{"id":3636,"date":"2017-04-03T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T14:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/pulpsuperfan\/?p=3636"},"modified":"2022-05-21T11:40:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-21T15:40:59","slug":"meet-the-black-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/pulpsuperfan\/2017\/04\/03\/meet-the-black-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The Black Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""Detective<\/a>Johnston McCulley<\/strong>, the prolific writer who created Zorro<\/strong>, created several other serial pulp characters that many of today’s pulp fans are unaware of.<\/p>\n

His first serial character was The Black Star<\/strong>, a villain who appeared in Street & Smith’s Detective Story Magazine<\/em> from 1916-30, though most stories appeared between 1916 and 1921. The stories appeared under both McCulley’s name and one of his pseudonyms, John Mack Stone, <\/strong>at first.<\/p>\n

The Black Star pre-dates Zorro by a couple of years (and Zorro doesn’t appear to have been created with the intention of making him a serial character).<\/p>\n

The series sets down several elements we will see in further McCulley characters. The Black Star wears a sack-cloth hood, black with a jet black star on it. (He also wears a mask underneath the hood.) Such a hood will be used by characters such as The Thunderbolt<\/strong>, The Bat<\/strong>, and The Green Ghost<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While a thief, The Black Star is a “gentleman thief.” He and his men do not<\/em> kill. They use knock-out gas and gas guns \u2014 which, again, will be used by other characters of his such as The Crimson Clown<\/strong> and The Bat.<\/p>\n

And there needs to be a hero to oppose the villain, and this hero is also similar to several that will follow. We have what is called the “Master and Man” combo by pulp historian Robert Sampson<\/strong>. The hero is Roger Verbeck<\/strong>, an idle millionaire and amateur criminologist who decides to challenge The Black Star. He is aided by his servant and friend Muggs,<\/strong>\u00a0a small, tough, former crook that Roger saved from suicide. (Sound familiar? We will see characters similar to Muggs in other series.) And Roger has a fiance, whom he can’t marry until he deals with The Black Star.<\/p>\n

Another interesting element is that The Black Star’s men would leave little black star stickers as a calling card. Maybe picked up from The Gray Seal<\/strong>‘s little diamond-shaped stickers? Other pulp characters will follow with that idea.<\/p>\n

The stories, dates of their first publication in Detective Story Magazine <\/em>(many cover featured), and reprint collection titles are:<\/p>\n