|
The Avenger is a fictional character whose original adventures appeared between September 1939 and September 1942 in the pulp magazine ''The Avenger'', published by Street & Smith. Five additional short stories were published in ''Clues Detective'' magazine (1942–1943), and a sixth novelette in ''The Shadow'' magazine in 1943. Newly written adventures were commissioned and published by Warner Brother's Paperback Library from 1973 to 1974. The Avenger was a pulp hero who combined elements of Doc Savage and the Shadow. The authorship of the pulp series was credited by Street & Smith to Kenneth Robeson, the same byline that appeared on the Doc Savage stories. The "Kenneth Robeson" name was a house pseudonym used by a number of different Street & Smith writers. Most of the original Avenger stories were written by Paul Ernst. ==History== In the late 1930s following in the wake of a slew of magazine cancellations (''The Skipper'', ''Bill Barnes'' and ''The Whisperer'' "had failed to capture the audience loyalty" of Doc Savage and the Shadow〔) Street & Smith circulation manager Henry William Ralston and editor John L. Nanovic set out to create a new hero combining elements of Doc Savage and the Shadow. They obtained advice from Lester Dent and Walter B. Gibson in the creation of the Avenger, and hired writer Paul Ernst. Both Dent and Gibson met with Ernst to give him advice on his stories, Dent focused on characterization and Gibson on plotting. The character of the Avenger, described by pulp expert Don Hutchison as "clearly an effort to form a hybrid of the company's more successful creations", echoed his forebears in other ways also. Whereas Doc Savage was known as "The Man of Bronze", the Avenger was described as "The Man of Steel". The Avenger's "marksman's eyes" echoed the "burning eyes" of the Shadow, who continued to be referred to as "The ''Masked'' Avenger."〔 When creating the Avenger, Paul Ernst drew on elements from characters he had previously created; Seekay (a private detective with a disfigured face who wears a plastic mask); the Wraith (a crimefighter who used a knife and a gun); Dick Bullitt (with gray features); Old Stone Face (a G-man with the emotionless visage); the Gray Marauder and Karlu the mystic. In 1939 readers of Street & Smith's ''Doc Savage'' pulp magazine "thrilled to a special announcement" that a new periodical—''The Avenger''—"was soon to be published", and would feature stories "written by none other than Kenneth Robeson, 'the familiar creator of Doc Savage.'〔Hutchison, Don ''The Great Pulp Heroes – 3: The Avenger'' in Peter Harris (ed.) ''The New Captain George's Whizzbang'' #12 (1971), pp. 2–8〕 Robeson was a Street & Smith house name used by Ernst and a number of authors, including Lester Dent, the actual creator of Doc Savage. The first issue of ''The Avenger'' was cover-dated September 1939, and featured a cover story/'lead novel' entitled "Justice Inc." Interior art was produced by Paul Orban, well known to pulp fans for his "similar work on Doc Savage and The Shadow."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Avenger (pulp-magazine character)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|