The Red Panda Adventures is a radio drama series in the style of old time radio that follows the 1930s adventures of "Canada's greatest superhero", the Red Panda, and his sidekick, that "fearless fighting female", the Flying Squirrel, as they protect the citizens of Toronto, Ontario from villains ranging from gangsters and supervillains to the supernatural forces of darkness.
The series was created by Gregg Taylor of Decoder Ring Theatre and earned the company multiple Podcast Award and Parsec Award nominations. In 2010 the series won the Parsec Award for excellence in Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form), and earned Decoder Ring Theatre the Podcast Award for best podcast in the Cultural/Arts Category. The series has spawned a series of novels written within continuity and in the style of the classic pulp fiction stories of the 1930s and 1940s. The Tales of the Red Panda books includes the 2011 winner of the Pulp Ark Award for best New Pulp Fiction Novel, Tales of the Red Panda: The Android Assassins. Decoder Ring Theatre was profiled on the BBC Television program "Click" in February 2011, leading to new exposure for the Red Panda Adventures in the UK. The radio drama series also inspired a spin-off series of comic book adventures published digitally by MonkeyBrain Comics, and collected in trade paperback edition by IDW Publishing. The comic books, written by series author Gregg Taylor and illustrated by artist Dean Kotz have been highly praised by industry media outlets such as Comic Book Resources and Bleeding Cool. Both the audio drama and comic series have been featured in the Toronto Star, and the Television program "Innerspace" on Space, the Imagination Station
Current series Seasons 1–9 of The Red Panda Adventures each ran for 12 episodes. Seasons 10 and 11 were each six episodes long, with a new episode released on the first of every other month, alternating with Black Jack Justice.
Episodes
Tales of the Red Panda Novels The Tales of the Red Panda novel series is written by Gregg Taylor and styled after Golden Age hero pulp magazines like The Shadow, Doc Savage and The Spider. The novels tell new stories set in the same continuity as the audio drama, with events from one sometimes being mentioned in the other.
The Crime Cabal (June 2009) The Mind Master (December 2009) The Android Assassins (August 2010) The Pyramid of Peril (September 2014)
Mask of the Red Panda Comics
Announced on 13 December 2012 on the official Facebook page, Mask of the Red Panda was a 3-issue digital comic miniseries available via Comixology. The first issue was released 27 February 2013, and received positive reviews. As with the novels, it featured an all new story in the same continuity, written by Gregg Taylor. The art is provided by Dean Kotz, and it is published by MonkeyBrain Comics. IDW Publishing released a trade paperback edition of the miniseries in February 2014.
After the initial three-issue series a Kickstarter campaign was run to create a "full-cast video comic" of the series. The intent was to raise money for not only the video, but also to fund new issues of the comic. At the close of the campaign, Taylor announced that enough money had been raised to provide for at least 8 new issues of the series.
Beginning with issue 4 in March 2014, the comic series was renamed The Red Panda. Taylor began telling comic stories in two parts, adding bonus features to the digital releases.
Dramatis Personae
The Terrific Twosome of Toronto The Red Panda: The Red Panda is a hero in the mystery man mold of the pulp era. His costume is limited to a suit and hat with a bright red domino mask (with Batman-like blank eyes) and matching red gauntlets. He has great skill with unarmed combat styles (especially judo) and uses a variety of devices, mostly of his own devising, to fight injustice. These include Static Shoes which use the power of static electricity to cling to sheer surfaces, and to jump great distances when traveling over rooftops. He is also a master of hypnotism, which he uses to extract information, project false images into the minds of others and, when necessary, to erase the memories of others. When not patrolling the city as the marvelous masked mystery man known as the Red Panda, he reverts to his secret identity, August Fenwick (known only as "one of the city's wealthiest men" until episode 48 "Operation: Cold Feet"), a young millionaire/billionaire playboy (the amount has fluctuated throughout the series). In this guise, he bears many similarities to Bruce Wayne, Lamont Cranston and Don Diego Vega, though in a much lighter tone. It is mentioned repeatedly throughout the series that the Red Panda hates having to put on the mask of the spoiled, selfish rich boy: "[the Red Panda] became who I am. The spoiled rich boy became more of a thin character sketch than a person." The Red Panda fights crime for many reasons, first and foremost because of an altruistic desire to help those who can't help themselves, but also out of a desire to atone for the selfish, greed-driven actions of his family. "Great acts of cruelty were committed by men I knew to be kind." Voiced by Gregg Taylor. The Flying Squirrel: Katya "Kit" Baxter, sidekick and driver of the Red Panda, is head over heels for "The Boss", whose secret identity she discovered on her own, and whom she convinced to let her help. Her costume consists of a gray catsuit and cowl (or as the Red Panda puts it, "a delightfully form-fitting unitard"), goggles, and a utility belt (though she does think it makes her look "hippy"). Only scattered bits of information about her appearance have been revealed. What is known is that she is 5 ft. 6, in her early 20s, has red hair and brown eyes, and after her recent stint at the beach, also has freckles. She has a vicious streak when it comes to dealing with criminals. Like the Red Panda, she uses a wide array of crime-fighting gizmos including Static Shoes, Grapple Guns and Gas Grenades. But while he would turn to hypnosis for interrogation, she is more likely to use her fists, which she does with great glee. She has the skill to back up her pugilistic tendencies; thanks to the training of the Red Panda, this former taxi driver is now a black belt in jujitsu, judo, and possibly other fighting styles including professional boxing which is partly due to the fact that her father was a boxer and she picked up a few things from him as she grew up. The gliding membranes in her squirrel suit allow her to glide short distances and perform amazing feats of acrobatic daring-do. The relationship between the two heroes is the heart of the show, with Kit desperately trying to clue the Red Panda in to her feelings, only to be thwarted time and time again by his total obliviousness. The two finally come out with their emotions when Kit is thought to be dead by the Red Panda and he kisses her when she springs back to life. From the start of the fifth season, the couple are married, and the introductory narrative has been updated. Voiced by Clarissa Der Nederlanden Taylor.
