. The Green Lama proved to be successful (though not as successful as The Shadow), and Crossen continued to produce Green Lama stories for Double Detective regularly up until March 1943, for a total of 14 stories.
Although appearing in a detective fiction
magazine, the Green Lama tales can be considered science fiction
or supernatural
fantasy
in that the Green Lama and other characters are possessed of superhuman
powers and super-science weapons
. The Green Lama is an alias of Jethro Dumont, a rich resident of New York City
. Born July 25, 1913, to millionaire John Pierre Dumont and Janet Lansing. He received his A.B. from Harvard University, M.A. from Oxford, and Ph.D. from the Sorbonne; he also attended Drepung College in Tibet. He inherited his father’s fortune, estimated at ten million dollars, when his father and mother were both killed in an accident while he was still at Harvard. Spent ten years in Tibet
studying to be a lama
(a Buddhist Spiritual Teacher) and learning many mystical
secrets in the process. He returned to America intending to spread the basic doctrines of Tibetan Buddhism (remove ignorance and relieve suffering), but realized that he could accomplish more by fighting crime. He never carried a gun, believing that "this would make me no better than those I fight." Dumont was also endowed with superhuman powers acquired through his scientific knowledge of radioactive salts
. He was also noted to wear a rainbow ring of hair. Dumont has two alter egos: the crime-fighting Green Lama, and the Buddhist priest
Dr. Pali. He also had additional alter-egos including the adventurer "Hugh Gilmore."
Among the Green Lama's litany of associates were a Tibetan lama named Tsarong, the college educated reformed gangster Gary Brown, the post-debutant Evangl Stewart (who would go on to marry Gary), radiologist Dr. Harrison Valco, New York City police detective John Caraway, actor Ken Clayton, Montana-born actress Jean Farrell, and magician Theodor Harrin. The Green Lama was also frequently assisted by the mysterious woman known as "Magga", whose true identity was never revealed. Crossen's pseudonym "Richard Foster" was also established as a character and friend of Jethro Dumont.
The first six stories have been reprinted in the pulp reprint fanzine High Adventure. Altus Press is currently in production reprinting the entire series.
, featured three new stories, two short stories, and one novella, written by Kevin Noel Olson, W. Peter Miller, and Adam L. Garcia, respectively. Olson's story, "Shiva Enangered", tells one of the Lama's first adventures in Tibet and introduces the McGuffin known as the Jade Tablet, and explains the origins of the Lama's powers. Garcia's novella, "Horror in Clay", is set years later in New York, shortly after Crossen's story "Death's Head Face", and pits the Lama and friends against a golem
, as well as continuing the narrative of the Jade Tablet and tying the Green Lama into the Cthulhu
mythos. Finally, Miller's short, "The Studio Specter", is set in L.A., soon after the events of "Horror in Clay", and tells the story of a Phantom
-like villain terrorizing a film studio.
"Horror in Clay", as well as the cover art by Mike Fyles and Jay Piscopo's interior artwork from this volume, were nominated for 2009 Pulp Factory Awards.
, as well as featured — for the first time ever — details of Dumont's ten years in Tibet.
In 2011, the book, Garcia, and Fyles were nominated for several awards including Best Novel, Best Interior Art, and Best Exterior Art in the Pulp Factory Awards; as well as Best Book, Best Cover Art, Best Interior, Best Pulp Revival, and Best Author in the 2011 Pulp Ark Awards. It won for Best Pulp Revival in the Pulp Ark Awards, and Best Pulp Novel and Best Interior Art in the Pulp Factory Awards.
issue #7 of Prize Comics (December 1940), where he continued to appear for 27 issues (through 1943). All stories were written by Ken Crossen, with art by Mac Raboy
and others. In Prize Comics #24, he teamed up with Black Owl, Dr. Frost, and Yank and Doodle to take down Frankenstein's Monster.
This version of the character bears considerable similarities to his pulp counterpart, most notably his costume design. However, this version was more of a sorcerer with the ability to travel through time, resurrect the dead and often battled Lucifer's minions. There were also minor changes to his supporting cast such as Jean "Parker" and the inclusion of a character known as Tashi Shog (a Tibetan liturgic wish meaning "May prosperity be").
) which lasted for eight issues from December 1944 to March 1946. This iteration character of the Green Lama was somewhat different than his previous incarnations (for example, having the power of flight and wearing a skin-tight costume) although the scripts were still written by Kendell Foster Crossen who had created the earlier pulp version of the character.
