Race, Ed. Ed Race, the "Masked Marksman," was created by Emile C. Tepperman and appeared in Spider in the late 1930s. Race was a tough, cynical, wise-cracking^tm detective, whose main distinction was that he was also a professional juggler. Juggling was in fact his day job, and he toured the country as the "Masked Marksman," packing houses nation-wide and wowing them wherever he went. His shtick, you see, was juggling six .45s and performing various shooting tricks with them. (He was a very good shot). But juggling and performing weren't enough for him; he had a taste for excitement, and needed something to slake it, so he began crime investigation as a hobby.

Race, Jack. Jack Race was created by Harry Hale and appeared in the five book "Jack Race Series," which ran in 1915 and began with Jack Race at Boarding School, or, The Leader of Merrivale Academy.  Race was a doughty cracker who began doing good and bringing glory to his school and country at Merrivale Academy. Soon enough he moved on to winning the "Junior League Pennant" as a star running back, quarterback, and linebacker, and from there went to winning a cross-country car race, fighting the Huns from his biplane, and wowing the boys out West at a dude ranch.

Racer Boys. The Boys were created by "Clarence Young" (a Stratemeyer Syndicate pseudonym) and appeared in the six volume "Racer Boys Series," which ran from 1912 to 1914 beginning with The Racer Boys, or, The Mystery of the Wreck. The Racer Boys used high-powered roadsters to have adventures, win races, do well at school, and find lost gold.

Radio Boys (I). The Radio Boys, created by Allen Chapman, first appeared in The Radio Boys' First Wireless, or Winning the Ferberton Prize (1922) and, following that, about two dozen other novels; they were a tertiary Stratemeyer Syndicate product, not on the same level as the Hardy Boys or the Motor Boys. The Radio Boys were Jack Hampton, Frank Merrick, and Bob Temple, all Yalies (BOO!), who found adventure and romance through the use of their radios. The Yalies were, of course, moral, upright, and pure, great athletes and boxers, as boys' fiction heroes of the 1920s were, and used their radios to travel the world, right wrongs, help the oppressed and innocent, and Do Good in all the important ways. On at least one occasion they strayed in to the more fantastic, becoming involved with a lost Atlantean city in the North African deserts.

Radio Boys (II). The Radio Boys (II) were created by Gerald Breckenridge and appeared in the ten book "Radio Boys Series," which ran from 1922 to 1931, beginning with The Radio Boys on the Mexican Border. The Boys (II) had an entirely more exciting set of adventures than the Radio Boys (I) (see their entry above); the Boys (II) fought bandits on the Mexican border, worked for the Secret Service tracking down counterfeiters, went looking for lost Incan treasure in the Andes, helped rescue a lost Alaskan expedition, tramped through the jungles of the Congo, sought and found Lost Atlantis, acted as mercenaries in Central America, and worked with America's "Air Patrol."

Radio Boys (III). The Boys (III), one of whose name was Bill Brown, were created by Frank Honeywell and appeared in the eight volume "Radio Boys Series," which ran from 1922 to 1923, beginning with The Radio Boys in the Secret Service, or, Castaway on an Iceberg. Like the Radio Boys (II) (see their entry above), the Boys (III) had much more exciting adventures than the Radio Boys (I) (see their entry above). The Boys (III) worked for the Secret Service tracking down smugglers, went looking for Canadian smugglers (using the wireless for their illegal ends, the bounders!) in Minnesota, fought Mexican bandits, looked for sunken treasure in the Caribbean, fought The Borealis, a pirate's advanced plane, and found a lost valley in the Rockies.

Radio Detectives. The Detectives were created by A. Hyatt Verrill and appeared in the four-volume "Radio Detective Series," which appeared in 1922 and began with The Radio Detectives. The Detectives (don't know their names yet, sorry) used the wireless to solve crimes and have adventures, both in the U.S. and in Mexico, the Caribbean, and the jungles of Africa.

Radio Man. Miles Cabot, the interstellar-traveling Radio Man, was created by "Ralph Milne Farley," the pen name of Roger Sherman Hoar,  and appeared in Argosy-All-Story from 1924 through 1930. Cabot, a stalwart inventor-adventurer, creates both three-dimensional television and matter transmission via radio. Cabot is accidentally drawn to Venus, which is a jungle planet with air breathable by humans (although the seas are boiling hot) (and the pigs do have wings). Unfortunately, Venus is dominated by the Formians, an intelligent race of giant ants. Centuries earlier they'd successfully warred on the Cupians, a race of antennae-d humanoids, and shut them up behind a large wall in a ghetto. Cabot meets a Cupian Princess, but is betrayed to the ants by a Cupian Prince who is a rotter. Cabot eventually leads a revolt, after having built advanced weaponry and armed the Cupians. The Cupians win and the ants are put in the ghetto. In later stories there is a Formian rebellion, which Cabot successfully puts down (with the help of the Cupians, of course), a new continent, with new intelligent species of animals, is discovered on Venus, and then the new species, the Whoomangs, come to Earth via Cabot's radio transmitters and try to take over the world. After various explosive doings, including the intervention of Blackstone Kent, the Whoomangs are defeated.

Radio Patrol. Radio Patrol was created by Eddie Sullivan and Charlie Schmidt and debuted on 16 April 1934, running through 1950. The main characters were Sergeant Pat, the red-headed, handsome lead cop, and Stutterin' Sam, Pat's fat, stuttering partner. They drove a car with an actual radio inside of it. (Will wonders never cease?!) Assisted by Pinky Pinkerton, a younger cop who looked up to both of them, they beat up and beat down any criminals within range of them, from racketeers to bank robbers to would-be rapists. Pat's girlfriend was Molly Day, a blonde p.i.

Ed Love, Gentleman and Scholar, e-mailed me the following:

just bought a book reprinting some of the "radio patrol" strip. according to the book, the strip started out as Pinkerton Jr., focusing on the boy (a street urchin originally i believe) who helped the police solve crimes. eventually the focus shifted some to the adults though pinky and his girlfriend "red" continued to play major parts. pat's girlfriend molly was a female cop, but pinky and red were not officially part of the police department...at least not in the two adventures that i have.

Radium, Professor. Professor Radium appeared in, no, not an issue of Batman--different Prof. Radium. This Professor Radium, creator unknown to me, appeared in Comic Cuts. Described by no less than Aldous Huxley as the "stock man of science," Professor Radium was forever experimenting with atomic energy, discovering "ways of peeling bananas by electrical x-rays, or going to Australia by underground slide, constructed with the help of mechanical moles."

Rafferty. Rafferty, one of the great supercriminals of our time, was introduced in “Rafferty, Master Rogue” in Detective Story’s 1 October 1927 issue. He was created by A. E. Apple, author of the Mr. Chang stories.

