Avenger (pulp-magazine character)

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, which ran 24 issues. 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".

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'.

Robeson was actually a Street & Smith house name used by Ernst and a number of other authors, including Lester Dent, the actual writer 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".

As a result of this tragedy, Benson vows to avenge himself on the villains, and to fight for all those who have suffered at the hands of criminals.

Don Hutchison suggests that "Benson's extreme personal misfortune was probably the strongest motivation accorded any of the great pulp heroes," stemming as it did from the death of his family and his own "death in life". Often dismissed as a late addition to the stories, Cole Wilson was to play a greater part in the last dozen pastiches written in the 1970s by Ron Goulart.

Gadgets

The Avenger far preferred tricking criminals into "destroy[ing] themselves in traps of their own devising" to killing them himself, allowing writer Ernst to create considerably elaborate plots.

18. Death in Slow Motion, published September 1, 1941 These stories by Tepperman were not reprinted in the 1970s, probably due to their brevity.

25. Death to the Avenger, published September 1, 1942
26. A Coffin for the Avenger, published November 1, 1942
27. Vengeance on the Avenger, published January 1, 1943
28. Calling Justice, Inc.!, published March 1, 1943
29. Cargo of Doom, published May 1, 1943

The Shadow (1944)

Short Avenger story written by Emile C. Tepperman and published in The Shadow magazine, 1944.

30. To Find a Dead Man, published August 1, 1944

Warner Paperback Library (1972–1975)

Following the original 24 pulp novels by Paul Ernst, and the half-dozen short stories written by Emile C. Tepperman (also under the "Kenneth Robeson" pseudonym) in the 1940s, Warner Paperback Library (30 years later) reprinted the original twenty-four Avenger novels in a paperback book format similar to Bantam Books' successful Doc Savage reprint library.

Continuing on after #24, Warner commissioned ghost writer Ron Goulart to write 12 brand new pastiche novels to extend the paperback reprint series to #36, ignoring Tepperman's six short stories from the 1940s in favor of brand new book-length tales. The covers for the 1970s Avenger paperback series were initially painted by Peter Caras, and later by George Gross. These fit chronologically after the six Tepperman stories, but were numbered by Warner from #25 through #36 (since Warner skipped over the Tepperman stories). Steve Holland (actor) was the model for Benson on the cover art, as he was for Doc Savage in Bantam's paperback reprints of that series.

Note: Numbers in parentheses denote Warner Paperback Librarys designation.

31. (25) The Man from Atlantis, published June 1, 1974
32. (26) Red Moon, published July 1, 1974
33. (27) The Purple Zombie, published August 1, 1974
34. (28) Dr. Time, published September 1, 1974
35. (29) The Nightwitch Devil, published October 1, 1974
36. (30) Black Chariots, published November 1, 1974
37. (31) The Cartoon Crimes, published December 1, 1974
38. (32) The Death Machine, published January 1, 1975
39. (33) The Blood Countess, published February 1, 1975
40. (34) The Glass Man, published March 1, 1975
41. (35) The Iron Skull, published April 1, 1975
42. (36) Demon Island, published May 1, 1975

Moonstone Books (2008– )

Beginning in the early 2000s, Moonstone Books (under editor/publisher Joe Gentile) have produced a number of prose and comic books based on licensed pulp, detective and other characters, beginning with the Phantom. In 2008, a prose anthology (available in paperback and limited edition hardback) was released containing new stories featuring the Avenger, with covers by Dave Dorman, 1970s paperback cover artist Peter Caras, and a Limited Edition cover by Douglas Klauba. The anthology was edited by Joe Gentile and Howard Hopkins, and featured numerous stories by authors including Gentile, Hopkins, Ron Goulart, Will Murray, Win Scott Eckert, Richard Dean Starr, Tom DeFalco, Paul Kupperberg, Mel Odom, and others.

Moonstone has also announced plans to continue the novel series. To date, they have released one new title.

43. The Sun King by Matthew Baugh, published July 7, 2015
44. Double Feature by Bobby Nash and Chuck Miller, published November 14, 2018
45. Hunt the Avenger by Win Scott Eckert, July 2019
nn. The Avenger Chronicles, published October 2008
nn. The Avenger: The Justice, Inc. Files, published 2011 (This special edition hardback contained additional solo stories of the Avenger's aides Mac, Nellie and Cole.)
nn. The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible, published 2013 (This special edition hardback contained additional solo stories of the Avenger's aides Josh, Rosabel and Smitty.)

Non-pulp

Reprints

In 2009, Sanctum Productions began reprinting only the 24 original pulp novels in near-replica editions. Each issue reprinted two novels and contains the original black-and-white interior illustrations from the pulps as well as the original pulp magazine covers on front and back. This is similar to their current reprint series of Doc Savage and The Shadow.

Continuations, extrapolations

The Avenger is mentioned by author Philip José Farmer as a part of his Wold Newton family, and in an essay published in Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (MonkeyBrain Books, 2005), Chuck Loridans contributes an article entitled "The Daughters of Greystoke" wherein he constructs a family tree linking Nellie Gray to Tarzan and Jane Porter.

In 2008, Moonstone Books produced the first The Avenger anthology, featuring stories written by a number of variant pulp fans and writers – including Ron Goulart and the Myths for the Modern Age editor Win Scott Eckert.

Comics

upright=0.6|thumb|Cover to issue #1 of [[DC Comics' 1989 Justice Inc. series. Art by Kyle Baker.]]

There have been several attempts to revive the Avenger as a comic book character, beginning in the 1940s in Street & Smith's own Shadow Comics, but none (to date) have proved particularly successful. The character first appeared in Shadow Comics #2 (Feb 1940), and made seven appearances until 1944.

In 1975, DC Comics published a comic called Justice, Inc. which starred the Avenger. This was during the time they were also publishing The Shadow. The Avenger also appeared in issue #11 of The Shadow. The first two issues were based on stories from the pulp magazine. Issues #2–4 were drawn by Jack Kirby (as were the covers to issues #2 and #3). The comic only lasted four issues.

In the 1980s, when DC Comics was again doing The Shadow, an "updated" version of the Avenger showed up briefly. In 1989, DC released a two-issue miniseries, in 52-page prestige format, written by Andy Helfer and pencilled and inked by Kyle Baker, titled Justice, Inc.. The miniseries revealed the 'truth' behind the Avenger's origin.

In November 2009 the Avenger showed up in the series The First Wave spun off from the Batman/Doc Savage Special. The Avenger had a backup series in the new Doc Savage (2010) comic, written by award-winning thriller novelist Jason Starr. However, several alterations were made to his aides and to Justice, Inc. The series ran in Doc Savage issues #1–9, plus he starred in the First Wave Special.

In August 2014, the Avenger appeared in a five-part miniseries published by Dynamite Entertainment, titled Justice, Inc., appearing together with The Shadow and Doc Savage. A one-shot issue of Justice, Inc. appeared in December, 2014 titled The Television Killers.

Radio

Similarly short-lived was "an Avenger radio serial carried by Station WHN in New York City and syndicated in other parts of the country".