Agents and Allies Patch Little (Agent 101) Gregor Sampson (Agent 33): Deep cover agent of the Red Panda. Died in "When Darkness Falls". Voiced by Peter Nicol. Dr. Carlson (Agent 45): Prominent doctor at a local hospital and agent of the Red Panda. Detective Andy Parker (Agent 51): Good-natured officer of the law who previously had a crush on the Flying Squirrel, but is now engaged to be married to his librarian fiancée. He became a captain in the Canadian army during the war and was reported as missing in action in the Dieppe raid. Voiced by Brian Vaughan. Susan Kerwin (Agent 79): Agent of the Red Panda who works to uncover the shysters Vin and Tom in "The Dream Factory." It is likely that Susan Kerwin is not her real name, as it was also used as Kit Baxter's alias in "The Ghost Ship." Voiced by Denise Anderson. Bank Worker (Agent 107): An as yet unnamed agent who participated in the takedown of the shysters Vin and Tom in "The Dream Factory." Voice by Tim Vant. (Sgt.) Eugene "Mac" Tully (Agent 148): Elevator operator and agent of the Red Panda. Reported as missing in action in the Dieppe raid. Voiced by Kevin Robinson. (Pvt.) Robert "Ace" Kirby: Former crook who joined the Red Panda's team in "The End Game". Reported as missing in action in the Dieppe raid. Voiced by Steven Burley. Morris "Tank" Brody: Agent. Reported as missing in action in the Dieppe raid. Voiced by Christopher Mott. Joseph "Joe" McDonald: Agent. Reported as missing in action in the Dieppe raid. Edward "Eddie" Minsk: Agent. Reported as missing in action in the Dieppe raid. Harry "Eagle Eyes" Kelly (Agent 391): The youngest agent of the Red Panda, who takes small jobs as a delivery boy or shoe shiner in order to gather and pass information for the Red Panda. He might also be the kid who sells special [also known as 'extra'] editions to the Chronicle whenever newspaper headlines figure in the show. Harry has the sharp sight and exceptional observation powers of innocent youth. He often notices things other agents seem to miss. In the episode "The Rat Lord", Harry gained a code name: the Black Cap. By "All the King's Men" he is 16, almost 17. Voiced by Shannon Arnold (young Harry) and Scott Moyle (teenage Harry). Spiro Pappas (Agent #?): A Contact Man for some of the Red Panda's agents, including Constable Parker. Even at age 65 he is still a formidable combatant, as evidenced in his undercover work as a member of the "Callahan Gang". Owns a training facility for prizefighters. Announced to have died of a heart attack during "All the King's Men". Voiced by Michael Booth. Old Mister Finelman (Agent #?): A pharmacist and a Contact Man for some of the Red Panda's agents, including Harry Kelly. William Bilkey (Agent #?): A file clerk in the Harbormaster's Office and an agent of the Red Panda. Myron McKellar (Agent #?): An orderly at the Queen Street Lunatic Sanitarium for the Criminally Deranged and an agent of the Red Panda. It was he who warned the Red Panda about Simon Radford's (the Electric Eel's) release from the Sanitarium. He also made a short 'on-screen' appearance when he guided the masked heroes to the fallen Dr. Bygot in "The Hand of Fate". Tortured and killed by the Electric Eel and/or the Genie in "Trial by terror". Voiced by Brian Vaughan. Dr. Davis (Agent #?): One of the world's most renowned biochemists. As one of the Red Panda's many agents at the oft-mentioned and as yet unnamed local university, Dr. Davis gave the Red Panda and the Flying Squirrel immunity to their own knockout gas and formulated the antitoxin against the madness drug in "The Hand of Fate." Bert Mendel(Agent #?): A coroner and very skittish agent of the Red Panda. Though he did aid our masked heroes with morgue advice in both "Riddle of the Sphinx" and "The Hand of Fate," he did so reluctantly and with little enthusiasm, more concerned with keeping his job than helping the city. Not a great deal is known about him, but it is hinted that he serves the Red Panda as part of a life debt from a previous daring rescue. Voiced by Scott Moyle. Dr. Theodore Chronopolis: Scientist, inventor and the foremost expert on the combination of magic and science. The good Doctor has an unfinished time machine in Season One of RPA (mentioned in episode 3 "Rabbit Season") that was possibly completed sometime prior to the Season Two finale episode 24, "The World Next Door", and used by the Red Panda in a previously untold adventure to travel to the past, possibly in an adventure hinted at in episode 12, "The Deadliest Game". He is very disorganized and absent-minded, but is very friendly and well mannered. Apparently, is counterpart from the other the world next door is some kind of supervillain. Lost his memory in "The Wild West". Voiced by Peter Nicol.