Origin
Born a billionaire, August Fenwick never approved of his father’s constant desire to earn more money, often at the expense of others. As an adult, his fortune largely unaffected by the Depression, he decided to use his wealth to aid those less fortunate than himself. He spent years preparing for his war on crime. He trained with circus performers the Flying Androvs, former members of the Society of Gentlemen Adventurers – including the Stranger, and a Nepalese master of hypnosis called Rashan, among others. It was Master Rashan who dubbed him the “Red Panda,” on account of the Red Mask he wore while training. Upon his return to Toronto, aided by self-developed gadgets and technology, he began his one man war on crime.
Creation
Gregg Taylor once received a terrible sunburn while wearing wraparound sunglasses. Being told he looked like a raccoon, he replied that he was a red panda. That name stuck in his head as an idea for a super hero.
A fan of old time radio series like “The Shadow” and “The Green Hornet,” in 1999 Taylor originally wrote “The Adventures of the Red Panda” – a campy, World War II, super-spy radio drama that was never picked up.
Years later, after discovering podcasting, Taylor again wanted to do a super hero radio drama. Starting completely from scratch, he decided to take it more seriously, start the series in the Great Depression, and add a female sidekick. Incorporating additional influences, including Batman and Will Eisner‘s Spirit, the new “Red Panda Adventures” podcast series began in 2005.
Other Media
Audio Drama Podcast
The Red Panda was originally created for an old time radio drama styled podcast from Decoder Ring Theatre. The Red Panda Adventures was created by Gregg Taylor and began on October 15, 2005, with Taylor playing the title character since the first episode, “Riddle of the Sphinx.” Over 100 episodes have been released to date. The series has spawned four novels and a digital comic series.
Books
Tales of The Red Panda: The Crime Cabal
Even the united remnants of Toronto’s defeated underworld could not resist the city’s masked protectors. But when they join with the murderous might of some of the masked man’s deadliest foes, can even the Red Panda match the strength of… The Crime Cabal? Written in the breathless style of the classic “Hero Pulps” of the 1930s and 40s, Tales of the Red Panda: The Crime Cabal presents the masked protectors of Depression-Era Toronto in a pulse pounding conflict with gangsters, racketeers, corrupt officials and power-mad supervillains. The heroes from “The Red Panda Adventures”; a popular full-cast audio drama podcast in the style of the adventure programs of radio’s golden age here make the leap into pulp prose in spectacular style. This story is a self-contained adventure; you needn’t have heard a single episode of Decoder Ring Theatre’s long-running audio drama series to enjoy the thrills, mystery and adventure… but fans of the series will take special delight, as the story fits neatly within the series continuity. If you love classic adventure stories, mystery men, pulp fiction and golden age superheroics, you won’t want to miss Tales of the Red Panda: The Crime Cabal!
Written by Gregg Taylor
Tales of the Red Panda: The Mind Master
Sinister forces are at work, striking within the very heart of the city’s elite with powers that seem otherwordly. Are the attacks random? Simply for profit? Or is an unknown predator hunting our masked heroes themselves? If the mysterious Ajay Shah really does have powers that rival the Red Panda, will even the Terrific Twosome of Toronto be able to resist the might of… The Mind Master? The second volume of the Tales of the Red Panda series is written in the breathless style of the classic “Hero Pulps” of the 1930s and 40s. The heroes from “The Red Panda Adventures”; a popular full-cast audio drama adventure series make the leap into pulp prose in spectacular style. This story is a self-contained adventure; you needn’t have heard a single episode of Decoder Ring Theatre’s long-running audio drama series to enjoy the thrills, mystery and adventure… but fans of the series will take special delight, as the story fits neatly within the series continuity. If you love classic adventure stories, mystery men, pulp fiction and golden age superheroics, you won’t want to miss Tales of the Red Panda: The Mind Master!
Written by Gregg Taylor
Tales of the Red Panda: The Android Assassins
Winner of the 2011 Pulp Ark Award for Best Novel (Gregg Taylor) and Best Cover Art (Thomas Perkins)! A city beset by the darkness and desperation of the Depression balances upon a knife edge, ready to plunge into chaos and despair. The forces of darkness have been held thus far at bay by a pair of red gauntleted fists, but on how many fronts can Toronto’s masked champion fight at one time? An unseen manipulator is pulling the city’s surviving businesses to the brink of collapse for his own fiendish purposes just as an old foe returns to unleash his bitter fury upon innocent lives. Who will survive the power of… The Android Assassins?
Written by Gregg Taylor