The Abbey Girls. The Abbey Girls were created by Elsie Dunkerley under the name of "Elsie Oxenham" and appeared in the "Abbey Girls" series, which began with The Abbey Girls (1920) and ran for thirty novels, through 1963. The Abbey Girls (don't know their names, sorry) were British schoolgirls at the Abbey School who had various adventures, some crime-related.

Abbot, Pat and Jean. The Abbots were created by Frances Crane and appeared in over two dozen novels beginning with The Turquoise Shop (1941). The Abbots are a husband-and-wife detective team, solving cases world-wide. They met in New Mexico when the then-"Jean Holly" was a store manager in Illinois. At the end of the third novel they married and moved to San Francisco, where Pat keeps his office, and from there traveled around the world taking on and catching criminals. Pat is a native of Wyoming, tall and dark, an expert in most areas of detective work and very well read in anything that has to do with his career. She is short and pretty, and although she tries to help her husband he does most of the work.

Mr. Absurdity. Mr. Absurdity was created by "Donghai Jeuwo," the pseudonym of Xu Nianci, and appeared in "Xin falu xiansheng tan" (New Tales of Mr. Absurdity), which was published as Xin falu (New Absurdity) in 1905. Xi Nianci was a Chinese writer and one of the first to write what we'd think of as science fiction. Well, okay, Chinese science fiction is a complex subject, with the Chinese having written fantastic stories for centuries. The stories of Mr. Absurdity are some of the first modern science fiction in China.

Mr. Absurdity himself is a man whose soul is separated from its body during a typhoon. His body sinks down towards the center of the Earth while his soul visits the other planets in the solar system. On Mercury he watches as aliens transplant brains as a means to rejuvenate themselves. On Venus he sees evolution in action, with basic plants and animals appearing at the same time, which is a rebuke to the evolutionary theory that plants preceded animals. Meanwhile his body, at the Earth's core, runs into an almost immortal man, and together the pair watch various marvelous scenes through the man's "lens." Back in space Mr. Absurdity's soul reverses course and returns to Earth, merging with his body in the Mediterranean sea. Mr. Absurdity hitches a ride back to Shanghai on board a Chinese warship, and once home Mr. Absurdity founds a university where he teaches one course, on "Brain Electricity," which thanks to Mr. Absurdity's teachings becomes very popular and widely used.

Ace High. The Ace High were created by Edgar Wallace and debuted in the Post Sunday Special in 1918; they appeared in The Popular Magazine in 1919. The Companions of the Ace High are air aces, British men who have a special grudge against the Germans and take it out on them, bloodily and at length. The Ace High were founded by a man named Dexter, whose wife was driven mad by the shelling of a luxury liner by a German submarine. Dexter then dedicated himself to the destruction of Germany during the war. Using his wealth he reached an agreement with the small republic of San Romino, on the northern border of Italy. He was appointed Chief of Air Operations for San Romino, and they declared war on Germany. Dexter then began gathering together pilots from around the world. The only thing they had in common was that their lives had been destroyed by the Germans, so that they hated them. This hate fuels them to kill Germans, kill their spies and sympathizers, to travel into Germany and track down their enemies, to shoot them down wherever they find them.

The Ace High fly an assortment of planes (each pilot brings his own) whose wings are marked with a circle around a star enclosing a black ace of spades.

Adair, Arnold. Arnold Adair was created by Laurence La Tourette Driggs and Henry Watson and appeared in four novels: The Adventures of Arnold Adair, American Ace (1918), Arnold Adair with the English Aces (1920), Arnold Adair with the French Aces (1925) and On Secret Air Service (1930). Adair was a New Yorker in Switzerland; he was a teenager who went to school at the Verney School in Verney in 1911. But he's got a flying jones, and learns how to fly first from an older chum, a graduate of the Verney School, and then from a "corking fine instructor" in Garden City, Mass. (That is, in his spare time away from Harvard) But when the fiendish Huns declare war on the world (at least, that's how it seems from Arnold's viewpoint) he joins up, becoming an Air Scout for the French, and from there working his way up the ranks, becoming an ace several times over and having various adventures against the Germans.

Adams, Adelaide. Adelaide Adams was created by Anita Blackmon and appeared in two books, beginning with Muder a la Richelieu (1937). Adelaide was a hard, tough old woman (affectionately and not-so-affectionately referred to as "the old battle ax") who lived in the Hotel Richelieu. Unfortunately, murders keep occurring at the Hotel; fortunately, Adelaide is there to solve the case and catch the murderers. She is of the middle class and a hard but not unfriendly woman. Her mysteries are generallly of the "Had I But Known" variety."

Adams, Hilda. Hilda Adams was created by Mary Roberts Rinehart and appeared in several stories, novels, and movies beginning with "The Buckled Bag," in 1914. Adams was a nurse and a policewoman, although she never let the latter interfere with the former. She was asked to do work for the police by George L. Patton, who told her that the goal of a policewoman was not to die for justice, it was to make some other son of a bitch die for justice. Actually, the cop's name was Patton, but there the similarity ends. He persuades her to report to him on the cases she's called out on. She does, and these inevitably lead to arrests and convictions and earns her the nickname "Miss Pinkerton."

Adaptive Ultimate. Kyra Zelas, the Adaptive Ultimate, was created by Stanley Weinbaum and appeared only the once, in "The Adaptive Ultimate" (Astounding Stories, November 1935). I generally avoid one-shot characters, but "The Adaptive Ultimate" is a classic. Kyra Zelas is a plain, mousy woman who is dying of tuberculosis. Luckily (for her), Dr. Daniel Scott, a brilliant young biochemist, is on hand to try his newest brilliant idea out on her. His thought was that since fruit flies are the "most adaptive of living organisms, he could concoct a serum from their bodies which would allow living beings to adapt to injury and old age. Since Kyra is dying, Scott's superior, Dr. Bach, has no objection to Scott trying out the serum on Kyra.

