Introduction On Racism Epigraphs A History of the Pulps A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Glossary and Character Taxonomy Breakdown by Country of Origin Bibliography Table of Contents The Best of the Encyclopedia
Whispering Gorilla. The Whispering Gorilla was created by Don Wilcox (Lester Allison, Ben Gleed, “Ebbtide” Jones) and appeared in “The Whispering Gorilla” (Fantastic Adventures, May 1940) and “Return of the Whispering Gorilla” (Fantastic Adventures, Feb. 1943).
Carpenter is a newspaper reporter trying to expose Nazi sympathizers and agents in America. But when he travels to Sao Paulo, in Africa, he is killed by a Nazi gunman. Carpenter’s body is found by Doctor Devoli, who is attempting to experimentally increase ape intelligence, and Devoli transfers Carpenter’s brain into a gorilla body. When Carpenter wakes up he vows to continue fighting the Nazis. He cuts off all contact with his wife, who believes him dead, and returns to New York City where he poses as an actor wearing a gorilla suit. He gains fame and fortune in a play about a gorilla, meanwhile fighting against the Nazis as a radio crusader nicknamed “the Whispering Gorilla.” The leader of the Nazis eventually arranges for the Whispering Gorilla to be pushed beyond control, and the Gorilla goes berserk. The police are forced to beat him so savagely that his brain is permanently damaged. In the sequel Dr. Devoli’s labs are taken over by Nazi soldiers, who are interested in training gorillas to carry out suicide missions in submarines.
* I'm including the Whispering Gorilla stories in the Best of the Encyclopedia list because of their imaginative content. Look. "Man trapped in gorilla's body fights Nazis" is a concept that goes directly into the Best of the Encyclopedia list, no waiting, no disambiguation. That the stories are actually entertaining is nice, but the premise is so strong the stories could actually be poop and it wouldn't matter.
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