The Avenger (character)
| The Avenger | |
|---|---|
The Avenger – Justice Inc. (Sep. 1939)
Art by H. W. Scott. |
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| Publisher | Street & Smith |
| First appearance | The Avenger #1 (September 1939) |
| Created by |
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| In story information | |
| Real name | Richard Henry Benson |
| Supporting characters |
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| The Avenger | |
| Publisher | Street & Smith |
| Schedule |
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| Genre | Hero pulp |
| Publication date | September 1939 – September 1942 |
| Number of issues | 24 |
| Radio | |
| The Avenger |
1941 Portrayed by: James Monks |
| Comics and graphic novels | |
| Justice Inc. |
DC Comics 1975 |
| Justice Inc. | DC Comics 1989 |
| Justice Inc. | |
|---|---|
Cover to Justice Inc. #1, May 1975. Art by Joe Kubert.
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Bi-monthly |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | May – November 1975 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Dennis O'Neil |
| Artist(s) | Al McWilliams |
| Penciller(s) | Jack Kirby |
| Inker(s) | Mike Royer |
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.
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."
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Wikipedia