‘Hunt The Avenger’

Street & Smith’s pulp hero The Avenger is one of the few original pulp heroes to get additional approved stories.

After Warner Books reprinted the original 24 Avenger novels, they had Ron Goulart write 12 additional novels. Since then, Moonstone Books has been doing new authorized Avenger works. First three collections of shorts stories, a new novel, a volume with a pair of stories, and now a collection of linked stories by Win Scott Eckert.

Richard Benson, The Avenger, was S&S’s next attempt to repeat the success of The Shadow and Doc Savage by combining elements of both. The Avenger also had stories that varied in style from Doc-like adventure tales to The Shadow super-crook tales. And like both characters, he had others who worked with him in Justice Inc.

In this volume we get a series of five linked stories, set after the stories by Ron Goulart. Three of these stories appeared in the three collections Moonstone Books put out, now book-ended by two new stories. We also get an updated chronology at the end, based on Rick Lai‘s work, but focused just on these stories and the others linked to them.

These stories also have several changes to The Avenger. One is a return of his white hair and paralyzed facial muscles, that had been reversed in the pulp series. Second is it wraps up several villains that had appeared in Ron Goulart’s works, but whose stories were never resolved. These include The Iron Skull and his daughter. The only thing that frustrates me is that it’s been years since I read those earlier works. And third, it introduces the Domino Lady to The Avenger. Eckert hints that they will marry and have a daughter, who will later team up with Pat Wildman in The Scarlet Jaguar.

I had read the original three stories in the collections. In fact, I had specifically set out to read them when I got the collections. The additional stories adds to these. The first tells of the first meeting of The Avenger and the crew with The Domino Lady. And the last wraps up the story lines with these villains. Well. Most of them, as the villain behind things does get away. Reading all five together, it’s hard to decide if we have a novel or a linked series of short stories.

For those who care for such things, there are also hints to other characters in several of the stories. A few I picked up easily. One or two I wasn’t certain about, but think I got them. Hopefully others will catch them as well. There are also allusions to other past stories, one being the recent comicbook miniseries from Dynamite, which I haven’t read (I’m holding out for a trade paperback reprint).

We are also promised further works. There will be another new Avenger novel, written by Matthew Baugh, who did the recent one where The Avenger met Sun Koh. There are also three works from Eckert that I look forward to, including another Pat Wildman story. I can’t wait for all of them!