Reprints of the Green Lama stories from his eight-issue Spark series are available in two hardcover archive volumes produced by Dark Horse Comics
in 2008.
has been virtually the only source for the original Golden Age material featuring the Green Lama, and intermittently used the character in their long-running, original series Femforce
. In 2004, writer/artist James Ritchey III started production on a two-part graphic novella, entitled Green Lama: Man of Strength, revamping the version from the Spark Publications era. Billing the story in interviews as a "Superhero Mystical Murder Mystery involving Reincarnation", Ritchey never completed the art for part two, due to illness — so it was shelved for three years.
Green Lama: Man of Strength #1 shipped through Diamond Distributors on April 5, 2008, after a requested one month delay from Diamond, due to their frowning upon smaller independents having two similar titles shipped simultaneously. The second issue came out in 2009.
Golden Age characters appearing in the Dynamite Entertainment
comic book series Project Superpowers
, by writer Jim Krueger
and artist Alex Ross
. This version of the Green Lama is vaguely a continuation of his Spark Publications iteration, though his powers have evolved to be more nature-based.
The Green Lama recently joined many other public domain superheroes in the pages of the Metahuman Press serial Living Legends.
radio series that ran for 11 episodes from June 5 to August 20, 1949, with the character's voice provided by Paul Frees
. This version of the Green Lama was also written by creator Kendell Foster Crossen, along with several co-writers.
The AudioComics Company, an audio production company devoted to producing and distributing professional full-cast audio dramas adapted from independent comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and the occasional prose work, recently announced they would be producing a series of new Green Lama radio stories as part of their "Pulp Adventures" line, with episodes recording in San Francisco starring Bay Area-based actor Craig Neibaur as the Jethro Dumont/The Green Lama, and written by Adam Lance Garcia and Algernon D’Ammassa.
s. From Crossen's own comments, in his foreword
to Robert Weinberg's 1976 reprint of the first Green Lama story, it is clear that this was not proselytism
on his part, but simply because he wanted to create a Tibetan Buddhist
character and then read everything he could find on the subject.
The most frequent reference to Buddhism in the stories is the use of the Sanskrit
mantra
"Om mani padme hum
" (roughly "Hail, the jewel on the lotus", though the actual phrase defies exact translation), which would indeed be used by Tibetan monks. However, the majority of other references to Buddhism in the stories, while accurate, relate to the Theravada
form of Buddhism rather than the Tibetan form, with frequent use of Pali
words such as "Magga", "Nibbana", and "Dhamma", rather than the Sanskrit
equivalents "Marga", "Nirvana", and "Dharma" used in Northern Buddhism.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
hero of the 1940s. In many respects a typical costumed crime-fighter of the period, the Green Lama's most unusual feature was the fact that he was a practicing Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. Slightly different versions of the same character also appeared in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s and on the radio
Old-time radio
Old-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the primary home entertainment medium in the 1950s...
.
Original pulps
The Green Lama first appeared in a short novel entitled The Green Lama in the April 1940 issue of Double Detective magazine. The novel was written by Kendell Foster CrossenKendell Foster Crossen
Kendell Foster Crossen was a mainstay of American pulp fiction and science fiction of the 1950s. He was the creator and writer of stories about the Green Lama and the Milo March detective novels....
using the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of "Richard Foster". Writing in 1976, Crossen recalled that the character was created because the publishers of Double Detective, the Frank Munsey
Frank Munsey
Frank Andrew Munsey was an American newspaper and magazine publisher and author. He was born in Mercer, Maine but spent most of his life in New York City...
company, wanted a competitor for The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
, which was published by their rivals Street & Smith
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...
.
The character, partially inspired by explorer Theos "the White Lama" Bernard, was originally conceived as "The Gray Lama" thinking that he could hide in the shadows and sneak around, but tests of the cover art proved to be less than satisfactory so they changed his color to green. The Green Lama proved to be successful (though not as successful as The Shadow), and Crossen continued to produce Green Lama stories for Double Detective regularly up until March 1943, for a total of 14 stories.
Although appearing in a detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
magazine, the Green Lama tales can be considered science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
or supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
in that the Green Lama and other characters are possessed of superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
powers and super-science weapons
Weapons in science fiction
Strange and exotic weapons are a recurring theme in science fiction. In some cases, weapons first introduced in science fiction have now been made a reality...