Rafferty, of all the heroic amorals on this site, thought (arguably) the biggest and was the most ambitious in his crime. No small-time thefts for Rafferty; he is more given to plotting and executing the robberies of banks that carry $20 million, as he did in his first story, or robbing entire city blocks worth of stores, as he did in his second story. Rafferty’s crimes are on a grand scale, without venturing into the territory of comic book supervillain. He robbed a large casino, emptying it completely; robbed a museum entirely, just to decorate his underground hideout; kidnapped twenty young socialite debutantes and held them ransom for five million each. Of course, because Rafferty is a gentleman, he does not follow through on either his threats or his ransom gathering, instead letting the young ladies go free, because no gentleman will prey on a lady.

And Rafferty is a gentleman, through and through, albeit not one exactly respected by society. He is suave, debonair, dressed with “immaculate correctness,” always very polite and well-spoken. He comes from a relatively mundane bourgeois background, but once in college he immediately devoted himself to learning all he could about committing and getting away with crimes. (Where this inspiration came from, and what caused him to so quickly go over to the Dark Side, is never revealed) He “specialized in chemistry, physics, psychology and other subjects that would aid a top-notch outlaw…He had been reading law in spare time, for the primary purpose of discovering loopholes.” He also practiced burglary and counterfeiting during those years, just to sharpen his skills. He vowed, while in college, never to commit a crime that would bring less than a quarter million dollars. He also swore never to murder, as it was the act of a barbarian, unworthy of his own stature. Once out of college he worked for a lock company and for a manufacturer of bank doors and vaults, and packed away information about various odd topics, all so that he might be a better criminal. He quit the safe company and formed his own detective firm, rapidly becoming successful and allowing him to commit his first major crime, siphoning off twenty million in cash and negotiable securities from a transfer of bank funds.

Rafferty, of course, has a nemesis, as all such major characters do. Rafferty’s is Bradley, a former school chum of Rafferty’s who became a world-famous private detective, head of his own agency of 3400. Unfortunately, Rafferty has embarrassed the portly and slow-seeming Bradley on a number of occasions, in rather public fashion, and so Bradley devotes all of his time and effort, and all of the time and effort of his agency, to capturing Rafferty. Bradley is not a run of the mill Bronc Drywall hero, however; he is venial and unscrupulous in his pursuit of Rafferty; any means will do as long as they bring his bete noir to heel.

Rafferty is eventually captured by Bradley, and imprisoned for a short time, but on the day of the trial Herr Heine gasses the entire courtroom and exits, stage left, with the sleeping Rafferty over his shoulder, and the pair wage more war on society.

Eventually, though, Rafferty begins preying on other criminals, rather than society at large, deciding that he won’t keep the loot “in cases where the loss will mean suffering.” He even takes on Mr. Chang, but they duel to a draw, although not without much exertion on both sides.

Rafferty, who is only in his late twenties, is tall, dark and handsome, athletic without being bulky, slender without being slim. His clothes are always perfect, his only real affectation being his jade, skull-and-crossbones tiepin. He is aided by his faithful gang, which sometimes numbers in the thousands, all told, but his aide de camp is Herr Heinie, a gluttonous, fat, former anarchist and scientist. Heinie is a nasty ethnic stereotype of Germans, his only good points being that he invents the weapons that Rafferty uses to commit his crimes, the gas guns, trap doors, and infrared searchlights. Originally he was bribed to join Rafferty’s gang and rebelled, trying to poison Rafferty, but after being convinced he stayed of his own volition and was faithful to Rafferty.

In addition to the weapons Herr Heine makes, Rafferty also has his own submarine (he stole it) and an underground cavern in which he stores his loot.

Ragged Jack. Ragged Jack appeared in Merry and Bright during the 1910s. He was a "tramp detective," wandering the US and solving crimes and presenting a false view of being homeless which was entirely at odds with the grim reality.

Ralston, Jack. Jack Ralston was created by Ambrose Newcomb and appeared in the six-book "Sky Detective Series," which ran from 1930 to 1931 and began with The Sky Detectives, or How Jack Ralston Got His Man. Ralston was a "sky detective" for the American government, flying planes and investigating plane-related crimes.

Rambler Club. The Club was created by W. Crispin Sheppard and appeared in the fifteen-volume "Rambler Club" series, which ran from 1909 to 1916 beginning with The Rambler Club Afloat. The Club (don't know their names yet, sorry) had adventures in school and out, finding lost treasure, boating down the Mississippi, winning baseball games, helping the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, winning football games, fighting Mexican bandits, and stopping crime in Panama.

Rand, John. John Rand was created by Duke Worne and appeared in the fifteen-part serial The Screaming Shadow (1920). Rand is an American adventurer and sportsman who is traveling in Africa when he sees a tribal ritual, involving monkey glands, that seems to cause greatly extended longevity in humans. Rand returns to America and begins experimenting on himself, with some success. Unfortunately, Baron Velska of Burgonia has also heard of this method, and has also begun experiments using it. But Velska uses humans as his test subjects, and Rand, obviously not willing to let this stand, goes to Burgonia with his love interest, the wealthy reporter Mary Landers, and fights his way through to exposing Velska’s evil operations. Along the way Rand overcomes J.W. Russell, the aged, millionaire backer of Velska’s project, and Nadia, the “high priestess of the virgins of eternal youth.”

Rand, Miller. Miller Rand, "the Electrical Man," was written by Neil R. Jones and was introduced in "The Electrical Man," in the May 1930 issue of Scientific Detective Monthly. Rand, a criminologist, is more willing than many of his kind to violate the laws in order to catch criminals; he has no compunctions about tapping phones, planting microphones, and the like. In the "Electrical Man" he carries and uses a cattle prod-like wand, connected to batteries he carried beneath his coat; the shock of the wand is enough to knock them out. At the story's end he is contemplating bulletproof suits, something not invented yet. He also electrifies his clothes, so that only touching them will stun a person.

Rand, Nila. Nila Rand was created by Beech Allen and appeared in Scarlet Adventuress in 1935. Nila is "that strange exotic creature who turned the blood of all men into molten fire--yet always forced her head to rule her heart until--" She's an adventuress, arms dealer, gunfighter, and dealer in stolen goods. And she's bisexual, enjoying herself--this is not implied, but explicitly stated--with both men and women.

Ranger, Jack. Jack Ranger was created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate--perhaps by ole Edward himself--and appeared in the "Jack Ranger Series," written by "Clarence Young," and running for six books, from 1907 to 1911, beginning with Jack Ranger's Schooldays, or, The Rivals of Washington Hall. Ranger was a typical Stratemeyer schoolboy hero, righteous, Christian, white as a fishbelly, a good student, good athlete, never sullied or even tempted with lustful thoughts, and capable in any sort of adventure, from stopping the bullies at Washington Hall to roping cattle out west to being a three-sport star to solving the mystery of the wreck of the Polly Ann.

