The New Pulp Heroes

Writers who have a love for the old pulp hero often create their own characters in similar mold to the original pulp heroes, but bringing in their own slant to the old stories. Over the last few years these new characters have been popping up quite regularly. In selecting this list, I chose only those characters appearing in print, not electronic pastiches, so there may be others out there. I’ve also added the name of the creator where known. Again, the list is only preliminary and is far from complete. Pulps were called such because of the pulpwood paper used to print the magazine, so I felt only characters in print should apply. However, if you feel that I have missed anyone, please let me know, or cop this list and add to your data.

New Pulp Heroes

Agent 13 (Flint Dille/Dave Marconi)
The Armadillo (1957 Jerry Page)
Astro Athena (Tom Condacure)
Birdman (Ginger Johnson)
Black Dragon (T.J. Glenn)
The Black Ghost (Tom Johnson)
Black Guardian (Steve Mitchell)
The Black Mask (Steve Mitchell)
The Black Star
The Blue Eagle
Captain Steve Danger (Tom Johnson)

Captain Liberty (Steve Mitchell)
Chu Jung (Eric Turowski)
The Crimson Bat (Thomas V. Powers)

The Dark Avenger (T.J. Moore)
Deadline (Jeffrey T. Zverloff)
Detective Callahan & Monahan (Lance Curry)
Detective Devlin (John French)
Devil B'Tonga (Tom Johnson)
Doc Atlas Michael A. Black)

Doc Sidhe (Aaron Allston)
Doc Wilde (Lance Curry)
Doctor Pagan (Steve Mitchell)
The Domino Mask (Ray Capella)
Don `Daredevil' Donovan (Tom Johnson)
Dreadstone (Steve Mitchell)
Dr. Shadows (T.J. Glenn)

The Eagle (Bob Kennedy)
Eddie Dart (Rod Marsdon)
Eddie Edwards - UFO Hunter (Tom Johnson)  
The Eel & Adder (Joel Jenkins)
El Charo (Octavio Ramos)
The Exceptionals
The Fox (Marilyn Morey)

The Forever Man (Tom Johnson)
Freedom's Spirit & Samuel (Bob Kennedy)
Gabriel Hunt (Various Authors)
The Ghost (Ron Capshaw)

The Ghost (Gary Lovisi)
Ghost Squad
Grey Monk (John French)
Haakon Jones (Aaron B. Larson)
The Hooded Hunter (Steve Mitchell)
The Leopard Lady (Steve Mitchell)

Lance Star (Lance Star Anthology 2006)

Lone Justice
Madame Thirteen (Steve Mitchell)

Mars McCoy
Martin Gort – Undertaker (Nick Carr)
The Masked Avenger (Tom Johnson)
Midnight Skull - Skullmask
Midnight Warriors (T.J. Glenn)
Midnight Sentinel (Jens Altmann)
Moon Girl (Steve Mitchell)
Mr. Minus (Ginger Johnson)
Mr. Midnight (Paul Fornatar)
Mr. (Doctor) Mystery (Dale J. Roberts)
The Nemesis (Gary Lovisi)
The Night Hawk (Will Murray)
NightStar (Steve Mitchell)
Nightwind (Tom Johnson)
Number Nine (Shawn Danowski)
The Omen (Steve Mitchell)
Pandragon (Steve Mitchell)
Professor Stone (Wayne Skiver)
Ravenshroud (Shawn Danowski)
The Red Death (Steve Mitchell)
Roc Callahan (Gene Girardier)
The Rook (Barry Reece)
The Sandman (Will Murray)
The Scarecrow (Debbie DeLorme)

Senora Scorpion (Tom Johnson)
Sergeant Martin (Tom Johnson)
Shadowhawke (K.G. McAbee & Tom Johnson)
The Shape (Steve Mitchell)
Skullrider - Skullmask
Stuanofu - UFO Hunter (Tom Johnson)
The Soul Stealer (Tom Johnson)
The Suppressor (Steve Mitchell)
The Tarantula (Steve Mitchell)
The Tiger (Steve Mitchell)
Timothy Locke (T.J. Glenn)
Turquoise (John French)
The Visage (Shawn Danowski)
The Voice (Bob Kennedy)
The Whispering Skull (Steve Mitchell)

First New Original Pulp Stories

First New Stories (of original pulp characters)

I think the “awakening” of Pulp Renaissance began about 1965, less than fifteen years after the so-called death of the character pulps, with the fanzine, BRONZE SHADOWS, by Fred Cook. The appearance of Doc Savage and The Shadow in paperback certainly helped in the awakening. This brought awareness to new fans, as well as reconnecting many old readers of the pulp magazine heroes. Many fanzines followed in the wake of BRONZE SHADOWS, plus researchers began digging deeper into the history, including speaking with publishers, editors, authors and artists from the period, and the pulps were laid bare for the following generations. Numerous research books were published, making the data available not only to fans, but the general public as well. The Renaissance reached its peak around 1994 with Will Murray’s new Doc Savage novels, and James Van Hise’s short stories of Operator #5 and The Spider. Where the current Renaissance will take us, there’s no telling, but right now it appears to still be strong and growing, not only with research books (mostly reprints of older books) coming out in newer and better editions, but there are more writers churning out new adventures featuring the old heroes, as well as many new characters in the pulp tradition. For the pulp fan, this is a great time to be alive, and I think the new generation of readers will carry the tradition into this new century with enthusiasm. In only twenty-one years The Shadow will be 100 years old. Did someone say the pulp heroes died in 1953? I think not. Many of the current generation will be around to see the anniversary of The Shadow in 1931. I hope there will be a big party!