. The Green Lama is an alias of Jethro Dumont, a rich resident of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Born July 25, 1913, to millionaire John Pierre Dumont and Janet Lansing. He received his A.B. from Harvard University, M.A. from Oxford, and Ph.D. from the Sorbonne; he also attended Drepung College in Tibet. He inherited his father’s fortune, estimated at ten million dollars, when his father and mother were both killed in an accident while he was still at Harvard. Spent ten years in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
studying to be a lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
(a Buddhist Spiritual Teacher) and learning many mystical
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
secrets in the process. He returned to America intending to spread the basic doctrines of Tibetan Buddhism (remove ignorance and relieve suffering), but realized that he could accomplish more by fighting crime. He never carried a gun, believing that "this would make me no better than those I fight." Dumont was also endowed with superhuman powers acquired through his scientific knowledge of radioactive salts
Radioactive quackery
Radioactive quackery refers to various products sold during the early 20th century, after the discovery of radioactivity, which promised radioactivity as a cure for various illnesses...
. He was also noted to wear a rainbow ring of hair. Dumont has two alter egos: the crime-fighting Green Lama, and the Buddhist priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
Dr. Pali. He also had additional alter-egos including the adventurer "Hugh Gilmore."
Among the Green Lama's litany of associates were a Tibetan lama named Tsarong, the college educated reformed gangster Gary Brown, the post-debutant Evangl Stewart (who would go on to marry Gary), radiologist Dr. Harrison Valco, New York City police detective John Caraway, actor Ken Clayton, Montana-born actress Jean Farrell, and magician Theodor Harrin. The Green Lama was also frequently assisted by the mysterious woman known as "Magga", whose true identity was never revealed. Crossen's pseudonym "Richard Foster" was also established as a character and friend of Jethro Dumont.
The first six stories have been reprinted in the pulp reprint fanzine High Adventure. Altus Press is currently in production reprinting the entire series.
Continuity of Green Lama pulp stories
- Green Lama: Unbound by Adam Lance Garcia - Flashbacks only
- "Shiva Enangered" by Kevin Noel Olson - Green Lama: Volume 1
- "The Green Lama" (or "Case of the Crimson Hand") by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 5, #5
- "Croesus of Murder" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 5, #6
- "Babies for Sale" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 6, #1
- "Wave of Death" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 6, #2
- "The Man Who Wasn’t There" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 6, #3
- "Death’s Head Face" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 6, #4
- "Horror in Clay" by Adam Lance Garcia - Green Lama: Volume 1
- "The Case of the Clown Who Laughed" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 6, #5
- "The Case of the Invisible Enemy" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 6, #6
- "The Case of the Mad Magi" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 7, #1
- "The Case of the Vanishing Ships" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 7, #2
- "The Studio Specter" by W. Peter Miller - Green Lama: Volume 1
- "The Case of the Fugitive Fingerprints" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 7, #3
- "The Case of the Crooked Cane" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 7, #4
- "The Case of the Hollywood Ghost" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 7, #5
- "The Case of the Beardless Corpse" by Kendell Foster Crossen (as Richard Foster) - Double Detective vol. 7, #6
- "The Case of the Final Column" by Adam Lance Garcia - Green Lama: Volume 3 (Altus Press)
- Green Lama: Unbound by Adam Lance Garcia
- Green Lama: Crimson Circle by Adam Lance Garcia
Airship 27 Pulps
In 2009, Airship 27 Productions and publisher Cornerstone Book Publishers began releasing a series of new pulp anthologies and novels. These new stories treat the original pulps as a vague history, though they slightly shift the time period from the early 1940s to the late 1930s and portray the Lama as younger and less experienced.Volume 1
The first new Green Lama anthology was released on August 14, 2009. The anthology, edited by Ron FortierRon Fortier
Ron Fortier is an American author, primarily known for his Green Hornet and The Terminator comic books and his revival of the pulp hero, Captain Hazzard. Early in his career he also wrote short stories and co-authored two novels for TSR....
, featured three new stories, two short stories, and one novella, written by Kevin Noel Olson, W. Peter Miller, and Adam L. Garcia, respectively. Olson's story, "Shiva Enangered", tells one of the Lama's first adventures in Tibet and introduces the McGuffin known as the Jade Tablet, and explains the origins of the Lama's powers. Garcia's novella, "Horror in Clay", is set years later in New York, shortly after Crossen's story "Death's Head Face", and pits the Lama and friends against a golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
, as well as continuing the narrative of the Jade Tablet and tying the Green Lama into the Cthulhu
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
mythos. Finally, Miller's short, "The Studio Specter", is set in L.A., soon after the events of "Horror in Clay", and tells the story of a Phantom
The Phantom of the Opera
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
-like villain terrorizing a film studio.
"Horror in Clay", as well as the cover art by Mike Fyles and Jay Piscopo's interior artwork from this volume, were nominated for 2009 Pulp Factory Awards.