It works. Too well, in fact, because Kyra is not only cured of tb but becomes a paragon of health and beauty, her body automatically adjusting itself to whatever conditions it is in. Kyra turns out to be a bit of a rotter and schemes her way to power, killing children and adults on her way to the top. She's so adapative, not just physically but in personality, that she makes Scott fall in love with her. Eventually Scott and Bach fix her, but Scott remains in love with her, giving the story a somewhat bittersweet ending.

Adelita. Adelita and her best friend Nancy appeared in the Mexican comic Pepin, beginning in 1939. Adelita is an independent and headstrong young woman, and Nancy is a detective from Mexico City, and together they fight crime, both in the big cities of Mexico and in the rural areas, from the deserts to the jungles to the swamps. Interestingly, in 1940 the pair were rescued by Superman.

The Adjusters. Created by "Valentine," aka Archibald Thomas Pechey, the Adjusters appeared in The Adjusters (1922) and in Flynn's Weekly, among other magazines, starting in 1927. The Adjusters are interested in "adjusting" the results of the law, or the outcome of crime, so that the guilty are ultimately punished and the good freed from harm and recompensed. The Adjusters won't break the law (unlike the Justice Syndicate, say), but they'll do everything they can to bend it. All in a good cause, of course. The Adjusters, headquartered in London, are: Daphne Wrayne, a sporting society girl of distinguished forebears; Sir Hugh Williamson, the noted African explorer; James Treviller, the very strong and very handsome young nobleman; Martin Everest, the handsome and articulate lawyer; Alan Sylvester, he of the long theatre experience. The Adjusters help out the victims of blackmail and swindlers.

Valentine
A recap of the characters, courtesy of the erudite Mr. Grost.

Admiral Fudge. Admiral Fudge was created by Harry Dart and appeared in The Explorigator, which appeared in 1908 in The New York World. Fudge is a youthful adventurer and inventor; he creates his dirigible like craft and uses it to sail to the moon, where he meets the Man in the Moon, gets caught trying to steal a moonbeam, explore the Moon, and battle the giant, ferocious moon cats. Fudge, a resolute and stalwart type dressed in a Napoleonic uniform, is accompanied by a group of friends, also children his age (around nine or ten). They are Detective Rubbersole (who dresses and acts like Sherlock Holmes), Maurice Mizzentop (who dresses and acts like a sailor), Nicholas Nohooks, Grenadier Shift (who dresses and acts like a British grenadier guard), Teddy Typewriter (the reporter and scribe for the group), and Ah Fergetitt (the Chinese stereotype).

Adventure Boys. The Adventure Boys (whose names I've yet to find) were created by Josephine Chase under the pen name of "Ames Thompson" and appeared in the five-volume "Adventure Boys Series," which began with The Adventure Boys and the Valley of Diamonds (1927) and continued through 1929. The Boys went adventuring around the world in search of treasure (specifically precious stones); their adventures took on a fantastic tone on occasion, as in their trip to Peru, where in a hidden canyon they discovered a lost tribe of Incas who worshiped an evil fanged dwarf as the Shadow God.

Adventure Club. The Adventure Club (don't know their names, alas) were created by Ralph Barbour and appeared in the two-volume "Adventure Club" series, which were The Adventure Club Afloat (1917) and The Adventure Club With The Fleet (1918). The boys of the Club helped the Allies in their naval battles with the Fiendish Hun.

Adventure Girls. The Adventure Girls, Gale Howard and Virginia Wilson, were created by Clair Blank and appeared in the three-issue "Adventure Girls" series, which were Adventure Girls at K Bar O (1936), Adventure Girls at Happiness House (1936), and Adventure Girls in the Air (1936). They were your typical teenaged girl adventurers, active in the American West and in the skies.

Aeroplane Boys (I). The Aeroplane Boys were created by Lamar Ashton (or perhaps Harry Lincoln Sayler) and appeared in the eight book "Aeroplane Boys Series," which began with In the Clouds for Uncle Sam (1910) and ran through On the edge of the Arctic (1913). The Boys were Morey Marshall and Bud Wilson (and perhaps others), and they were junior members of the Army Signal Corps who flew airplanes around the world and had adventures in places like the Arctic, the South Pacific (pearl hunting), the American West (couriering mail and tracking down stolen airplanes and running down stolen cattle) and the American East Coast (fighting spies). (There was another Aeroplane Boys series but I've been unable to find any information on it)

Aeroplane Boys (II). These Aeroplane Boys appeared in the three-volume "Aeroplane Boys" series, which were written by "Captain Frank Cobb" and were published in 1921, beginning with Battling the Clouds or For a Comrade's Honor. The Boys were active first in the United States, learning how to fly, fighting crime and a traitor, and then in the skies over the Western Front, shooting down both German zeppelins and German balloon-busters.

Aeroplane Boys (III). These Aeroplane Boys appeared in the five-volume "Aeroplane Boys" series, which were written by St. George Rathborne and ran from 1912 through 1914, beginning with The Aeroplane Boys or The Young Pilots' First Air Adventure. These young airmen had fun adventures fighting crime, exploring, and helping people, in the US, the "Tropics," and on a cattle ranch Out West.

