The Avenger

This article refers to the fictional character. For the album by the Swedish band Amon Amarth, see The Avenger (album). The Avenger is a fictional character whose original adventures appeared from 1939 to 1942 in The Avenger magazine, published by Street and Smith Publications. Five additional short stories were published in Clues Detective magazine from 1942 to 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 though he was never as popular as either of these characters. The authorship of the pulp series was credited by Street and 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

The Avenger is actually Richard Henry Benson, a globe trotting adventurer who decided to settle down and raise a family. In his first adventure, Benson's plans for a peaceful life are shattered when his wife and young daughter are killed by a criminal conspiracy. The shock of this loss has a bizarre effect on Benson. His hair and the skin of his face turn white, and the flesh of his face became malleable, like clay. Towards the end of the original series, the author was directed to eliminate Benson's facial affliction in the hopes of keeping the dwindling audience for the magazine. In #13, Murder On Wheels, Cole Wilson was introduced. First an opponent of The Avenger before he joined his band in the same issue, Wilson trapped The Avenger in a machine which turned his flesh back to normal and his hair black. The Avenger still disguised himself after this but could not mold his now normal flesh as before. Nevlo (17), House of Death (15) and Death in Slow Motion (18) were all written before this and almost all references to the earlier condition of The Avenger were written out, though the odd one remains. Cole Wilson played a greater part in the last dozen books written by Ron Goulart. Benson vows to avenge himself on the villains, and to fight for all those who have suffered at the hands of criminals. His strange facial condition is actually an advantage for he can sculpt his face into a likeness of any person. With skin and hair dyes, and colored contact lenses, Benson becomes the world's greatest master of disguise, within limits. Like Doc Savage, Benson relies on a variety of special gadgets to help him overcome criminals. These include knockout gas bombs, miniature radios, and his special pistol "Mike" and throwing knife "Ike". Benson's trick was to shoot someone so that his bullet just touched their heads and knocked them out. Benson also gathers a number of assistants to help him in his adventures. These are all people who have suffered loss because of criminals, and who have specialized skills:

• Fergus MacMurdie (known as "Mac") is a stereotypical Scotsman who is also a gifted pharmacist and chemist. His family was killed by racketeers, leaving Mac embittered and vengeful.
• Algernon Heathcote Smith (known as "Smitty") is a gigantic man of incredible strength. Smitty looks slow and stupid but he is actually a genius with electronics. He was framed for a crime he did not commit.
• Nellie Gray is a beautiful, delicate-looking young woman who is actually an expert at jujutsu and other martial arts. Her archaeologist father was killed by criminals for a treasure he had found.
• Josh and Rosabel Newton are an African American couple whose employers were killed by criminals. They often go undercover as domestic servants, making use of the stereotypes of the time to hide their investigative abilities. The Avenger series is notable its presentation of minorities. Many of the pulp magazines of the time are well known for racist stereotypes, but Josh and Rosabel are always presented as brave, intelligent people of good character.
• Cole Wilson joins the group near the end of the series. He is much less distinctive than Benson's other assistants and has a light hearted manner that contrasts the Avenger's serious tone.

The original Avenger pulp novels were re-released as books by Warner Brothers Paperback Library in the 1970s. These were successful enough that new adventures were written by Ron Goulart. There have also been several attempts to revive the Avenger as a comic book character but these have not been very successful. The Avenger is mentioned by author Philip José Farmer as a part of his Wold Newton family. In an essay found in Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (Win Scott Eckert, ed., MonkeyBrain Books, 2005), author Chuck Loridans contributes an article entitled "The Daughters of Greystoke" wherein he constructs a family tree linking Nellie Gray to Tarzan and Jane Porter.

Avenger Novels and Short Stories

Novels written by Paul Ernst and published in The Avenger magazine

1. Justice, Inc., published September 1, 1939
2. The Yellow Hoard, published October 1, 1939
3. The Sky Walker, published November 1, 1939
4. The Devil's Horns, published December 1, 1939
5. The Frosted Death, published January 1, 1940
6. The Glass Mountain, published February 1, 1940
7. The Blood Ring, published March 1, 1940
8. Stockholders in Death, published April 1, 1940
9. Tuned for Murder, published May 1, 1940
10. The Smiling Dogs, published June 1, 1940
11. River of Ice, published July 1, 1940
12. The Flame Breathers, published September 1, 1940
13. Murder on Wheels, published November 1, 1940
14. Three Gold Crowns, published January 1, 1941
15. House of Death, published March 1, 1941
16. The Hate Master, published May 15, 1941
17. Nevlo, published July 1, 1941
18. Death in Slow Motion, published September 1, 1941
19. Pictures of Death, published November 1, 1941
20. The Green Killer, published January 1, 1942
21. The Happy Killers, published March 1, 1942
22. The Black Death, published May 1, 1942
23. The Wilder Curse, published July 1, 1942
24. Midnight Murder, published September 1, 1942

Short stories written by Emile C. Teppermen and published in Clues Detective magazine

• Death to the Avenger, published September 1, 1942
• A Coffin for the Avenger, published November 1, 1942
• Vengeance on the Avenger, published January 1, 1943
• Calling Justice, Inc!, published March 1, 1943
• Cargo of Doom, published May 1, 1943

Short story written by Emile C. Teppermen and published in The Shadow magazine

• To Find a Dead Man, published August 1, 1944

Novels written by Ron Goulart and published by Warner Paperback Library

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

Other media

Street & Smith comics

Street & Smith published stories of the Avenger in their Shadow Comics in the 1940s.

DC Comics

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 issues #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 4 issues. In the 1980s, when DC Comics was again doing the "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 penciled and inked by Kyle Baker, titled Justice, Inc.. The mini-series revealed the 'truth' behind the Avenger's origin.

External links

Cover to issue #1 of DC Comics' 1989 Justice Inc. series. Art by Kyle Baker.

• A Chronology For The Avenger
• Dr. Hermes's Reviews for The Avenger
• The Avenger Index (of appearances in all media)
• Avenger page at International Catalog of Superheroes