Volume 2: Green Lama: Unbound
The Green Lama's first full-length novel in nearly 70 years, Green Lama: Unbound, was released July 28, 2010. Scripted by Adam L. Garcia, it displayed interior and cover art by Mike Fyles. The novel takes place roughly six months after "Studio Specter" and shortly after the last original pulp story, "Beardless Corpse." Continuing the Jade Tablet storyline established in "Shiva Enangered" and "Horror in Clay," Unbound pitted the Green Lama against Lovecraft's Great Old Ones and CthulhuCthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
, as well as featured — for the first time ever — details of Dumont's ten years in Tibet.
In 2011, the book, Garcia, and Fyles were nominated for several awards including Best Novel, Best Interior Art, and Best Exterior Art in the Pulp Factory Awards; as well as Best Book, Best Cover Art, Best Interior, Best Pulp Revival, and Best Author in the 2011 Pulp Ark Awards. It won for Best Pulp Revival in the Pulp Ark Awards, and Best Pulp Novel and Best Interior Art in the Pulp Factory Awards.
Volume 3: Green Lama: Crimson Circle
A second novel, currently titled Green Lama: Crimson Circle, also by Garcia and Fyles, is in development. The story will act as a sequel to the very first Green Lama pulp story, "Case of the Crimson Hand", while continuing the plot threads left hanging at the end of Unbound. The upcoming comic short "Green Lama and the Death Dealers" by Garcia and Fyles, will bridge the gap between Unbound and Crimson Circle. A third novel is also planned.Altus Press
In addition to reprinting the original pulp stories in 2011, Altus Press will be including a new short story, "Green Lama and the Case of the Final Column", by Garcia and Fyles that will tie the original pulps and new pulps stories together. "The Final Column" will be set immediately after "The Case of the Beardless Corpse," shortly before the events of Green Lama: Unbound, and lays the groundwork for several plot points in Unbound and the upcoming Crimson Circle. It also features Crossen's pseudonym "Richard Foster" as a principal character.Prize Comics
The Green Lama's first comic book appearance was in Crestwood Publications'Crestwood Publications
Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title Prize Comics contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature, Dick Briefer's "Frankenstein"...
issue #7 of Prize Comics (December 1940), where he continued to appear for 27 issues (through 1943). All stories were written by Ken Crossen, with art by Mac Raboy
Mac Raboy
Emmanuel "Mac" Raboy was an American cartoonist whose comic books and strips remain collectibles more than 40 years after his death. He was known for his work on Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel Jr...
and others. In Prize Comics #24, he teamed up with Black Owl, Dr. Frost, and Yank and Doodle to take down Frankenstein's Monster.
This version of the character bears considerable similarities to his pulp counterpart, most notably his costume design. However, this version was more of a sorcerer with the ability to travel through time, resurrect the dead and often battled Lucifer's minions. There were also minor changes to his supporting cast such as Jean "Parker" and the inclusion of a character known as Tashi Shog (a Tibetan liturgic wish meaning "May prosperity be").
Spark Publications
He then moved to his own title, The Green Lama (Spark PublicationsSpark Publications
Spark Publications was a short-lived comic book publisher in the mid-1940s, during the Golden Age of Comic Books. Most of their comics was produced by a studio run by Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin. Other creators who worked for Spark included Joseph Greene and Mac Raboy...
) which lasted for eight issues from December 1944 to March 1946. This iteration character of the Green Lama was somewhat different than his previous incarnations (for example, having the power of flight and wearing a skin-tight costume) although the scripts were still written by Kendell Foster Crossen who had created the earlier pulp version of the character.
Reprints of the Green Lama stories from his eight-issue Spark series are available in two hardcover archive volumes produced by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in 2008.
AC Comics
Over the last 20 years, the publisher AC ComicsAC Comics
AC Comics is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.AC Comics specializes in reprints of Golden Age comics from now-defunct companies whose properties lapsed into public domain and were not reprinted elsewhere...
has been virtually the only source for the original Golden Age material featuring the Green Lama, and intermittently used the character in their long-running, original series Femforce
Femforce
Femforce is a comic book published by AC Comics that began publication in 1985, detailing the adventures of the titular team: the "Federal Emergency Missions Force" or "Femforce", some of them original creations, while others originated in the 1940s and 50s, lapsing into public domain by the time...
. In 2004, writer/artist James Ritchey III started production on a two-part graphic novella, entitled Green Lama: Man of Strength, revamping the version from the Spark Publications era. Billing the story in interviews as a "Superhero Mystical Murder Mystery involving Reincarnation", Ritchey never completed the art for part two, due to illness — so it was shelved for three years.
