Just in time for the Golden Anniversary of George Pal’s film, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, the convention for the “Fans of Bronze” returns. Doc Con 2025 will take August 7 – 10 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania as part of PulpFest 2025.
The convention centered around Doc Savage — the pulp character created by Lester Dent for the Street & Smith line of pulp magazines in 1933 — Doc Con was founded in 1998 by Rob Smalley who thought of it as “a chance for fans to get together to celebrate the heroes of the pulp era.”
Taking place at the Ramada Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona, during the fall of 1998-99, the first two Doc Cons were smallish affairs, attracting just a few of the many “Fans of Bronze.” Later conventions — also staged in Arizona — took place at the homes of Smalley, Paul Cook, Courtney Rogers, and Jay Ryan. As each successive gathering took place, the convention grew. Doc Con 2012 found a new home at the Comfort Suites in Glendale, Arizona.
Doc Con 2008 added a program book, The Big Book of Bronze, published by Jay Ryan‘s Solace of Fortitude Publications. You can still buy copies on Lulu.
Doc Con 2014 hosted the convention’s first guest-of-honor, artist and illustrator Bob Larkin. Other guests followed, including writer and filmmaker David Avallone, artist and illustrator Joe DeVito, author Will Murray, and actor and novelist Ron Ely.
But Arizona wasn’t the only Doc Con hotspot. In 2005, Scott Cranford started an online discussion about hosting a Doc Con in Nashville, Tennessee, since he was unable to attend the ones in Arizona. Wayne Judge from St. Louis joined the conversation and suggested La Plata, Missouri, the hometown of Lester Dent, as the location. The group agreed, and Wayne proceeded to organize the event in La Plata. The first La Plata Doc Con took place in 2006, featuring a meeting with locals who had known Lester Dent and a tour of his home. Two more Doc Cons followed in La Plata, one in 2007 and another in 2008.
In October 2015, the appearance of Ely — the star of Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze — drew 90 fans to Glendale, Arizona, for Doc Con 2015. The last Doc Con was held two years later — until now.
Thanks to the efforts of several longtime Doc Savage fans, Doc Con will be returning in 2025 as part of PulpFest. Inspired by the success of Farmercon and ERBFest — which have drawn fans of Philip José Farmer and Edgar Rice Burroughs to the annual PulpFest — these devoted “Fans of Bronze” are hoping the revived Doc Con will enjoy similar success at PulpFest. That means your membership to PulpFest 2025 will get you 4 conventions for the price of one! Register now by clicking here!
On Thursday evening, August 7, Doc Con 2025 will open with a “Bronze Bash” in the Ember & Vine lounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry, an after-hours social event. The convention will continue on Friday evening, August 8, with “Doc Savage and the Bantam Revival: A Conversation with Will Murray,” featuring Jennifer DiGiacomo, and a showing of George Pal’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. On Saturday afternoon, August 9, Doc Con 2025 will offer a grand finale, starting with a panel presentation featuring storyboards and other production material from the film to honor the Golden Anniversary of the George Pal movie, followed by a showing of the fan cut of the film.
Remember, your membership to PulpFest 2025 will garner you a membership to Doc Con 2025, ERBFest 2025, and FarmerCon XX! Again, that’s 4 conventions for the price of one! You sure can’t beat that, especially if you’re a fan of Burroughs, Doc, Farmer, and pulps! We hope you’ll join us from August 7 – 10, 2025 in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Our featured image is James Bama’s original portrait of Steve Holland as Doc Savage, painted for the Bantam Books edition of The Man of Bronze, the first of the publisher’s long-running Doc Savage paperback series, first published in 1964.
Our lead image was adapted by Bill Lampkin from a clip excerpted from the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.
The Doc Con logo was adapted by Chris Kalb based on the Bantam logo by Len Leone Sr.
Our final image is a modern take on the bumper sticker issued for the movie in 1975, adapted by Bill Lampkin for the Doc Con Facebook page. Be sure to follow it for the latest news on Doc Con 2025 by clicking here! It’s the best way to stay tuned for the convention’s superamalgamated return in 2025!
Kenneth Grant is a writer and popular culture enthusiast who began writing for our website in 2022. He particularly enjoys the hero pulps and has written about FarmerCon XIX, Ron Hill’s new documentary We Are Doc Savage, our PulpFest 2024 dealers, and more.
To learn more about Doc Savage and his fans, visit the PulpFest YouTube Channel and catch Episode 2 of Talking Pulp with Craig McDonald.
And don’t forget, you can still catch Craig McDonald’s A “Savage” Halloween by clicking here.
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