Men become mindless killing machines and soon Docs own aides are infected Doc fights the disease as a duck farm turns up diamonds that lead to a doomsday device under the Hudson River Published May 1939 Series ordering from Bantam Books publication order which was different than the original magazine publishing order Reading order is not terribly importantFrom WikipediaDoc Savages backgroundA team of scientists assembled by his father deliberately trained his mind and body to nearsuperhuman abilities almost from birth giving him great strength and endurance a photographic memory a mastery of the martial arts and vast knowledge of the sciences Doc is also a master of disguise and an excellent imitator of voices He is a physician scientist adventurer detective inventor explorer researcher and a musician Savage is accompanied on his adventures by up to five other regular characters all highly accomplished individuals in their own rightLieutenant Colonel Andrew Blodgett Monk Mayfair an industrial chemist Monk got his nickname from his simian build notably his long arms and his covering of red hair He is in a constant state of friendly feuding with Ham Brooks This began when his friend taught him some French words to say to an officer and Monk repeated them not knowing they were a string of insults The result was a lengthy stay in the guardhouseBrigadier General Theodore Marley Ham Brooks an accomplished attorney Ham is considered one of the bestdressed men in the world and as part of his attire carries a sword cane whose blade is dipped in a fastacting anesthetic His nickname was acquired when Monk in retaliation for his guardhouse incarceration framed Brooks on a charge of stealing hams from the commissary In the only case which Ham ever lost he was convicted of stealing the hamsColonel John Renny Renwick a construction engineer Renny is a giant of a man with fists like buckets of gristle and bone His favorite pastime is knocking the panels out of heavy wooden doors He always wears a look of depression which deepens the happier he grows His favoriteand frequently usedexpression is Holy CowMajor Thomas J Long Tom Roberts an electrical engineer Long Tom got his nickname from using an antiquated cannon of that nickname in the successful defense of a French village in World War I Long Tom was a sicklylooking character but fought like a wildcatWilliam Harper Johnny Littlejohn an archaeologist and geologist Johnny has an impressive vocabulary never using a small word when a big one could suffice Ill be superamalgamated is a favorite expression Johnny wore eyeglasses with a magnifying lens over his left eye in early adventuresthat eye having been damaged in World War I Doc later performed corrective surgery that restored Johnnys sight in that eye9 but Johnny retained the magnifier as a monocle for use both as a magnifying glass and as a memento