Ranger Boys. The Boys were created by Claude H. LaBelle and appeared in the five-book "Ranger Boy Series," which appeared in 1922 and began with The Ranger Boys to the Rescue. The Boys were underage forest rangers who worked in the West (somewhere) and helped rescue lost campers and hermits, capture smugglers and timber thieves, and other stuff.

Rankin, Tommy. Tommy Rankin was created by Milton Propper and appeared in eighteen novels, beginning with The Strange Disappearance of Mary Young (1929). Rankin works as a detective in the Homicide Bureau of the Philadelphia P.D. He began his career by pounding a beat in the roughest neighborhood in Philadelphia, and while working there earned a reputation for absolute fairness, to both victims and criminals alike. This reputation, his experience working the streets, and his intelligence and common sense allowed him to climb through the ranks of Homicide in a short time. He is not brilliant, but he has a good, logical mind and uses perseverance where his mind falters.

Ravenger. The Ravenger appeared in The Shielding Shadow (1916). He was an evil scientist capable of hypnotism and the inventor of an invisibility cloak.

Ravenswood, Richard. Richard Ravenswood, the leader of the Red Ravens, was introduced in "A String of Beads," in the 20 November 1915 issue of Detective Story Magazine. He was created by "Scott Campbell," the house name for Detective Story, and ran through nineteen stories, through 1917. Ravenswood is a master criminal of a basic pulp type, familiar to you if you've made it this far in the site, anyhow: the society man who commits crime and turns to good in the end. Unlike most pulp characters, however, Ravenswood had a beginning, middle, and end to his story.

Ravenswood begins as a handsome, ranking member of society, lounging in his Waldron Hotel suite in Gotham during the day and running the notorious Red Ravens gang from the back of a "gloomy old building in the East Side." He is assisted by his loyal and trustworthy valet, Kenneth Nolan, who is also "Paddy," the Chief Lieutenant of the Red Ravens. He initially commits a series of crimes that draw the attention of Detective Joe Glidden, Ravenswood's nemesis, a large, tough, and strong cop, who is nearly Ravenswood's equal--no Lestrade, he. Glidden eventually captures the Ravens following a desperate shootout, with only Ravenswood breaking through the police ring. Wounded, he jumps on a balloon and is blown out to sea, seemingly to his death. The Ravens are sent to Sing Sing, and two years pass. The Ravens break out of Sing Sing and kidnap a wealthy English lord fresh off the boat in NYC. The lord turns out to be Ravenswood, who has returned to the States from  England to spring the Ravens. Off they go on another crime wave, again finally being arrested with Ravenswood and Paddy being the only ones to escape (thanks to a last minute phone call from a widow who they'd befriended). Glidden is the one to catch the gang, and although he shoots Ravenswood (not fatally), Ravenswood saves his life, thus putting Glidden in his debt. Better for Ravenswood, he realizes that he loves the widow, the lovely, wealthy, and young Mrs. Stella Morton. They declare their love for each other, and he swears he will quit crime. In a scene that still has the ability to move the reader, decades later, he and Paddy bid each other farewell, Glidden watching from the darkness, having known for a while that Ravenswood would eventually go to Stella.

Then, unfortunately, a corpse is found, the murderer seemingly Stella's brother. Ravenswood confesses to save Stella. Paddy appears with a signed confession, having seen the murder, chased down the murderer (a political rival of Stella's brother) and forced him to sign a confession. Paddy then gives Glidden the confession, escapes at gunpoint, and Ravenswood is told by Glidden that he, too, can go free: "I'll quit even with you, if it costs me my badge...Go straight, and good luck to you!" And there ends Ravenswood's story.

Ravenswood won't murder (except in self-defense) but is not above breaking and entering, theft (of course), gassing, kidnap, and any other crimes that will net him and the Ravens the loot.

Ravenswood is tall and handsome, clean cut and well-dressed, muscular and athletic--the usual for a pulp character of this type. Likewise, he is sentimental, returning a very valuable necklace to its rightful owner because it was a gift from her "true, lost love."

Reade, Tom. Tom Reade and his best chum Harry Hazelton were created by Anthony Weston Dimock and were part of the Dick Prescott Cycle. In 1912 they began the six-volume "Young Engineers Series" starting with The Young Engineers in Colorado, or, At Railroad Building in Earnest and running through 1921. Reade and Hazelton began as Dick's young friends, but grew up a few years and became...well, young engineers. In that role they traveled in Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and southern California, laying track, fighting crime, shoring up mines, and building dams.

Recai. Recai was created by Peyami Safa (under the pseudonym of "Server Bedi") and appeared in several dozen novels in Turkey from 1926 through the mid-1980s, beginning with Alnimin kara yazisi : roman. Recai is known as "Cingöz Recai," or "Wily Recai," and is a cunning and devious detective heavily influenced by Arsène Lupin. Recai is a master of disguise, full of Lupin's joie de vivre and good humour, and he does things as much for the thrill of the chase as for any desire for justice. But Recai, unlike Lupin, began as a detective and remained so throughout his long fictional life. In 1940, in Arsen Lupen Istanbul'da, Recai even duelled with Lupin himself.

Red Barry. See him at Barry, Red. (That was his name, after all)

Red Cross Girls. The Girls were created by Margaret Vandercook and appeared in the ten-book "Red Cross Girls" series, which began in 1916 with The Red Cross Girls in Belgium. The Girls were, as you might imagine, active with the Red Cross in World War One and afterwards, doing time in Belgium, the "British trenches," the "French firing line," in Russia, in Italy, with the U.S. Navy and Army, and then with the Marines and back Stateside.

Red Dragon. The Red Dragon was created by the Sri Lankan author Dick Dias and appeared in The Red Dragon, a play which appeared in the early 1940s. Dias was one of the first Sinhalese playwrights to write in English, rather than Sinhalese, and The Red Dragon was one of his first plays. The Red Dragon himself was a Yellow Peril type.

Red Falcon. The Red Falcon, an experienced air ace and war hero, appeared twice in G-8 and had his own series in Daredevil Aces. Presumably he was created by Robert J. Hogan. I don't have any more information for you about him, though.

Addendum: Well, now I do, thanks to Win Eckert, who contributed the following after reading the Falcon's appearance in G-8:

The Red Falcon's real name is Barry Rand. His rank is not given, nor whom he serves with, though I presume it's the Americans.  G-8 already knows him in this adventure (presumably from the crossover in Daredevil Aces magazine that Brad has mentioned previously) and calls on the Falcon's services at the very end of this book.

The Falcon has an aide, a "giant black African" named Sika.  Fortunately, the Sika character is treated with respect by G-8 and
the other characters; in fact, it's really Sika's abilities that G-8 has called on in this case.  Sika is able to translate an African
language for G-8, and also helps out with his drumming skills (really).  The one unfortunate feature is that Sika speaks like
this: "Sika know.  Leopard men bad tribe but very cunning."