Following is the list of First Appearances as best I can figure the records. I will keep my list open for future updates, so if anyone has information on something that is missing, send me a note, and I will add the data to a later updated Posting.

Alias Mr. Death: “Coffins of Death” by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

The Angel Detective: The Devil of A Case by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

The Avenger: The Man From Atlantis (Ron Goulart – 1974)

The Bat: “Blind As A Bat” by Tom Johnson, Pulp Tales, 2011

Bill Barnes: “Barnstorming: Goodbye, Cy” by Bud Overn. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #1, June 1995

Black Bat: “The Black Bat’s Vengeance” by Tom Johnson. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #2, July 1995

Captain Hazzard: “The Citadel of Fear” by Ron Fortier & Martin Powell. Wildcat Books, 2006

The Cobra: “Curse of The Viper” by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

The Crimson Clown: “The Crimson Clown – Killer” by Tom Johnson, Pulp Tales, 2011

The Crimson Mask: “The Mask of Anubis” by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

Dan Fowler: Anthology (2009)

Doc Savage: Pick one of Will Murray’s new novels

Doctor Death (Harold Ward Character): “Trail of Death” by Dale J. Roberts. Classic Pulp

Fiction Stories #4, September 1995

Doctor Death (Edward Norris Character): “Till Death Do Us Part” by Tom Johnson. Pulp Stories, 2011 

Doctor Thaddeus C. Harker: “The Trail of The Beast” by Frank Philipp. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #1, June 1995

Domino Lady: “Aroused, The Domino Lady” by Jim Steranko. Vanguard Productions, August, 2004

The Eagle: “The Gibbering Gas of Madness” by Tom Johnson. Triple Detective #4, February 2010

Flash Gordon: “The Sun Men of Saturn” by Tom Condarcure. Alien Worlds #25, April 2002

Funny Face: “The Star of Africa” by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

Gentle Jones: “Nazis Over Washington” by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

The Green Ghost: “The Case of The Blind Soldier” by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

Green Lama: Anthology (2009)

The Griffon “Conspiracy of Terror” by Van Allen Plexico (Lance Star #2 Anthology 2010)

Jim Anthony: Anthology (2009)

Jim Hatfield (Texas Ranger): “Lone Star Fury” by James Reasoner. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #2, July 1995

Ki-Gor: “Blood-Crypts of The Serpent Cults” by Steve Mitchell. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #1, June 1995

The Lone Eagle: “The Nazi Spider Staffel” by Tom Johnson. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #16, September 1996

Masked Detective: “The Masked Detective’s Dangerous Trail” by Tom Johnson. The Pulp Detectives, February 2010

Masked Rider: “Double-Cross Justice” by Frank Philipp. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #3, August 1995

Moon Man: “Midnight Moon” by Terry Nudds. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #10, March 1996

Operator #5: “Return of The Death Master” by James Van Hise. Pulp Heroes of The Thirties, January 1994

Phantom Detective: “Satan’s Minions” by Tom Johnson. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #1, June 1995

Purple Scar: “The Skull Killer” by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

Ravenwood: “The Choice” by Steve Mitchell Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #19, 1996

Red Falcon: “The Red Falcon Returns” by Burt Leake. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #6, November 1995

Red Finger: “Obituaries Are Final” by Tom Johnson. The Hand of Red Finger, February 2010

Secret Agent X: “Horror’s Monster” by Tom Johnson. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #9, February 1996

Seven-Foot Saunders: “A School Ma’am For Indian Springs” by Frank Philipp. Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #2, July 1995

The Shadow: Dennis Lynds’ Belmont Shadows in 1964.

Sheena: “Jungle Terror” (as Jungle Queen) by Tom Johnson, Exciting Pulp Tales, 2011

The Spider: “The Spider And The Murder Brigade” by James Van Hise. Pulp Heroes of The Thirties, January 1994

The 3 Mosquitoes “Two Outs, Bottom of The Ninth And The Shadow of Death” by Aaron Smith (Lance Star #2 anthology 2010)

Wade Hammond: “Fangs of Death” by Terry Nudds. Double Danger Tales #8, September 1997

Zorro: “Disney’s Zorro” by Steve Frazee. Whitman 1958

Note #1: Since the Anthologies consist of four or more stories of the character, there in no “first” story to identify, so I’ve left the titles out. I’m not sure of the dates on several of the Anthologies, but have listed what I believe the year of release was. The individual authors can argue about whose story was first (lol).