Green Lama: Man of Strength #1 shipped through Diamond Distributors on April 5, 2008, after a requested one month delay from Diamond, due to their frowning upon smaller independents having two similar titles shipped simultaneously. The second issue came out in 2009.
Dynamite Comics
The Green Lama is currently one of several public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
Golden Age characters appearing in the Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book company that primarily publishes licensed franchises of adaptations of other media. These include adaptations of film properties such as Army of Darkness, Terminator and RoboCop, literary properties such as Zorro, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in...
comic book series Project Superpowers
Project Superpowers
Project Superpowers is a comic book limited series published by Dynamite Entertainment beginning January 2008. It was co-plotted by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, with scripts by Jim Krueger, covers by Alex Ross, and interior art by Doug Klauba and Stephen Sadowski for issue #0, and Carlos Paul for the...
, by writer Jim Krueger
Jim Krueger
Jim Krueger is an American comic book writer, novelist, and filmmaker.- Filmmaking :Kreuger's first short film, They Might Be Dragons, which he wrote, directed, and produced, won "Best In Class" at New York University , a "Best Short Film" award from the New York Independent Film Festival, and a...
and artist Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
. This version of the Green Lama is vaguely a continuation of his Spark Publications iteration, though his powers have evolved to be more nature-based.
Moonstone
Moonstone Publishers will be releasing new back-up comic stories based on the pulp version of the character under its upcoming "Return of the Originals" banner. These shorts will be written by Mike W. Barr.Airship 27
The Green Lama will be featured in Airship 27 and Redbud Studio's comic book anthology All Star Pulp Comics. The eight-page comic is entitled Green Lama and the Dealers of Death by Garcia and Fyles, with writing and lettering assistance from Ben Granoff. It will also feature the return of Gary Brown and Evangl Stewart, as well as continue the "Fifth Column" plot from the original pulps.Web comics and fiction
Green Lama is one of several Golden Age comic characters to make an appearance in Tales of the Living Legends, a webcomic featuring Golden Age art and rewritten stories.The Green Lama recently joined many other public domain superheroes in the pages of the Metahuman Press serial Living Legends.
Radio
More than three years after the demise of his comic book, the Green Lama was resurrected for a short-lived CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
radio series that ran for 11 episodes from June 5 to August 20, 1949, with the character's voice provided by Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
. This version of the Green Lama was also written by creator Kendell Foster Crossen, along with several co-writers.
The AudioComics Company, an audio production company devoted to producing and distributing professional full-cast audio dramas adapted from independent comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and the occasional prose work, recently announced they would be producing a series of new Green Lama radio stories as part of their "Pulp Adventures" line, with episodes recording in San Francisco starring Bay Area-based actor Craig Neibaur as the Jethro Dumont/The Green Lama, and written by Adam Lance Garcia and Algernon D’Ammassa.
Television
CBS Television considered producing a television version of the Green Lama for the 1950 season. The proposal never got the green light.Buddhist element
The Green Lama stories display a sympathetic and relatively knowledgeable portrayal of Buddhism, both in the text of the stories and in numerous footnoteFootnote
A note is a string of text placed at the bottom of a page in a book or document or at the end of a text. The note can provide an author's comments on the main text or citations of a reference work in support of the text, or both...
s. From Crossen's own comments, in his foreword
Foreword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
to Robert Weinberg's 1976 reprint of the first Green Lama story, it is clear that this was not proselytism
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
on his part, but simply because he wanted to create a Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
character and then read everything he could find on the subject.
The most frequent reference to Buddhism in the stories is the use of the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
"Om mani padme hum
Om mani padme hum
is the six syllabled mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara , the bodhisattva of compassion...
" (roughly "Hail, the jewel on the lotus", though the actual phrase defies exact translation), which would indeed be used by Tibetan monks. However, the majority of other references to Buddhism in the stories, while accurate, relate to the Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
form of Buddhism rather than the Tibetan form, with frequent use of Pali
Pali language
Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is best known as the language of many of the earliest extant Buddhist scriptures, as collected in the Pāi Canon or Tipitaka, and as the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism.-Etymology of the name:The word Pali itself...
words such as "Magga", "Nibbana", and "Dhamma", rather than the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
equivalents "Marga", "Nirvana", and "Dharma" used in Northern Buddhism.
External links
- A Hero History of the Green Lama
- Double Detective cover scans
- The Green Lama radio programs in the public domain at Archive.org
- Living Legends at Metahuman Press
- Green Lama serial at Tales of the Living Legends