Agent Nine. Agent Nine was created by Graham Dean and appeared in the two book "Agent Nine Series," which appeared in 1935 beginning with Agent Nine Solves His First Case. Agent Nine is Bob Houston, the FBI's youngest agent, and the books are about his adventures in the Agency. In his two stories he takes on a group of gangsters and a ring of jewel thieves and smugglers.

Aircraft Boys. The Boys appeared in the two-volume "Aircraft Boys" series, which were written by Howard L. Hastings. The two books were The Aircraft Boys and the Phantom Airplane (1932) and The Aircraft Boys in the Mayan Temples (1932). The Boys fought air-pirates in the first novel and explored a spooky set of temples in Mexico in the second.

Airplane Boys. The Airplane Boys were created by E.J. Craine and appeared in the "Airplane Boys Series," beginning with Airplane Boys on the Border Line (1930) and running through 1932. (They may earlier have appeared in the "Sky Buddies Series," but tracing the true line of appearance of this series is difficult, and if Jessica Salmonson and the University of South Florida experts aren't going to do it, I'm sure not). The Boys (whose names I've yet to discover) were a pair of stalwart child fliers, based in Texas, who traveled around the world in their advanced planes, variously helping the Canadian Mounties, fighting against a secret society that marked itself with emerald rings, fighting against giant vultures over Cuzco, finding a lost race in the Andes, fighting against "revolutionists" in Bolivia, solving a ghost mystery, and traveling to Belize.

Air Service Boys. The Air Service Boys were created by Charles Amory Beach and appeared in six books, beginning with Air Service Boys Flying For France (1918) and running through Air Service Boys Over The Atlantic (1920). The Air Service Boys were Tom and Jack, two upright, patriotic Americans who did their part to fight the evil "Teutonic" swine during World War One and then, after the war, to win an air race across the Atlantic. They fought on the ground and in the air, going so far as to drop bombs on Berlin.

Air Service Boys Over The Enemy's Lines
The e-text of the novel from the The Naked Word

Airship Boys. The Airship Boys were created by H.L. Sayler and appeared in the "Airship Boys" series, beginning with The Airship Boys; or, The Quest of the Aztec Treasure (1909) and running through seven more novels. The Airship Boys were Ned Napier and Alan Hope, a pair of boy geniuses from Chicago. They are, of course, highly interested in creating airship, and they do, following which, with their friend the newspaper reporter Robert Russell, they go on adventures, variously seeking and finding Aztec treasure (and a lost race of pyramid builders to go with it), setting airspeed and duration records, and flying New York to London nonstop. Their airships begin as dirigibles and move on to things like gas powered controlled explosion motors and then a propellor engine fueled with "sulfuric ether" capable of reaching very high altitudes and 800 mph.

Airship Man. An early comic strip heavily influenced by the Frank Reade Jr. style Boy Inventor dime novels, Airship Man ran from 5, May 1902 to 3 October 1903. It was created by C. W. Kahles, who created over 25 over comic strips, including Hairbreadth Harry. Airship Man is similar in many ways to Admiral Fudge (see above), although I’ve no way of knowing if the latter was influenced by the former. The Airship Man is Sandy Highflier, a plucky young British boy who invented the airship of the strip’s title. It is essentially a motorboat slung beneath a blimp, similar in ways to the various airships that Frank Reade, Jr. devised. The airship, never named so far as I know, took Sandy across the world, where he fought for good and white Western values against those heathen furriners. The ship could accelerate quickly and reach high speeds, and Sandy used it to take on air pirates, transport valuable cargo, including food to starving South African Honkies, and avoid hungry wolves.

Alcazar, Doctor. Doctor Alcazar was created by Philip MacDonald, creator of Anthony Gethryn, and appeared in at least three of his stories in the early and mid-1940s. He was a "combination seer-detective-rogue;" to quote John Ernst, Alcazar is

one part sleuth and one part picaroon, this Olympian-browed charlatan and clairvoyant extraordinary has a penchant for charming his way into wealthy ladies' homes to solve their problems. Aided by a crystal ball and a former carnival weight guesser named Avvie, he ensconces himself in lavish surroundings and by fair means or questionable usually leaves with a substantially large check made out to the substantially bogus organization known as "The Alcazar Foundation of Psychic Research."

tall and graceful and lean. His face was of extraordinary pallor, his dark eyes large and lustrous and glowing. His black, well-tended hair, impressively gray at the temples, surmounted an Olympian brow and he wore, over evening clothes and a pleated skirt in whose faintly yellowish bosom sparkled an enormous ruby-red stud, a long black cloak which hung gracefully from his wide shoulders.

Alden, Dr. Payson. Dr. Payson Alden was created by Hereward Carrington and appeared in The Mysteries of Myra (1916). I'm best served, with Alden, by quoting a critic at length:

The Mysteries of Myra epitomized the chapter play's increasingly frequent exploration of the occult and the bizarre. Portraying a secret order [the Black Order--Jess] resembling a group of Rosicrucians gone mad, the serial dealt in thought transference, witchcraft, death wishes, levitation, and mysticism in general. The filming techniques accentuated the grotesque elements of the narrative, which were abundant. At one point Myra's fiancé, Dr. Payson Alden, had to raise up some water elementals to douse a fire in Myra's home that had been ignited by the black order's fire elementals.

Myra was the group's target because she had inherited some incriminating papers from her father, a defrocked member of the hooded set. Her good fortune in having an occult scientist as a promised mate repeatedly saved her from vampires, spirits, and ambulatory oak trees sent her way.