Note #2: There were a few early appearances by some other characters, though the main stories featured another hero. Dan Fowler makes an appearance in “Cartel of Crime”, a Phantom Detective story in the August 1995 issue of Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #3. Ravenwood appears in “The Choice”, a Leopard Lady story in Classic Pulp Fiction Stories #19, December 1996. Plus, there were many thinly disguised characters that popped up every now and then.

The Pulp Heroes

The Old Pulp Hermit is still under the weather, so I'm filling in for him again.

The following list is merely a starter kit for the new pulp enthusiast. I’ve tried to list the main pulp hero characters, many with their own magazines, some as back up stories in the magazines. But these were the most popular of the genre. There are undoubtedly many others that readers may have found to their liking. If your favorites are not listed, merely copy this list and add your character to it. In the meantime, I hope the list helps the new fan in finding interesting pulp heroes to read and collect. 

The Pulp Hero

The Angel (Gabriel Wilde)

The Angel (Steve Oakes)

Anthony Hamilton

The Avenger

The Avenging Twins

The Bat

Big Chief

Bill Barnes

The Black Bat

The Black Hood

Blond Adder

The Blue Ghost

Captain Combat

Captain (Alan) Danger

Captain (Hazard) Danger

Captain Future

Captain Hazzard

Captain Satan

Captain V

Captain Zero

Carrie Cashin

The Cobra

The Crimson Clown

The Crimson Mask

Dan Dunn

Dan Fowler (G-Men Detective)

Dan Jordan

Doc Harker

Doc Savage

Doc Turner

Doctor Zeng

The Domino Lady

Don Diavolo

Don Winslow

Dusty Ayres

The Eagle

Eddie Sand

Flash Gordon

Funny Face

G-8

Gentle Jones (John Paul “Gentle” Jones)

The Ghost

The Ghost/Green Ghost

The Gray Seal

The Green Ghost

G-X

The Green Lama

Hollywood Detective

Hopalong Cassidy

The Hornet

Jerry Wade (The Candid Camera Kid)

Jim Anthony

Jim Hatfield (Texas Rangers)

Jimmy Gilmore (Alias Mr. Death)

Jimmy Holm (Ward’s Doctor Death)

Jongor

Ka-Zar

Ken Carter

Ki-Gor

Kioga

Kwa

The Lone Eagle

The Lone Ranger

Lyn Vickers (Federal Agent)

The Man In Purple

The Man In The Red Mask

Mark Hazard

The Masked Rider

Matalaa

The Masked Detective

Michael Traile (Dr. Yen Sin)

The Mongoose

The Moon Man

Nibs Holloway (Norris’s Doctor Death)

Nick Carter

Norgil

Operator #5

Paula Demaree (The Scarlet Adventuress)

The Pecos Kid

Pete Rice

The Phantom Detective

Philip Strange

Polly Verdun (The Scarlet Adventuress)

Public Enemy

The Purple Scar

Ravenwood

The Red Falcon

Red Finger

The Rio Kid

Satan Hall

Secret Agent X

Secret Service Smith

The Secret Six

Senorita Scorpion

Seven-Foot Saunders

The Shadow

Sheena

The Silver Buck

The Skipper

The Skull Killer (Octopus & Scorpion)

The Spider

Sue Carrigan (The Scarlet Adventuress)

The Suicide Squad

Tailspin Tommy

Tarzan

Terrance X O’Leary

Thunderbolt

Val Kildare (Wu Fang)

The Voice

Walt Slade

The Whisperer

The Wizard

Zorro

Today's Pulp

With The Hermit being under the weather, I wanted to keep his Blog active, so thought I would post one my own messages today.
Tom

After reading Johnston McCulley’s 1913 story in TOP-NOTCH Magazine, “Force Inscrutable”, I was struck by the difference in the moral acceptance within stories from that period to the heyday of the pulps, just two decades later. In this story, Betty Gladstone and Dick Wellington worry over the fact that traveling together by train could be construed as immoral, since they were only betrothed, and not married. Now jump ahead twenty years, to 1933, when Dick Wentworth and Nita Van Sloan are apparently living together – betrothed but not married.  In the teens, we were treated to gentlemanly thieves, which gave way to the violent Roaring Twenties, molls and gun rule. With the 1930s came the heroes and heroines, who were equally as tough as the mobs, and we now saw a milder drop in the moral appearance between men and women. This would be the ground rule for the next two decades, until the pulps began to fade, and the age of the paperbacks brought sex and language to the printed stories. It wasn’t long until the aggressor novels threw out all semblance of morality in the new fiction. Today’s new pulp appears to be anchored in a mixture of the original and the modern, sometimes difficult to recognize, but the readers in 1913 likely felt that away about the 1930s.

Tom