Interestingly, the Red Falcon has no dialogue; Sika gets all the lines as he converses with G-8.  Then G-8, Nippy, and Bull, along with the Red Falcon and Sika, execute G-8's plan, after which the Red Falcon and Sika fly away back to "their aerie high in the Vosges mountains."

He was called "L'Faucon Rouge" by the French and "Verdammt Der Rot Falke" by the Germans. An outcast American ace, framed by a crooked officer he flew the war skies dealing out justice from a hidden sanctum high in the Vosges mountains. His true name, Barry Rand. With him was a huge Senealese Negro chief, Sika. The lean, hard, leathery Rand and the half savage black flew a strange plane built from parts of crashed ships. It had Spad wings, a Fokker D-7 fuselage, a Liberty engine. It mounted all types of guns--Spandaus, Vickers, Lewis, and wsa pained a bright red color. The Red Falcon appeared with G-8 in "Fangs of the Sky Leopard" and "Red Wings for the Death Patrol." G-8 in turn joined Rand in "Dynamite Cargo" for Daredevil Aces, 1935. It was G-8's singular performance outside his own magazine as far as we know. In G-8 and his Battle Aces however, the master spy teamed up with Rand in a story from April of 1944, "Red Wings Raiding." The Red Falcon was featured in sixteen stories in the G-8 pulp. Barry Rand's favorite song was the Dark Town Strutter's Ball. In the novel "Wings for the Dead" Rand had a small part. This time it was Sika who gave G-8 much of the information he was after. It proved invaluable to the case.

Red Knight. The first superhero created just for comic strips, The Red Knight was created by John Welch and Jack McGuire and ran from June 1940 through September 1943. The Red Knight was originally Alan Knight, an ordinary man who was empowered with "Plus Power" by Dr. Van Lear in an experiment. Van Lear wants Knight to "carry your crusade against the forces of evil," so off Knight goes to do so. As the Red Knight, he wears a suit of armor and has various superpowers, including strength, speed, mind control, and invisibility. After a few years, he became an ordinary secret agent when he was forced down near Fujiyama during a mission and didn't have the chance to recharge his powers.

Red Plume. Red Plume was created by Edward Williams and appeared in the three-book "Red Plume" series, which began in 1925 with Red Plume. He was an Native Canadian teenager who had adventures, on his own and with the Royal Northwest Mounted.

Red Raven. See the Richard Ravenswood entry above.

Red Rose. Thanks to Greg Gick I can provide some information on the Red Rose. The Red Rose was created by Margery Allingham and appeared in eight stories in or around 1930. Betty Connolly, a Sweet Young Thing, becomes upset at the eight financiers who "ruined her Lancashire town" and so became the costumed crook the Red Rose, avenging her self on the eight and leaving a single red rose behind at the scenes of her crimes.

Red Shadow. The Red Shadow was created by Sigmund Romberg and appeared in the 1926 operetta "The Desert Song," which is set at the turn of the 20^th century. The Red Shadow is Pierre Birabeau, the son of a general in the French Foreign Legion. His father and the other Legionnaires see him as a bungler and a coward, driven mad or stupid by the blow of a venal general (Pierre had tried to stop the French's campaign of terror in Morocco and was beaten by the general for his troubles), but in actuality Pierre is the dreaded Red Shadow, a masked marauder who leads the Berber tribes of the Riff Mountains against the French in Morocco, hating "the cruelty that was disgracing France" and vowing to free the Moroccans. The Shadow is a friend to the poor as well as to his band of Riffs; the people of Morocco would rather die than betray the Shadow. As for the Riffs, well, they, too, would rather die than let the Shadow come to harm; like him, they "have sworn that when the law is wrong, we will right it, by force." Most of the Riffs believe he is a Muslim Riff, like them, but Sid el-Kar, the Shadow's lieutenant among the Riffs, knows the Shadow's real identity.

Desert Song
Good coverage of the operetta.

Reeder, John G. John G. Reeder was created by Edgar Wallace and appeared in Flynn’s, Detective Story, Dime Mystery Book, and various other magazines from 1924 to 1932. Reeder, a man in his fifties with a long, sad face, prominent side whiskers, and the clothes of a proper Edwardian gentleman. He appears old, fumbling, and slow, with an interrupted speech pattern and a hesitant manner. It’s a ruse, of course. He’s the Chief Investigator for the Public Prosecutor’s Office and a welcome ally of Scotland Yard. He’s been an officer of the Yard in the past, a private eye, and a Secret Service agent. He’s politically connected. Better still, he is exceptionally well-informed, in every field imaginable that might bear on crime. He has surprising strength, let alone for a man of his age, is always armed (a Browning automatic in his pocket, a sword concealed in his umbrella), and is quite capable in a fight. He has a photographic memory. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he has a “criminal mind;” he sees evil in everything, “in dying rose bushes, in horseshoes—in poetry even.” Reeder is a buzzsaw through the world of crime, defeating everyone from con men to masterminds, even saving the life of a woman less than half his age and ending up marrying her. Reeder is not infallible, but he is close to it.

Reid, Dirk. Dirk Reid appeared in The Rover, both the years and his creator unknown to me. (It was a British magazine, but more than that I don't know; I think Reid appeared there in the early 1920s) I've only seen a few mentions and one illustration of this character, so I can't tell you much about him. He was a proper Brit who went to Africa, went native, took up a Tarzan-type life, and had various jungle adventures. In one, he knocked over the Rocking Stone and started a war between two tribes.

Remington, Alan. Alan Remington was created by Frank Howard Clark in "Laughing at Danger," a 1923 short story and 1924 film. Remington is a secret agent for the U.S. government who is assigned the Hollister case. Professor Leo Hollister has created a heat ray but was kidnaped, with his daughter Carolyn, by the evil Darwin Kershaw, who plans to use the ray to destroy the American navy and help an unidentified foreign power. Remington succeeds in freeing the Professor, capturing Kershaw, and getting Carolyn to fall in love with him.

Renfrew, Douglas. Douglas Renfrew appeared in "Renfrew of the Mounted," a radio serial which ran from 1936 to 1940 and was, perhaps, based on Laurie York Erskine's "Renfrew Books" series of juvenile adventures about...wait for it...a Mountie named Renfrew. Renfrew was an Inspector with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; in the words of one critic, he was a "no-nonsense, `always-get-our-man' character." (Quite a departure from the Renfrew of the "Renfrew Books," who was a bumbler and a caricature of the real thing)

Renny, Duke. Duke Renny was created by the Australian writer Philip Richmond and appeared in seven novels, beginning with Scarred Hand (1941). He is an Australian Big Game Hunter and amateur detective who solves crimes in the jungles of Asia and Africa as well as in Hollywood and Australia. He is Watsoned by police Inspector Hall.

