Thrilling’s The Green Ghost

I’ve looked at several of the pulp heroes from Thrilling Publications over time. One I haven’t gotten to is G.T. Fleming-Roberts‘ The Green Ghost (originally called just “The Ghost”).

This was because up until now the only complete reprint of this character was from the Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, and it’s a bit pricey. Now that Altus Press is reprinting them as George Chance: The Ghost omnibus series, I can finally read the originals.

So who is The Green Ghost? The character was created in the early ’40s by Fleming-Roberts, when Thrilling were coming out with more pulp heroes. He is the only one that Norman Daniels didn’t have a hand in. And, confusingly, we have another Green Ghost (created earlier by Johnston McCulley that I’ve covered before), and this character has gone through several name changes, as evident by the changes in magazine titles.

Overall, the character had 14 original stories from 1940-44. He first starred in his own pulp magazine in 1940, titled The Ghost-Super Detective for three issues. It was renamed to The Ghost Detective for one issue, then The Green Ghost Detective for three issues. He then moved to Thrilling Mystery where he was again known as just “The Ghost” for six stories. A final story appeared in Thrilling Detective, where he was renamed “George Hazzard” and all mention of being The Green Ghost was dropped, which was a common fate for many of Thrilling’s later pulp heroes.

The Green Ghost, which is what most pulp fans call him, was really magician George Chance. This was interesting, because Fleming-Roberts had recently done a series of stories about a magician-turned-detective named Diamondstone! (See my postings on the original and the new stories.) Similar to some other Thrilling heroes, Chance gets involved helping the police with tough cases, putting to use his skills as a magician, and finds he enjoys it. So he’s more a semi-official vigilante, than one who operates totally outside the law.

Chance disguises himself as the mysterious “Green Ghost,” using makeup to give him a ghoulish appearance. He is aided by several others. There is his assistant, Glenn Saunders, who looks just like him. This is useful to throw people off from thinking Chance is The Ghost. There is his love interest, Merry White, who often gets in trouble. Tiny Tim Terry is a midget and friend of George’s; and Joe Harper is another member of his staff who helps out. There is also the Police Commissioner Standish who also knows who The Ghost really is, along with the medical examiner, Robert Demarest.

Altus Press’ first volume reprints the first two stories. As the later stories are reduced in size, I’m not sure how many volumes will be needed to complete the reprint series.

I was really interested in reading these stories to learn how the character developed. Also, as several of the pulp heroes who appeared in 1939-40 were kicked off with origin stories (like comic-book heroes) rather than be already in operation, I was curious if this was the case. However, in the first story, “Calling the Ghost,” we learn that Chance has been operating as The Ghost (as he was then called), for a bit of time. We learn of his history and background: circus performer parents who died when he was young. Learning skills in the circus growing up, and becoming a magician under the tutelage of Marko the Magician (who we are told died in a German concentration camp, a hint at what is going on in the world). Chance clearly makes his fame and fortune as a magician, and now runs a school of magic in New York.

A chance encounter with Commissioner Standish leads him to being The Ghost, and Standish calls him in on cases, such as this one with a mysterious suicide that may not be. Instead, The Ghost reveals a much larger criminal conspiracy dealing with insurance fraud and murder.

I was also surprised to learn that Chance uses another identity, Dr. Stacey, useful to visit the police not as Chance or The Ghost. I don’t recall this identity used in the newer stories. So perhaps it’s dropped (it wasn’t used in the second story). And these stories are narrated in the first person. Now, the first four novels were published under the name of “George Chance” before they started crediting them to Flemings-Roberts. So I wonder if they switched from first person to third as well?

It was also interesting to read about all the magician tricks he used during the course of this story. Again, I wonder if this is kept in subsequent stories.

“The Ghost Strikes Back” starts off with Chance working to expose a fake psychic. But, again, it opens up a larger criminal element behind it all, as the fake psychic predicts several deaths which come true. The bad guys go to the extreme of framing Chance for murder, and he’s put in prison (well, actually his stand-in is) and faces the electric chair!

Altus includes the original artwork with the stories, and reprints the covers on the back cover of the collection. But there is no introductory material as had been the case with some of its pulp reprints. Seems this is getting less common with Altus collections, and I miss it.

Comic books

As I’ve noted before, Thrilling (Better/Standard) had a comic-book line usually known as Nedor (only later called Standard Comics). A few of their pulp characters had comic-book versions. The Ghost did. Sort of. Appearing in Thrilling Comics #3-52 and Black Terror #7 between 1940-46, he is not quite like the pulp version. While he’s still George Chance, and known as The Ghost, Master Magician, his origin and powers are more like the Green Lama‘s!

In the first story, we see him being orphaned in India after the death of his parents due to sickness. He is raised in a lamasery and becomes a master of mystical powers and later returns to America and creates The Ghost persona to fight crime. He soon has a girlfriend named Betty, whom he marries.

When DC’s ABC Comics line created a world where the Nedor heroes reside (Terra Obscura), The Ghost (now called The Green Ghost), now a real ghost, appears.

Modern times

Airship 27 has done one volume of new Green Ghost stories that I have already reviewed, so check that out as well. And Moonstone should soon be coming out with a new Green Ghost collection as well. I look forward to that one, as well as future reprint volumes for Altus Press.