Allen, Jane. Jane Allen was created by Edith Bancroft and appeared in the five-book "Jane Allen" series, which began with Jane Allen of the Sub-Team (1917) and ended with Jane Allen: Senior (1922). Jane found love and fought high-school-level crime as she made her way on to the basketball team and grew up.

Allen, Jimmie. "The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen" was a radio show appearing from 1933-1937. Jimmie Allen was a teenager who, through the course of the show's adventures, learned how to fly and took on crime and criminals (even murderers), as well as the standard adventures for young airmen--rescuing people trapped by floods, etc. Jimmie was a sixteen-year-old assisted by his older, more experienced pilot pal Speed Robertson (an air ace from WW1), his mechanic chum Flash Lewis, and his sweet girlfriend Barbara Croft. Jimmie's plane was the Blue Bird Special. Jimmie's enemies were Black Pete and Digger Dawson, two ne'er-do-well pilots, though Jimmie also took on various spies, saboteurs, mad scientists (like the poison-gas-pellet-wielding Professor Partenon Proteus), and even a Japanese flying saucer. (Don't ask)

Alleyn, Roderick. Roderick Alleyn was created by Ngaio Marsh and appeared in two dozen novels beginning with A Man Lay Dead (1934). Alleyn was a Superintendent with Scotland Yard, active in England and, during the war, New Zealand. Alleyn is the product of the aristocracy, and is suave and graceful, something that allows him to impress women and to move without hinder through all the "best circles." He is not an intuitive detective; he usually relies on police procedure, his perception and skill at spotting falsehoods, and when necessary his physical abilities. He is tall, handsome, and lean. He is married to Agatha Troy, a famous portraitist, and is assisted by his friend Inspector Fox, a quite capable officer in his own right. He is Watsoned by Nigal Bathgate, a writer for the London Clarion, although Bathgate was married off and vanished as the Alleyn books went by.

Alley Oop. Alley Oop was created by V.T. Hamlin and debuted in his eponymous comic strip on 7 August 1933; the strip continues today. Oop is, of course, a cave man, a native of the prehistoric land of Moo. He's not a bad sort, really, not very intelligent but always trying to do the right thing. In his own time and place he fights for truth and justice, although this battle is hindered by the rulers of Moo, King Guzzle and Queen Umpateedle. Oop is helped, in Moo, by his girlfriend Oola, his sidekick Foozy, and his faithful mount Dinny, the lovable stegosaurus.

But Oop's adventures are not (of course) limited to prehistory. Dr. Wonmug, a brilliant 20^th Century scientist, invented a time machine and used it to snatch Oop from harm's way. Oops has, since that time, used the time machine to travel throughout human history, helping Ulysses, going to the moon, and doing just about everything in between.

Alley Oop
The official web site of the strip.

The Holloway Pages: Alley Oop
A better site than the official one, this site may take a while to load, but is worth it.

Allhoff, Inspector. Inspector Allhoff was created by D.L. Champion and appeared in Dime Detective starting in 1938. Allhoff was an ex-cop who'd lost his legs in the line of duty. He hadn't stopped fighting crime, though, and still worked unofficially with the NYPD as a kind of armchair detective, operating from his fleabag apartment just across the street from headquarters. Allhoff was constantly chugging coffee and had a very bitter and irascible attitude. His assistant is Battersly, the young policeman who was responsible for Allhoff’s crippling. Allhoff is brilliant, if abrasive, capable of solving locked room murders with ease.

Inspector Allhoff
The Thrilling Detective’s coverage of the character. Good, but what one has come to expect from this excellent site.

Allou, Monsieur. Monsieur Allou was created by the French author Noël Vindry and appeared in fifteen novels, beginning with La Maison Qui Tue (The House That Killed, 1932). Allou was a police magistrate.

Alraune. Alraune was created by the loathsome Nazi Hans Heinz Ewer (he appears in Newman's Bloody Red Baron, btw), based on a medieval German myth, and appeared in Geschichte eines lebenden Wesens (1911), and then later in films, starting with Alraune (1918). Alraune is created by the mad scientist Dr. Ten Brinken, who scrapes the ground beneath a freshly hanged man and uses the semen gathered thereby to impregnate a prostitute. The child, Alraune, grows up to be “uncannily beautiful,” but when she finds out about her origin she turns eeeeeeevil. She becomes a “somnambulant vamp” who uses her occult (and possibly vampiric) powers of seduction on everyone, including her father. Naturally, everyone who falls for her comes to a bad end.

Alraune
A concise summary of the film.

Amarbal. Amarbal was created by the Australian writer Joyce Vincent and appeared in The Celestial Hand: A Sensational Story (1903). Amarbal is another of those very interesting prototypes of Fu Manchu. In this case Amarbal is a German-Chinese "half-caste" who leads a Chinese invasion of Australia. Amarbal is an educated man whose driving ambition is to "lead the Chinese to universal dominion."

Amayat, Mynheer. Mynheer Amayat was created by H. De Vere Stacpoole and appeared in fourteen stories, which were collected in The Tales of Mynheer Amayat (1930). Amayat was a Dutch (!) gentleman detective active in Holland and across Europe.

The Angel. The Angel appeared in only once in the pulps, in The Angel Detective #1, July 1941. Based on the Timely Comics character (for more information on whom see the Guide to Timely Comics Characters), the Angel's real name was never given. The Angel was created by "Edward S. Ronns," the pseudonym of Edward S. Aarons, author of the excellent, long-running Sam Durell "Assignment" espionage series from Gold Medal. The Angel was essentially a thinly veiled copy of The Saint, based in NYC, with his stories having none of the latter's charm nor even the allure of the Timely character's stories, and it should be no surprise to anyone that the magazine was canceled after one issue.