Renouf. Renouf was created by Norman A. Daniel and appeared in 10 Detective Aces in the 1930s. Renouf was a Russian detective.

Rezaire, Jimmy. Jimmy Rezaire was created by George A.A. Willis and appeared in five novels from 1927 to 1932, beginning with The Trail of Fear. Rezaire is a former London street tough who by the time he begins acting as a private investigator, in The Trail of Fear, has already been a cocaine importer and a thug-for-hire. He is assisted by his wife Vivienne and his best friend and fellow criminal Harry.

Rhymer, Arnold. Arnold Rhymer was created by "Uel Key," the pseudonym of Samuel Whittell Key, and appeared in various stories in Pearson's Magazine in 1917 and 1918; the stories were later collected in The Broken Fang and Other Experiences of a Specialist in Spooks (1920), with a novel, Yellow Death, following in 1921.  Rhymer is actually Professor Arnold Rhymer, M.D., a doctor and lecturer who works closely with Scotland Yard on cases that are unusual or exotic. Rhymer, though, for all his education, is actually on the youngish side. He's tall, lean and agile, although he is not superhumanly strong. Nor does he have psychic abilities or occult powers; if his opponent won't be brought down with cold steel or hot lead, as (for example) a vampire he confronts will not, Rhymer is in trouble. Of course, he's sly and persistent, and what he lacks in extraordinary physicality he makes up for in erudition and cunning. (He also relies, Holmes-like, on logic; "guessing is always destructive to logic. Far better observe small facts upon which large impressions may depend.") His stories also give hints of his being widely traveled; he's intimately acquainted, for example, with the appearance of a Gurkha's kukri knife, and that's knowledge that no ordinary English doctor would have. He is, of course, a very effective occult detective. Unfortunately, he's also intensely patriotic, to the point (and we should remember that these stories were written during WW1) of automatically distrusting anyone with a German name. ("If I had my way, all Boche-born individuals residing in this country--notwithstanding their naturalization--should be interned. Boches will be Boches, and a mere scrap of paper, identifying them as naturalized British subjects, won't wipe out the inherited taint of Kultur.") He even equates "Teutonic" with "diabolical."

Oh, and there's also this exchange, between Rhymer and a peeler assisting him on a case:

"And may I give you a golden rule which I was taught by a famous detective?" He paused for a reply.

"Get on with it, then."

"Well, when you have worn out the possible, whatever is left, however impossible, comes mighty near the truth."

Rice, Miles Standish. Miles Standish Rice was created by Baynard Kendrick and appeared in three novels, beginning with The Iron Spiders (1936). Rice is a private eye most notable for his height (6'3"), his great hunger (Rice is as skinny as he is tall), and the occasionally outré nature of his cases, which in his first novel involved voodoo.

The Ringer. Created by Edgar Wallace, the Ringer debuted in The Gaunt Stranger (1925) and returned in a play, a movie, a novelization of the play, and then a series of stories in Detective Story Magazine. The Ringer is Henry Arthur Milton. He is an escaped convict with a serious grudge , against society and humanity as a whole. He is “a cold-blooded, logical man, without the slightest respect for human life—or personal property.” His wife says “he’s got one idea—kill…kill…kill!” He’s called “the Ringer,” short for “the Ringer of Changes,” because he is a non pareil at disguises and at assuming identities. He’s also very talented with the knife.

During World War One he was a Captain in the “Flying Corps,” but even there he was still on the cold side. He refused to be photographed or accept the medals he earned. After the war he met Cora Ann, his wife, on a liner; she was fleeing from the States—a small matter of a blackmail ring she was a member of—and found Henry attractive, and so married him. Unfortunately for the marriage, although they are both devoted to each other, the police hunt Henry everywhere he goes (there are warrants against him in eighteen countries) and try to use Cora to get close to him. He is forced to visit her in disguise.

Henry is independently wealthy (undoubtedly from his crimes) and travels widely, in Europe and elsewhere. His travels are not without purpose, however; his goal in life is to eliminate those whose business is wrongdoing. Like Wallace’s Four Just Men, those who the Ringer targets are given a warning to desist from their evils. If they do not, the Ringer sends them another note, telling them when they will die and why they will die. As the series goes on the Ringer is not so cold-bloodedly murderous, showing a streak of what might be called, in someone else, altruism. The Ringer is hunted by Inspector Bliss of Scotland Yard; he never gets close to catching him, but the Ringer likes him and sends him encouraging notes, even saving his life twice.

The Ringer is in his mid-thirties, around 5’6”, with light brown hair and grey eyes. He is fluent in French, German, Italian, Arabic, and American English.

Sergeant Riordan. Sergeant Riordan, Captain Brady, and the rest of the Whole Sick Crew were created by "Victor  Maxwell" and debuted in Flynn's Weekly in 1925, appearing through 1939. Riordan, Brady, and their associates were policemen, and good ones, hard men (but fair) who were not swayed by sentiment or deception, who know the law and who were very good at catching and keeping the crooks. Riordan is the series lead, but is no square-jawed Lance Throbchest stereotype; he's a shrewd, competent cop who brooks no insult nor stands a criminal to go free. Captain Brady is Riordan's superior, a very good cop who runs a tight precinct station and who, when all else fails, can be called in to clean up a case that puzzles the rest of the men. Officer Halloran is a long-time policeman, perhaps in his sixties, who is slow, ugly, and big, but his fat covers layers of rock-hard muscle, he's very good in a fight, and his investigations, while not brilliant or imaginative, or plodding and meticulously thorough. Officers Willis and Enright, and Lieutenant Osburn, are not so vividly drawn, but they're solid, professional cops. Unlike many of the policemen in the pulps and mystery fiction of the time, Riordan et al are actually good at what they do; the bumblers are the amateurs, who make a mess of things and force the cops to clean up after them.

River Motor-Boat Boys. The Boys (don't know their names yet, sorry) were created by Harry Gordon and appeared in the eight-volume "River Motor-Boat Boys Series," which ran from 1913 to 1915 and began with The River Motor-Boat Boys on the Amazon, or, The Secret of Cloud Island. There were six boys and they used three motor boats to adventure and fight crime on the Amazon, Columbia, Colorado, Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Yukon, and Rio Grande rivers.

Rob the Rover. Rob was created by Walter Booth and appeared in an eponymous comic strip starting in May 1929 and running through May 1940. Rob is a foundling, discovered as a child floating in the ocean by the aged Dan, a fisherman. Dan nurses him back to health and becomes his friend. Rob remembers nothing about his past, and he begins searching for his parents and background. He visits, variously, a desert island, the North Pole, the jungle, the Valley of the Kings, India, South America, and the American West. In later stories he befriends Professor Seymour, who travels with him in Seymour's flying submarine, the Flying Fish. Rob's girlfriend is Seymour's daughter, Jane.

