General Ino is as complete a villain that ever graced the pages of Doc Savage Magazine. Dent introduces the reader to Ino's ruthless nature immediately. Ino, we learn is responsible for kidnapping the son of a rich Japanese merchant prince. Even though the man paid the ransom, Ino killed the child, disposing of the body by dissolving it in acid.
Bruno Hauptmann is executed on April 3, 1936 for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby. It is likely that Hauptmann's impending doom was in the papers around the time this story was written.
Freemasonry: This story reflects Dent's interest in Freemasonry. First we are led to believe the candidate for resurrection is Thomas Jefferson. The next name mentioned is George Washington. Finally, Thomas A. Edison is mentioned. It is notable that each of these three men was a mason. Finally Doc announces the committee's decision: Solomon is the man to be resurrected. Solomon -- King Solomon from the bible is the choice for resurrection. King Solomon is a central figure in Masonic lore, and freemasons, unlike most people of the time, would naturally think this a logical choice.
Gadgets: I remember hearing some pooh-poohing on another Doc invention once upon a time. It was the condensed water he carried into the desert in Resurrection Day. Doc added to the pack flask containing, not water, but the chemical parts of water, minus the unneeded ingredients. Now this sounds a little hokey at first. Water is comprised of Hydrogen and Oxygen. It would make no sense for Doc to carry canisters of these elements into the desert in order to make water.
What does make sense would be some type of chemical compound that acted as a desiccant. Something like silicone gel that has enormous absorption properties. You would just put this out in a pan and allow it to absorb water from the air. Once the compound is saturated you apply a second chemical that causes the water to separate. Now you have drinking water. Heck, if you were smart enough, the absorbent would be some kind of dehydrated food you could simply eat and get both fluids and nourishment from. And you wouldn't need the second chemical. Ah well, still is all just talk but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than trying to collect a set of original pulps.
Treasure: Pey-deh-eh-ghan's treasure is immense. Monk counts over one hundred diamonds in the cache.
Locations: The second half of the story takes place in the Nubian Desert which lies in the eastern folds of the continent-spanning Sahara Desert. The Nubian Desert is bound by the Red Sea and the Nile River.
Religion: Monk Mayfair references Jesus of Nazareth while discussing candidates for the revival process. Monk explains that Doc's help would not be required in that instance
The "Mad Butcher" Terrorizes Cleveland: In late September of 1935, two men were found decapitated in the Kingsbury Run area of Cleveland, Ohio, which was something of a shantytown. On January 26, 1936, another decapitated body – a woman - was found. The crimes were sensational and very newsworthy.
Lester Dent may have based Proudman Shaster on the Mad Butcher of Cleveland. The head chopping business sounds reminiscent of a villain from a Doc story that was printed in the November 1936 issue. Doc Savage battles General Ino and his gang of international criminals. Proudman Shaster, a New York attorney, is Ino’s lieutenant. Shaster is frequently seized by a strange psychological fit during fights and has the bad habit of chopping off heads while so engaged.
According to Will Murray’s article in Duende #2, Dent submitted this story to Street & Smith in March of 1936.
Sax Rohmer endowed Dr. Fu Manchu with a diabolical compound frequently used to induce an artificial catalepsy that had the appearance of a state of death to all but the most expert medical doctors. The Fu Manchu stories particularly emphasize the similarities in the physical appearance of Dr. Fu Manchu and Pharaoh Seti I. Indeed, in The Mask of Dr. Fu Manchu, readers learn that the Chinese doctor has secret knowledge about the Great Pyramid of Giza and secret passageways within its hulking mass.
Perhaps Paraoh Pey-deh-eh-ghan was not really dead in the sense that modern readers understand it. He may have simply been in a state of suspended animation imposed by a dose of this mysterious drug many centuries in the past.
That leads to another influence that probably had an influence on Resurrection Day. In 1932 Universal Studios released The Mummy starring Boris Karloff. The film featured the story of a cursed Egyptian priest who was buried alive and accidentally revived. The movie plays off Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by British archeologist Howard Carter.
Prior stories concerning reanimated mummies exist. The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker was published in 1903. In this story, a group of people seek to bring the mummy of Queen Tera back to life. An earlier story by Edgar Allen Poe titled Some Words with a Mummy was published in 1845. What is notable about this story is the use of electricity or a “Voltaic pile” to revive the mummy. Doc Savage also uses electric currents in his resuscitation process to rejuvenate the ancient flesh. In Dent’s story, the mummy is also intact and does not have any of its internal organs missing as would be expected in a traditional mummification process.
Mummy stories go back at least as far as 1827, when Jane Loudon authored The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century (Google Books). In 1833 William Bernard wrote a play titled The Mummy which is often considered to be the father of all other mummy stories.
November 2, 1936 – The British Broadcasting Systems begins regular television broadcasts.
November 3, 1936 – Franklin Roosevelt is elected to a second term as President.
November 6, 1936 – Movies: Tarzan Escapes starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan opens.
November 12, 1936 – The San Francisco –Oakland Bay Bridge opens.
November 20, 1936 – A mining disaster in Kazuno, Japan kills 375 miners.
November 23, 1936 – The first issue of Life Magazine is published.
November 27, 1936 – International financier and arms dealer Basil Zaharoff dies.
November 28, 1936 – The Kriegsmarine begins construction of the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin.