Ed Love added the following, which corrects the preceding:

the angel is a NYC pi over 6 ft tall, broad shouldered and lean waisted. in addition to a white mask, he wears a tan overcoat and dark hat with a leather band. he carries around a special .45 that leaves an identifying mark (apart from the bullet hole i assume) and is hunted by the police. alas, he was not much sought after by the readers, he lasted one issue of his own magazine.

Aerial Submarine. The Submarine was introduced in the 1910 film The Aerial Submarine. A nameless group of pirates, led by a female buccaneer, uses a submarine (its creator and history unknown), to terrorize the shores of England. After a pair of children are captured by the sub's crew they are shown the sites, and witness an ocean liner torpedoed and then looted from the sea floor. From their the sub takes to the air and begins shelling a British naval sub. Through the careless disposal of a lit match the sub is destroyed.

Aerial Torpedo. The Aerial Torpedo was introduced in the 1909 film The Airship Destroyer. An unknown country arms their zeppelins with bombs and launches an air raid on England. After a bombing raid British aircraft engage the zeppelins but are shot down. The bombing raid continues until finally a patriotic British inventor creates an "aerial torpedo," controlled by "wireless electricity," which he uses to bring down the enemy air fleet.

Airship Burglar. The Burglar was introduced in the 1910 film Burglary by Airship. The Burglar uses a zeppelin with a magnet attached to the underside of its cab to effect his crimes. He begins with a financier, who loses his steel safe to the Burglar's zeppelin. After that comes an ironmonger's shop, a man riding his bicycle, and the helmets of an entire fireman's squad, among others. An irked crowd use guns to shoot holes in the zeppelin, and that ends that.

Armored Car. The Car was introduced in the 1906 film The Modern Pirates. It was used by an unseen crew to terrorize the London countryside. It was "a contrivance calculated to strike awe into the beholder, sheathed from front to back in grey-painted armour, even the wheels are protected, while the vehicle is steered in perfect safety from a kind of conning-tower." The crew killed a number of farmers trying to protect themselves, their livestock, and their farms, and when a village constable tried to stop them he was run down. The Car outsped a police car, but fell into a river and sank. And that was that.

Hero (I). The hero was created by Roy J. Snell and appeared in the 22-volume "Mystery Stories for Boys" series, which ran from 1920 to 1939 beginning with Triple Spies. The boy hero had a wide variety of interesting and vivid adventures.

Hero (II). I'm frankly intrigued by this entry. In 1941 there was, in Australia, a radio show by the title of Adventure. The show was about...well, I'll let the writer of Australian Radio Series: 1930s to 1970s tell it: "Set amidst the romance of tropical islands and the mysterious East, this is the story of a young man who sets out to find the twelve ‘Rays of the Sun,' in reality an ancient Egyptian necklace." Sounds interesting, dunnit?

Heroine. This heroine was created by Edward José and appeared in Terreur, a 1924 film based on various Eugene Sue novels. The heroine's father, a Professor and inventor, creates a death ray but has it stolen by a gang of crooks, who kill him during the theft. The heroine sets out to recover the death ray and avenge her father. After 70 minutes of thrills and spills she does.

Mad Scientist (I). This scientist and villain was created by Gaston Leroux and appeared in La Fauteuil Hanté (1909), which one critic has described as "a fantastic mystery novel in which a mad scientist used ingenious, murderous devices to rid himself of applicants at the French Academy who have uncovered his dark secret."

Mad Scientist (II). This scientist was created by Luitz Morat and appeared in the film La Cité foudroyée (1922).  A French scientist creates a heat ray gun and intends to use it to rule the world. Among his other dastardly deeds is turning it on to Paris and melting the Eiffel Tower.

Marshal. The Marshal, a crime-fighting sheriff in a town on America's frontier, appeared in Hotspur in 1941. He knew nothing about guns, but his badge was made from a fragment of Aladdin's lamp, and when the Marshal pinned on his badge he gained magic powers.

Middie. The Middie was created by Lt. Commander Yates Stirling Jr. and appeared in the five book "United States Midshipman Series," which ran from 1908 to 1913 and began with A U. S. Midshipman Afloat. The Middie saw service with the Navy in China, the Philippines, Japan, and the South Pacific.

Peace Officer. This enforcer of the law appeared in Adventure in 1941. He was a white officer of the Crown who was appointed to a section of Western Africa and told to maintain the peace there. His years in Africa had taught him the abilities of the local witch doctors, and so he used black magic to keep the peace in his area.

In response to my request for more information on Anthony, Ed Love, a gentleman and scholar, sent me this:

jim anthony: swarthy half comanche and half irish, left a fortune by his father, chief of which seems to be the newspaper Daily Star.  he was probably the most successful of the doc savage wannabes lasting three years and some twenty five stories (according to Pulp Review vol 1, #2). the best description of jim comes from the text itself. "Mark of the Spider," 1942:

"Anthony was a murder man of International repute. Not the murderer, of course, but the hunter of men, the seeker of killers. This was his major hobby, homicide, though an amazing mind and physical perfection, allowed him tremendous insight into fully half a hundred of the other -ologies usually assumed by college professors alone. Possession of one of America's major fortunes was always an advantage - for Jim Anthony charged no fees, and consequently was called all over the world on interesting cases."

in this novel alone he displays knowledge of criminal and general psychology as well as forensics.

in his cases, he was often assisted by freckled aviator tom gentry. or as jim would describe their relationship:

"Friend? My God, more than friend! They'd grown up together, they'd been all over the world together, there were a million and one intimate experiences shared that made them closer than brothers, a thousand adventures, hardships, battles where they had fought back to back against hard odds, successes that were so much sweeter because they were won together."

since the pulp was part of the spicy line and it's author was dan turner's scribe you got situations that would make doc savage blush. when confronted with a scantily clad woman:

"Anthony was no better and no worse than other men, he was no plaster saint. Blood that flowed in his veins could race hotly, emotions common to others were his as well. There was a heady scent about her, filling his nostrils, not a mere perfume, but an unnamable, mysterious something that belongs to all beautiful women. Her eyes, lids half lowered, were at once a challenge and an expectancy, deep brown, almost black, flecked with dancing little lights. Her lips were full, deep red, moist and parted."

you wouldn't find this kind of passion (lust?) in the doc novels.

Appleby, John. John Appleby was created by Michael Innes and appeared in two dozen novels, beginning with Death at the President's Lodging (1936). Appleby is well known as perhaps the most erudite policeman in crime fiction. He was well educated at Oxford schools and is quite apt at spotting obscure literary allusions. He is also well trained in police techniques, and applies them as well as his academic knowledge in various cases. He rises quickly through the ranks due to his skill in solving cases at "the highest circles," and is recognized and appreciated by his superiors. He is married to Judith Raven, a sculptress.

Arcot, Morey & Wade. Arcot, Morey & Wade were created by John W. Campbell and appeared in five stories in Amazing in 1930 and 1931. Richard Arcot is the son of a very distinguished scientist, and is himself “the most brilliant man in the world.” William Morey has a wealthy father, who employs Arcot, Morey & Wade, and is a mathematician and very good at turning Arcot’s brilliant ideas into reality. And Wade is sort of the backup for all Arcot & Morey, although he really plays a minor role in the stories. In 2126 C.E. the trio fight air pirates (building a superplane to do so), settle a war on Venus, and explore other planets and other solar systems.

Armiston, Oliver. Armiston was created by Frederick Anderson and appeared in a variety of stories and novels beginning in 1913. He was originally the Watson for The Infallible Godahl, but Anderson then took Armiston off on his own set of adventures. Well, not adventures, exactly; Armiston was one of the most immobile of the armchair detectives, rarely moving from his apartment. He was a very successful writer of detective novels who after being used and then befriended by Godahl is consulted by Deputy Commissioner Parr of the NYPD to solve certain particularly knotty crimes, such as those involving the beguiling jewel thief Sophie Lang. Armiston's approach to crime solving is rather simple. He just gathers as much information as he can on a crime and thinks through the problem until he reaches a solution. (If only it were that simple.) He uses Parr for legwork, and Parr in turn receives all the credit.

Army Boy. The nameless (to me) Army Boys was created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the house name of "Homer Randall" and appeared in the six-volume "Army Boy" series, which began in 1919 with Army Boys in France or From Training Camp to Trenches. The Army Boys were active in France and Germany during the war and then on German soil after the war was over, "quelling the mobs."

Armstrong, Jack. Armstrong began life as a radio character on "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy," in 1933, before evolving into a comic strip character. Armstrong was a square-jawed Bolt Vanderhuge type who started out as a four sport athlete hero at Hudson High, along with his friends Billy and Betty Fairfield. Fairly soon Jack, Betty, Billy, and the Fairfields' Uncle Jim (owner of an aircraft factory and former teacher at West Point) began traveling around the world, fighting evil wherever they found it, whether on the African veldt, in the depths of Calcutta, or in a monastery in the Himalayas. They began with a trip to Canada, chasing rival Monte Duval across the ice floes of northern Canada. From there it was off to stop cattle rustling in Arizona, and then back to the Arctic, to find the "city of White Eskimos." They then went on a China clipper to Manila, where they caught a boat to Shanghai for a rendezvous with Uncle Jim. Then, to Africa, elephant hunting (only with cameras, you may be sure), and then to Zanzibar, in pursuit of (and being pursued by) pirates who were, like Jack and co., looking for a ship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Thence to South America, to tramp through the Amazonian jungles to rescue Betty, who was being held by members of a lost race in an underground city. Off to Tibet, where Jack, at the request of a Grand Lama, retrieved an invaluable lost manuscript. After a quick hop, skip, and jump over to Eater Island, Jack and his Whole Sick Crew went to the Philippines to rescue the missing Professor Loring and his stash of U-235. After that Jack et al went to the Andes, then got involved in the War, in Morocco, in America fighting German espionage. There were also fights against the Fascists in Spain, battles with guerrillas off Casablanca, and safaris into Africa in search of the elephants' graveyard. They traveled around the world in Uncle Jim's hydroplane, the Silver Albatross; in the schooner Spindrift; and in the dirigible Golden Secret. Eventually, because of the V.P. of ABC, Jack was forced to grow up and join the Scientific Bureau of Investigation, but the show died soon after that.

Among Jack's rivals included Monte Duval, the unscrupulous adventurer Dr. Shupato, the Silencer (aka Victor Hardy, a scientist and inventor who had ventured into a life of crime because of a bad case of amnesia), and Weissoul, the master spy known as "the man with 100 faces."

Arnold, Dick. Dick Arnold and his friends were created by Earl Reed Slivers and appeared in the three-volume "Dick Arnold Series" beginning with Dick Arnold of Raritan College (1920) and appearing through 1921. Dick's adventures at Raritan U. were about what you'd expect: Dick and his friends (I haven't been able to find a copy of these to look at, so I don't know their names) fight crime and achieve glory at sports.