Rocket Riders. The Rocket Riders (whose names I've yet to find) were created by Howard Garis and appeared in the five volume "Rocket Riders Series," beginning with Rocket Riders Across the Ice, or, Racing Against Time (1933) and continuing through 1935. The Riders use rocket-powered vessels to explore, adventure, and fight crime; in their books they use a "sled-rocket" to explore the Poles, a "rocket car" to look for a lost Saharan city, a "rocket-boat" to look for sunken treasure, a "sky-rocket" to chase air pirates, and a "rocket sub" to explore the floor of the ocean.

Rogan, Rockfist. Rockfist Rogan was created by Frank Pepper under the pseudonym of "Hal Wilton" and appeared in The Champion beginning in 1940. Rogan was the "boxing daredevil of the skies," an ace pilot for the R.A.F. who was also a boxing champion.

Rogers, Buck. Buck Rogers, one of the two or three most influential comic strips of the twentieth century, was created by John F. Dille, Phil Nowlan and Dick Calkins and debuted on 7 January 1929, running through 1967 (in its first incarnation). Dille was a comic strip distributor and was interested in the new genre of scientifiction, and directed pulp writer Nowlan and cartoonist Calkins to come up with a strip based on one of Nowlan's characters.

Although never quite as good as its rival, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers still defined cartoon space opera for decades. (Buck Rogers came first, but Flash Gordon had the sublime Alex Raymond going for it) It began with football hero and all-around good guy Flash Gordon going into the depths of a mine shaft in the Rockies in present-day America and being thrown into suspended animation because of a strange gas he finds there. He wakes up 500 years later, in 2430 A.D., to find that America was taken over sometime around 1960 by the Mongols, who have been ruling America ever since. Buck is quickly recruited into the resistance (the "Orgs") by Wilma Deering, who became his girlfriend and boon companion for the rest of the strip. They eventually manage to overthrow the Mongols but are then forced to deal with invading Martian "Tiger Men," and after that it was into space for much grand space opera. During the War Buck took on Asian-looking Martians.

In addition to Wilma, Buck was aided by Buddy Deering, Wilma's kid brother, and Princess Alura of the Golden People of Mars, Buddy's pal. Later on "Hot-Rocket" Horace and "Ram-Jet" Rosie, two ace spaceship pilots, and Black Barney, a reformed space pirate, became friends. The obligatory scientist figure was the brilliant Dr. Huer, who was often creating weapons for Buck and Wilma, such as the psychic restriction ray, the molecular expansor, the teleradio, radiovision transmitters, and mechanical moles, among others. The most common villain of the strip was "Killer" Kane, the space pirate; he was aided by the beautiful and slinky Ardala Valmar.

Buck Rogers Amazing Stories
A nice and concise summary on Buck. Has a link to the Philip Francis Nowlan story which was the source for the strip.

Buck Rogers Equipment
Illustrations and statistics done for a roleplaying game

Buck Rogers 2430 A.D.
Buck Rogers Big-Little Books

Rogers, Professor Huntoon. Professor Huntoon Rogers was created by Clifford Knight and appeared in at least five novels, beginning with The Affair of the Scarlet Crab. He's a crime-solving professor.

Rokambul. Rokambul was created (more or less) by the Malay writer Sayyid Shaykh al-Hadi and debuted in July or August 1928, appearing first in the journal Al-Ikhwan under the titles "Rokambul di-Paris" and "Rokambul dalam Jail," and then later in the weekly Saudara, eventually filling seven volumes of stories. Rokambul was the most famous Malaysian detective character, although Rokambul himself was not Malaysian. Rokambul was a pastiche of Ponson du Terrail's Rocambole, 34 of whose stories Sayyid Shaykh had previously translated. The Rokambul stories were not, however, merely unauthorised lifts from Terrail stories, but were extensions of the character concept, with Sayyid Shaykh writing a number of Rocambole-like adventures for the Rocambole-like character Rokambul, but set in the 1920s rather than the mid-19^th century. Rokambul, like Rocambole, was an intrepid, very capable criminal-turned-adventurer-and-detective.

Roldán, Máximo. Maximo Roldan was created by the Mexican writer Antonio Helú and appeared in seven stories which were collected in La obligación de asesinar (1947) (at least two were definitely written before the war began, therefore making Roldán eligible for inclusion here). Roldán (an anagram for "ládron," or "thief") is, in the words of one critic, "part thieving rascal, part lucid unraveler of mysteries." He is tall, thin, intelligent, and nervous, being more than a little high strung. He operates in a corrupt and violent Mexico City filled with unsavory policemen and evil businessmen. Roldán is gifted with la verborrea, the gift of gab, and uses it to solve crimes and to enrich himself; his "cases" usually end with him deceiving either the criminal, the victim, or the policemen involved and retaining a portion of the money or loot for himself. He is boastful about his own virtue, but sees no contradiction in his own activities. He is Watsoned by Carlos Miranda.

Rongetti, Nick. Nick Rongetti was created by George Bruce and appeared in Black Aces in the early 1930s. Rongetti was a tall, thin, swarthy man, one of the inevitable tough, cynical, wise-cracking^tm p.i.s. His notable difference was that while on a stakeout he'd read the Christian Science Guardian.

Rood, Henry. Henry Rood was created by Jack Bechdolt and appeared in Flynn’s in 1925 and 1926. Rood is a country hick who got his private investigating degree from the “Eureka Correspondence System of Crime Detection, specializing in Finger Printing and Deduction.” When he arrived in the city and paid a coo grand to buy the Argus Detective Agency, he gets taken, having to assume the Agency’s debts. The Agency’s furniture is repossessed, the Agency owes rent, and he is taken in by a femme not so fatale. The only way he survives is by capturing a stick-up artist and getting a two grand reward. As the stories go by he becomes more successful but not smarter, while the woman who took him in falls in love with him and proposes marriage to him.

Rouletabille, Joseph. Joseph Rouletabille was created by Gaston Leroux and appeared in seven novels, beginning with Le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune (The Mystery Of The Yellow Room) (1907). Rouletabille is a handsome and energetic young reporter who, clearly influenced by Auguste Dupin and Monsieur Lecoq, solves his cases using pure logic and deductive reasoning. In his debut he takes on a seemingly impossible crime, a type of locked-room murder, and wrenches the investigation out of the hands of the police. Rouletabille is Watsoned by Sainclair, who is worshipful towards Rouletabille but who is often annoyed by his flashes of insight, which he keeps to himself.

Rouletabille
Jean-Marc Lofficier's excellent illustrated site on Rouletabille.

