After traveling to Tibet, Francis Hardant, a young physician and explorer, becomes entangled in a perilous confrontation with Dr. Natas, a sinister mastermind. Natas, who has uncovered the secret of creating gold through nuclear fusion, rules over a hidden City of Gold populated by enslaved inhabitants. To maintain his power, he uses a horrifying form of leprosy as a weapon of control. Determined to stop Natas’ malevolent schemes, Hardant allies with Louise Ducharme, a courageous and resourceful woman who shares his resolve to liberate the city’s oppressed people. Together, they must navigate the dangers of Natas’ domain, uncover his secrets, and attempt to escape the city’s clutches. On a cruise with his father, Hardant is kidnapped by Captain Mendax, a notorious pirate with a flying submarine, Astaroth, built using advanced technology. Mendax operates from a secret base atop Mount Everest, threatening the world and demanding a $100 million ransom from ocean liners. With the help of Milarepa, a Tibetan princess also held captive, Hardant escapes. They destroy Mendax’s base. Notes: Francis Hardant is often regarded as a proto-Doc Savage, a precursor to the iconic pulp hero. This connection, while speculative, has been explored extensively, including in the prefatory material by Jean-Marc Lofficier. The parallels between Hardant and Savage are intriguing: both are larger-than-life figures combining scientific genius, physical prowess, and moral courage, embodying the archetype of the heroic polymath adventurer. In his adaptation of the novel, Lofficier decided to change the spelling Hardant to Ardan, calling the character “Francis Ardan” and “Doc Ardan”. In the Tales of the Shadowmen anthologies, Hardant has been reimagined as a pastiche of Doc Savage. These new stories situate him chronologically after the original Doc Savage canon, suggesting that Savage might have resumed the alias “Francis Ardan” during later exploits. This approach cleverly blends the characters’ mythologies, creating a continuity that respects Savage’s legacy while giving Hardant a fresh narrative identity. New stories starring Hardant/Ardan were created. The villain Dr. Natas is a pastiche of Fu Manchu.
Alias Francis Hardant
Real Names/Alt Names Francis Hardant, Francis Ardan, Doc Ardan
First Appearance “La cité de l’or et de la lèpre” in Sciences et Voyages #453 (May 1928)
First Publisher Société parisienne d’édition
Appearance List La cité de l’or et de la lèpre (1928), Les Troglodytes du mont Everest (1929)
Sample Read ○
Description After traveling to Tibet, Francis Hardant, a young physician and explorer, becomes entangled in a perilous confrontation with Dr. Natas, a sinister mastermind. Natas, who has uncovered the secret of creating gold through nuclear fusion, rules over a hidden City of Gold populated by enslaved inhabitants. To maintain his power, he uses a horrifying form of leprosy as a weapon of control. Determined to stop Natas’ malevolent schemes, Hardant allies with Louise Ducharme, a courageous and resourceful woman who shares his resolve to liberate the city’s oppressed people. Together, they must navigate the dangers of Natas’ domain, uncover his secrets, and attempt to escape the city’s clutches. On a cruise with his father, Hardant is kidnapped by Captain Mendax, a notorious pirate with a flying submarine, Astaroth, built using advanced technology. Mendax operates from a secret base atop Mount Everest, threatening the world and demanding a $100 million ransom from ocean liners. With the help of Milarepa, a Tibetan princess also held captive, Hardant escapes. They destroy Mendax’s base. Notes: Francis Hardant is often regarded as a proto-Doc Savage, a precursor to the iconic pulp hero. This connection, while speculative, has been explored extensively, including in the prefatory material by Jean-Marc Lofficier. The parallels between Hardant and Savage are intriguing: both are larger-than-life figures combining scientific genius, physical prowess, and moral courage, embodying the archetype of the heroic polymath adventurer. In his adaptation of the novel, Lofficier decided to change the spelling Hardant to Ardan, calling the character “Francis Ardan” and “Doc Ardan”. In the Tales of the Shadowmen anthologies, Hardant has been reimagined as a pastiche of Doc Savage. These new stories situate him chronologically after the original Doc Savage canon, suggesting that Savage might have resumed the alias “Francis Ardan” during later exploits. This approach cleverly blends the characters’ mythologies, creating a continuity that respects Savage’s legacy while giving Hardant a fresh narrative identity. New stories starring Hardant/Ardan were created. The villain Dr. Natas is a pastiche of Fu Manchu.