Arsen. Arsena was created by the Russian writer Ivane Perestiani and appeared in Arsena Djordjiashvili (1921). Arsen is a passionate and brave hero of the Revolution; he dies fighting anti-Revolutionists in the East.

d'Artois, Pierre. Thanks to Rick Lai I can provide some information on Pierre d'Artois. He was created by E. Hoffman Price and appeared in Weird Tales and one or two other pulps from 1926-1934, beginning with "The Word of Santiago" in Weird Tales in 1926. d'Artois was a French occult detective who lived in the city of Bayonne, on the French-Spanish border. Bayonne was and is a real city, but Price added a large network of crypts below it. To quote Rick:

These crypts are inhabited by ghouls, and act as a magnet to attract evil-doers to Bayonne (like the Hellmouth in Buffy).  Bayonne is always being visited by corrupt European noblemen who practiced Satanism, or Asian cultists (e. g. . the Yezidees of Kurdistan and the Assassins of Iran).  The bad guys always take over part of the crypts and conduct human sacrifices and other unspeakable acts there.

Ashenden. Ashenden, the first realistic spy in modern fiction, was created by W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) and appeared in Ashenden; or, The British Agent (1928). Maugham, of course, is famous as a writer of plays, novels, and short stories, having written Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge. What's less known about him is that he worked as a spy for the British (Maugham was English) during WW1 and with the British Ministry of Information during WW2.

Ashenden is a somewhat famous British writer who is recruited to work for the British Intelligence Department during World War One. (Ashenden is based on Maugham's own experiences during the war) His chief, known only as R., hires him to work as a secret agent, traveling around Europe and eventually Russia, carrying out various jobs for the British; Ashenden's reputation and profession will allow him to move about without causing suspicion. But Ashenden is not an agent conceived in the mind of a hack writer like E. Phillips Oppenheim, and his world is much closer to our own than anything Oppenheim (ptu!) could conceive. R.'s final words to Ashenden, before sending him out on his first job, are these: "If you do well, you'll get no thanks and if you get into trouble you'll get no help." Ashenden's world is one of moral greys, very much the direct ancestor of Le Carré's work. Maugham's world is a long way from the absurdities of Oppenheim's work.

Some of Ashenden's tasks include uncovering a spy in Geneva, blackmailing a demi-mondaine into getting her Indian lover (and rebel against the British empire) to go to England, contacting sympathetic elements in pre-Revolution Russia, and accompanying a charming and deadly Mexican assassin ("the Hairless Mexican") on a job. It's not exciting, though; to quote one of the stories, "Ashenden's official existence was as orderly and monotonous as a City clerk's."

Ashenden is a relatively normal person, albeit one who is reserved and sees other people with a certain amount of dispassion and even distance. Some critics have called a sociopath, in that (in their view) he sees other people as fodder for his stories, but I think that's unfair, and a misreading of the stories. He has a healthy amount of irony, both about others and himself.

Ashley, Thomas. Thomas Ashley, the “Connoisseur of Crime,” was created by George England and appeared in All-Story Weekly, Detective Story Magazine, Best Detective Magazine, Detective Fiction Weekly, and a few more magazines from 1918 to 1936. Ashley, one of many characters heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes, had a much longer run than the quality of the writing or of his stories would seem to indicate. He is one of many gray-eyed, super-knowledgeable amateur detectives who arose like crabgrass in the pulps of the late teens and twenties, and he lingered like the weed. Ashley, though, did evolve somewhat as the time of the scientific detective, like Craig Kennedy, came round; during those years he made use of advanced instruments of his own creation. But, truly, there’s not that much of interest in Ashley or his stories.

Ashton-Kirk. Ashton-Kirk, one of the more obvious Holmes homages, was created by John T. McIntyre and appeared in The Popular Magazine and in four collections starting in 1910. Ashton-Kirk is much younger than Holmes, being only in his mid-twenties, the scion of wealth and an ancient line. He has an excellent physique and mind, capable of feats of deduction quite similar to Holmes' own. Like Holmes, he has a talent for disguise and amateur theatrics, and has a Watson-like assistant. Ashton-Kirk lives in a NYC row house in a bad section of town, but his house is classy inside and filled with rare books. His relationship with the police is a good one; they rely on him completely to solve the tough (and not so tough) crimes.

Ask, Harald. Thanks to Nils Nordberg I can provide the following about Harald Ask: Ask, "the famous Norwegian detective," is the Swedish version of Knut Gribb.

The Asp. See the Cobra.

Astro the Seer. Astro was created by Gelett Burgess and appeared in The Master of Mysteries (1912), a collection of short stories. Astro is actually Astrogon Kerby, an Armenian con man and swindler who preys on the "money classes" and who sets himself up as "Astro the Seer," a would-be palmist and clairvoyant. He takes the scam to the limit, using a crystal ball, wearing a turban and a silk robe, and adopting a pet white lizard. Nonetheless, he gets drawn into solving crimes, and does so, successfully applying his skills as a crook.

Aunt Jane's Nieces. The Nieces, whose names I've yet to learn, unfortunately, were created by "Edith van Dyne," aka L. Frank Baum, and appeared in the eighteen-book "Aunt Jane's Nieces Series," which ran from 1906 to 1919 and began with Aunt Jane's Nieces. The Nieces were led by "Mary Louise" and had various active adventures, including flying their own airplanes, driving their own cars, helping the Red Cross, going Out West, helping Our Boys Over Seas, and of course solving mysteries. All very progressive, for their time and place.