Rover Boys. The Rover Boys were created by Edward Stratemeyer and debuted in The Rover Boys At School (1899); they lasted through 29 more novels, into 1926. The Boys were Tom, Dick, and Sam Rover, three brothers who got into any number of interesting scrapes and adventures, always fighting for right and helping people. Dick was the oldest of the three; he was sober, industrious, hard-working, and the leader. Tom was the middle brother, fun-loving and...well, he had an appetite for practical jokes that usually verged into the sadistic. (I'm not making this up) Sam was the youngest, a sturdy and earnest boy. They were all in the same grade, although they weren't the same age; Dick had had to work for his father and so had been left back a year, and Sam had worked hard and skipped a grade.

The trio lived with their father, Anderson Rover, a former mine owner and businessman, and with their uncle and aunt, Randolph and Martha Rover, on a farm in the Hudson Valley. The farm was worked by Jack Ness, a hired man, and by Alexander Pop, a racist stereotype.

The Rover Boys began at school in Putnam Hall, where they made some friends: John A. "Songbird" Powell and William Philander Tubbs, the "dude" who was the target of many of Tom's "practical jokes." (One is forced to wonder about an audience that would find Tom's "jokes" funny) They also befriended the anti-German stereotype Hans Mueller. While at Putnam they dated Dora Stanhope, Nellie and Grace Laning, who were Dick's, Tom's, and Sam's girls. After Putnam Hall the group went on to Brill College, a "fine institution of learning in the Middle West;" Hope Seminary, where Dora, Nellie, and Grace studied, was nearby.

The Rovers, as mentioned, were always active, trying to help people. Unfortunately, this often brought them into conflict with bullies, at Putnam, Brill, and around the world. Some of these bullies were simply boys who the Rovers didn't cotton to; others might be accurately described as malicious or possibly bent on rape. (I'm not exaggerating that, either) Still others were bad guys in the Victorian and pulp tradition, like Josiah Crabtree, a teacher at Putnam who turned out to be a hypnotist and crime lord and who opposed the boys in several novels.

Among the other highlights of the Rovers' career, they found buried treasure in the West Indies, which they gave to Dora's widowed mother, and they went to Alaska, to find an amnesiac Tom; Wall Street, where crooked financiers were trying to bankrupt Anderson. Among their other vehicles was the Dartaway, a "modern, up-to-date biplane."

Eventually they grew up, moved to New York City, and inherited their father's business. Ted suffered from a serious head wound, his practical jokes turned vicious, and then he recovered and stopped doing them. (Undoubtedly a tumor was removed, the one that had been driving him insane) They married their sweethearts and produced heirs, who quickly grew up and had more Rover Boys-type adventures. (But the vim and vigour was gone from the series by that point)

The Rover Boys in Business
The e-text.

The Rover Boys in New York
The e-text.

Stratemeyer Syndicate - The Rover Boys
A decent summary of the Rovers' history and bibliography

Rover, Link. Link Rover's author is unknown; he appeared in the Rover Boy Library and Young Rover Library, appearing in 1904 and 1905. Rover was a spirited young American boy who was designed to be the American counterpart of Jack Harkaway. The effort was unsuccessful, although his pranks were similarly "high-spirited" and his adventures similarly world-spanning.

Ruddy, Robert. Robert Ruddy was created by Albert Edward Ullman and appeared in Short Stories from 1923 to 1924. Ruddy was a reporter for The World, always in search of the big story. Just his luck, though, he keeps running into crime and criminals, and having to solve them.

Ruggles. Ruggles, a more interesting character than some critics have given him credit for, was created by Walter Frost and appeared in Flynn's Weekly in 1926 and 1927. Ruggles, before the series started, was a highly-placed criminal, perhaps one of those Criminal Masterminds so common in the pulps. However, something--perhaps twinges in his morality--caused him to move on, to decide to fight for good rather than greed. This change did not come without cost, however; Ruggles is a wanted man by his former comrades in crime, and the two automatics he  carries are for use, not for show. He is known as the criminal's "most dreaded enemy," for he seems to know everything about crime, not just in the United States but in Europe, Asia, and Central and South America.

In the stories his profession is "amateur detective or volunteer criminologist." He works from an office on 86th Street in New York City, assisted by his admiring friend Dan Crane. He seems physically modeled on Doyle's Professor Challenger, stocky and powerful. Mentally he is on the Holmes model, down to extrapolating truths about people based on slim visual evidence. He is very well educated (perhaps self-educated) and knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects. Indeed, there seems to be nothing that Ruggles does not know about. The stories put his mental and physical abilities to the test, as Ruggles travels around the world, from the depths of Gotham to West Virginia to steamy Java itself, and confronts a wide variety of crimes and criminals, from Indian cultists to vicious prison guards in league with escaped cons to a Malay assassin to Chinese pirates.

Rukh, Janos. Janos Rukh was created by Howard Higgin and appeared in The Invisible Ray (1936). Lucky for me, I found a good summary of this film online and so (lazy me) don’t have to do the work:

Visionary scientist Janos Rukh convinces a group of scientists and supporters to mount an expedition to the African continent to locate and study an ancient meteorite of great significance. He exposes himself to the highly toxic radiation of the meteorite, and while an antidote devised by Dr. Benet saves him from death by radiation poisoning, his naked touch causes instant death to others. Back in London, the benefits of the meteorite's controlled radiation offer Dr. Benet an opportunity to restore eyesight to the blind. The antidote's toxicity excites Prof. Rukh into paranoid rages as he seeks revenge against the members of his expedition, who he accuses of stealing his discovery for their own glory.

Russell, Nan. Nan Russell was created by Raymond Lester and appeared in All-Story Weekly in 1920. Nan is an operative of  P&P Detective Agency, and although she begins as simple hourly help, infiltrating a gambling hall as a showgirl, she quickly becomes their best and most valued employee. Whether the criminals are rum-runners, blackmailers, or simple thieves and murderers, they are none of them clever and quick enough for Nan. She sees things clearly, is not moved by threats or bribes, and knows when to call in the police, when to break the law (and which ones to break), and when to brandish her little automatic and use that to get what she wants. Nan is a svelte young woman with large grey animé eyes, and is the target of Michael Paxton’s undying love and devotion. She sees him as only a good friend, though, and declines his unceasing proposals of marriage, even leaving for Paris without him at the end of the final story.

The Russell Brothers. The Brothers were created by Edward Stratemeyer and appeared in the "Old Glory Series," which ran from 1898 to 1901 and began with Under Dewey at Manila, or, The War Fortunes of a Castaway. The Brothers were Ben, Larry, and Walter, and they were soldiers and sailors with the American military during the Spanish-American War and the "Philippine Insurrection," and fought under Dewey and MacArthur and Sichley in Manila, Cuba, and Luzon.
Note: The "Philippine Insurrection" was America's first Vietnam, a shameful war that put a permanent blot on America's estucheon. Mark Twain estimated that America's military killed up to one million Filipinos, all to start the American Empire. Which is why it's hard for me to view the Russell Brothers as heroes. But oh well.

