Sâr Dubnotal is a fictional character and

pulp hero Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

who starred in 20

pulp magazines Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

published in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1909–1910. The ''Sâr Dubnotal'' stories were published anonymously. Some scholars believe they were written by Norbert Sévestre, a prolific author of popular adventure series, many of which included similarly

fantastic The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces. Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, charac ...

elements, although this has never been proven.

Overview

The Sâr Dubnotal is a sorcerer and a superhero not unlike

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

' Doctor Strange. He is a learned Master of the Occult, nicknamed the "Great Psychagogue", the Napoléon of the Intangible, the Master of Psychognosis, the Conqueror of the Invisible, ''El Tebib'' (meaning Doctor in Arabic), or merely the Doctor. Despite his stylish oriental guise, Sâr Dubnotal is a westerner, schooled by the

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...

s, who has then learned the ancient secrets of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

mystics. He is capable of telepathy,

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

and hypnotism. He was born in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. His exact age is unknown, but he is very likely much older than he seems. Sâr Dubnotal owns houses in Trez-Hir in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and in

Cheyne Walk Cheyne Walk is an historic road in Chelsea, London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He also owns several yachts, including the ''Brahma'' and the ''Derviche''. He also owns an

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

called Redemption Island located along the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, where he sends villains to be reformed. Two recurring enemies include rival evil hypnotist Tserpchikopf who turns out to be

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n revolutionary Azef, based on a real-life figure.

Stories

All 20 magazines were published by Eichler, starting in January 1909 – at the same time in France and translated in Germany. # ''Le Manoir Hanté de Creh'h-ar-Vran'' (The Haunted Manor of Creh'h-ar-Vran) # ''La Table Tournante du Docteur Tooth'' (Dr. Tooth's Turning Table) # ''Le Puits Fatal'' (The Fatal Well) # ''Le Médium Tragique'' (The Tragic Medium) # ''La Grève Sanglante'' (The Bloody Beach) # ''La Détraquée du Passage Rimbaut'' (The Madwoman of Passage Rimbaut) # ''Tserpchikopf, le Sanglant Hypnotiseur'' (Tserpchikopf, the Bloody Hypnotist) # ''La Piste Astrale'' (The Astral Trail) # ''L'Écartelée de Montmartre'' (The Quartered Woman of Montmartre) # ''Jack l'Éventreur'' (Jack the Ripper) # ''Haine Posthume'' (Posthumous Hatred) # ''La Fiancée de Gibraltar'' (The Fiancée from Gibraltar) # ''Les Vampires du Cimetière'' (The Vampires of the Cemetery) # ''L'Empreinte Rouge'' (The Red Mark) # ''La Somnambule du Gué Sanglant'' (The Somnambulist of the River of Blood) # ''L'Affaire Azzef-Poloukhine'' (The Azzef-Poloukhine Case) # ''Un Complot Terroriste'' (A Terrorist Plot) # ''Dans l'Enfer Sibérien'' (In the Siberian Hell) # ''Azzef, le Roi des Agents Provocateurs'' (Azzef, King of the Agents Provocateurs) # ''Double-Taf, le Dernier des Pentyerns'' (Double-Taf, Last of the Pentyerns) Episodes 1, 7, 9, 10 and 11 were published in English in a translation by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

under the title ''Sâr Dubnotal vs. Jack the Ripper'' by Black Coat Press () in November 2009. In 2012, a new translation of the booklet novels No. 1 to 11 and No. 14 was published by Gerd Frank (Dieter-von-Reeken-Verlag: "Sâr Dubnotal, der Große Geisterbanner" and "Sâr Dubnotal, der Astraldetektiv"), followed in 2013 by six more booklet novels (Nos. 12, 13, 15, 17, 18 and 19 of the French order) in German translation by Gerd Frank (Sâr Dubnotal, Volume 3: "Nihilisten und Vampire"), also in the Dieter-von-Reeken-Verlag. The missing numbers 14, 16 and 20 were published by the Viennese hobby nostalgia printer Ganzbiller (translation again by Gerd Frank). This means that all 20 booklet novels are also available in German for the first time.

Other appearances

Sâr Dubnotal has appeared in several

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

published in the anthology ''

Tales of the Shadowmen ''Tales of the Shadowmen'' is an American anthology of short fiction edited by Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier and published by Black Coat Press. The stories share the conceit of taking place in a fictional world where all of the character ...

'', ''Doctor Omega and the Shadowmen''. Sâr Dubnotal is mentioned in Volume 2 of ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four vol ...

''.

External links

Sâr Dubnotal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubnotal, Sar Male characters in literature Literary characters introduced in 1909 Series of books Characters in pulp fiction Fictional characters who use magic Fictional occult and psychic detectives