Auto Boys. The Auto Boys were created by James Braden and appeared in the five-volume "Auto Boys" Series which ran from 1908 to 1913 beginning with The Auto Boys' Adventure. The Boys (whose names I've been unable to find) had the usual set of adventures and races in their open touring roadster; as far as I can tell, there was nothing unusual about them or their stories.

Automobile Girls. The Girls, Ruth, Millie, Bab and Grace, were created by Laura Dent Crane and appeared in the eight-volume "Automobile Girls Series," which began in 1910 with The Automobile Girls in Newport; or, Watching the Summer Parade and continued through 1913. The Girls traveled around the US in a roadster, enjoying themselves and fighting fires and "foreign spies" in Palm Beach, the Berkshires, Newport, Washington, Chicago, New York State, and "under Southern skies."

The Avenger (I). Richard Benson, the Avenger, was introduced in The Avenger #1, September 1939; The Avenger ran through September 1942, at which point it, like many another pulp magazine, fell prey to the war's paper shortage. The Avenger was created by "Kenneth Robeson," who in this case was Henry Ralston, the Steet & Smith vice-president, who commissioned the character, and Lester Dent & Walter Gibson. Once created, the character was handed off to Paul Ernst to write.

Richard Benson is the Avenger, a man sworn to fight crime, who has the ability to mold his own facial features and who uses his team of operatives, Justice, Inc., in a never-ending war against crime. There are enough other sites on the 'Net about Benson that I don't feel I need to go into much more detail about him, as I'd rather not try to duplicate what others have done better. So go to these sites instead and read about him:

The Avenger
A short summary of the character from the good folks at The Secret Headquarters.

The Avenger Archives
A rather good page on Richard Benson, with a great deal of information. From the fun Hero Pulps! site.

The Avenger (II). The Avenger (II) appeared in an eponymous radio serial in Australia beginning in 1945. He was a Shadow lift who took pills to make himself invisible and who could read minds.

Avenging Twins. The Twins, Peter and Paul Selbon, were created by Johnston McCulley, whose name appears a number of other times on this site. The Twins appeared in Detective Story starting in 1923 and 1924. The Twins (“tall, broad-shouldered, good-looking pictures of health”) were orphaned early on and were raised by their kindly uncle, the aged Ellis Selbon, who shared his money with the Twins. The Twins graduated from college with honors, toured the world, and worked on the South American pampas for a few years and made a fortune that way. During this time Peter became the “amateur heavyweight champion of Argentina” and Paul became the toughest “rough and tumble fighter in all South America.” Unfortunately, back home in the States, in Gotham, Uncle Ellis was being driven to bankruptcy by six mean, “leaders in the world of finance and politics.” Ellis dies in shame and disgrace, bringing the Twins back to the States to avenge him.

And so they do, of course, though not without a lot of to-do and hubbub. Their m.o. is simple. One twin does the job, masked, while the other twin remains public and visible during the time that the crime is committed. Unfortunately, at the end of their first adventure they are called by Aletha, who like Tocsin of the Jimmie Dale stories knows all about the Twins’ actions and motives. Unlike the Tocsin, though, Aletha merely wishes the Twins well. Later, she takes a more active hand in helping the Twins, finally being revealed to be Betty Calwood, the niece of one of the six. The six are variously forced to burn their money, give it away, or are swindled out of it, and everybody ends the series happily.

The Twins are assisted by Fornaser, an attorney who knew the Twins since they were infants and who provides them with legal help. (“How can you convict one of the twins when the other has a perfect alibi, and how will you know which was which?” That sort of thing) The Twins are hunted by Detective Milton Griff, who is perpetually frustrated in his attempts to capture the Twins, despite his having dozens of men working under him and attempting to get the Twins.

Avni. Avni was created by Ebu-Süreyya (or Ebüssüreyya) Sami and appeared in a series of Turkish dime novels between 1912 and 1920. "Amanvermez Avni," or "Merciless Avni," was a master detective, heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes and Monsieur Lecoq (well, Pére Tabaret), who solved crimes in Istanbul. Sami insisted, in the novels, that he was a real person, and that his adventures had actually happened.

Awlo of Ulm. I quote from Ronald Byrd:

Awlo of Ulm (a.k.a. Courtney Edwards), created by Captain S.P. Meek, was a blonde John Carter-type who found typical adventure in a submicroscopic world in the August and September issues of Amazing Stories in 1931. Typical of some of the stereotypes of the day, in one story he clashes with the cannibalistic "black" Mena, and in another with the cruel "yellow" men of Kau.

Introduction
A. The Abbey Girls to Dusty Ayres
B. Bagley to Scott Burton
C. Orhan Cakiroglu to Dr. Theodore Cunliffe
D-E. Dana Girls to Don Everhard
F. Ralph Fairbanks to Miss Fury
G. The Gadget Man to G-8
H-I. Dr. Hackensaw to Baron Ixell
J. Jack, Doc & Reggie to Justice Syndicate
K. Calvin Kane to Kwa of the Jungle
L. Major John T. Lacy to Langhorne Lyte
M. Professor Maboul to Mr. Mystic
N. Lee Nace to Nyoka
O. Fergus O'Breen to Ozar the Aztec
P.  Penny Packer to Judge Pursuivant
Q.  Oliver Quade to Sebastian Quin
R. Ed Race to Captain Rybnikov
S. The Safety First Club to Tom Swift
T-U. Tahara to Godfrey Usher
V. Lieutenant Valcour to Norton Vyse
W. Inspector Wade to Dr. Xavier Wycherley
X-Z. X Bar X Boys to Zorro
Links.