Russian Heroes. Although it isn't widely known in the US, in large part due to the lack of information written on the subject in English, Russia, before the Revolution, had a number of serial heroes published, in newspapers as proper serials and as "installment novels," novels written as novels but published in installments, ala the roman feuilleton. I've found what I could on these characters, but as mentioned there's very little written on them in English, and so I have large gaps in my knowledge. If you know anything, of course, send it to me and I'll put it up here, crediting you. (There are one or two other Russian heroes who have entries of their own, like Nevorozhin and Garin.)

Rose Burgher. Rose Burgher appeared in Roza Burger, burskaia geroinia. Hi wlotoiskateli v Transvaale. Roman iz anglo-burskoi voiny (Rose Burgher, the Boer Heroine, or the Gold Prospectors in the Transvaal. A Novel from the Anglo-Boer War, 1902). Rose is a Boer heroine and the daughter of Cecil Rhodes himself and Rhodes' second wife. To quote one critic, "the heroes find themselves in the richest houses of Cape Town and Johannesburg, in the trenches of the Anglo-Boer War, in the deserted mines and on 'death islands'. They fly air balloons, sail ships and get caught in shipwrecks." ("Rose Burgher" was also the lead character's name in Nadine Gordimer's  Burgher's Daughter.)

Nick Carter. The Russian Nick Carter was in large part a pastiche and plagiarization of the American Nick Carter, for more information on whom see my Nick Carter Page. But there were a few differences, enough so that I felt it necessary, or at least desirable, to give the Russian Nick Carter a separate entry. He was similar in many ways to Nat Pinkerton (see below), being published in the same years and with a similar lifespan. Like Pinkerton, Carter was a famous American detective. Unlike Pinkerton, Carter was a member  of the "New York secret police,"

Cascarilla. Cascarilla appeared in the film The Case of the Three Million (1926). Cascarilla is a gentlemen thief who steals three million rubles from a banker and seduces his wife, only to have the money stolen from him by Tapioca, a common thief. The police catch Tapioca and assume he took the money; Tapioca is put on trial, becoming a folk hero. Cascarilla steals the three million back, and at Tapioca's trial makes a dramatic entrance, tossing the three million to the cheering crowds of peasants.

Robert Gaisler. Gaisler appeared in "Robert Gasler, the Head of the Death Bearers, or a Victim of Blind Justice," a newspaper serial which appeared in 1912. To quote one critic,

Gaisler, a naive young doctor, is tricked into committing a murder by an evil countess, who pretends that her sister has died of unknown causes and has the unsuspecting Gaisler perform an instant autopsy. After the deed is done, Gaisler escapes to join a gang of forest workers, becomes their chief, and converts most of the ruffians to good works.

Professor Grant. Professor Grant was created by Valentin Katayev and appeared in Ostrov Erendorf (1924). Professor Grant is an eminent scientist who discovers that the world will imminently be destroyed by a series of earthquakes and tidal waves, with only one small island in the Atlantic Ocean being untouched by the global catastrophe. He takes his information to Matapal, the world's richest man, but Matapal, who is busy trying to crush a worker's revolution, uses Grant's information to occupy the island and staff it with his personal entourage; Matapal wants to create the perfect capitalist paradise and intends to do so on the island after the rest of the world is destroyed. Unfortunately, the adding machine that Professor Grant was using had the plus and minus keys accidentally transposed by its maker, and Grant's prediction is skewed; the earthquakes and tidal waves come, but they only destroy the small island on which Matapal and his group were staying. By novel's end Matapal is dead, Grant's reputation is saved, and the workers have been spared from Matapal's anti-revolutionary efforts.

Hector Grinfeld. I know next to nothing about Grinfield apart from his being a detective and having appeared in V. Osteral's "The Genius of Evil or the Famous Russian Detective Hector Grinfeld" (1907).

Stanley Holmes. Stanley Holmes was created by Valentin Katayev and appeared in Povelitel' zheleza (1925). Holmes is the son of Mycroft Holmes and the nephew of none other than Sherlock Holmes himself. Unfortunately, he isn't quite as skilled as his father or uncle. In fact, he's rather inept. When a Moscow scientist creates a machine which can magnetize all metal objects, thus rendering all armaments useless, but then retreats to Tibet and orders all governments to cease hostilities, Stanley is dispatched to track down Ramashandra, the leader of a revolutionary movement in India which is poised to take advantage of the Russian scientist's actions. Stanley, however, is unsuccessful in locating Ramashandra, forcing Sherlock himself to do so.

Icthyander. Icthyander was created by Alexander Belyaev and appeared in Amphibian (1928). Icthyander is the son of a doctor who implanted sharks' gills into Icthyander and turned him into an amphibian to save his life. Icthyander has an idyllic life under the coastal waters, diving for pearls and enjoying the sea and its creatures, but unfortunately his life above the waves is not nearly so nice. He is not capable of surviving out of water for long periods, and he falls in love with a beautiful local girl, Guttiere, and, well, one thing leads to another and it all ends unhappily.

Vanka Kain. Vanka Kain appeared in Aleksei Kruchenykh's "Vanka Kain, the Famous Moscow Detective" in 1910. He is a detective who is imprisoned and then goes mad and bad, finally joining a band of brigands along the Volga.

Kio-Hako. Kio-Hako was created by V.A. Gladkov and appeared in "Kio-Hako, the Japanese King of Detectives," a Russian newspaper serial, beginning in 1917. Kio-Hako is a brainy Sherlock Holmes clone who smokes a pipe, has a Watson, is multi-lingual, and is renowned enough to be summoned on cases in Russia, South Africa, Italy and China. His arrival in Venice in "The Killer's Bloody Handkerchief" is accompanied by cheering throngs in the streets.

Kobylkin. I know nothing about Kobylkin except that he appeared in a Moscow newspaper serial sometime not long after the turn of the century and that he was billed as "the Russian detective."

Leikhveis. Leikhveis was created by V.A. Reder and appeared in the installment novel The Cave of Leikhveis or 33 Years of Love and Fidelity Underground (1909-1910). Leikhveis is a minor nobleman in Wiesbaden in the eighteenth century. He resuces his bride, the lovely Countess Lora von Bergen, from an awful arranged marriage. For this he is charged with a crime, hounded out of court circles, and forced to live as a renegade, hunted by his enemies and by the Army. He wants to go to America (but of course) but is unable to and finally turns to banditry, becoming a Robin Hood figure, helping the poor, oppressed, and women and keeping his enemies from finding his underground headquarters.

Lelka. Lelka was created by the Russian writer B. Lavrenev and appeared in Oshibka Vasilia Guliavina and then in the film Veter (Wind, 1928). Lelka, an atamanka, a female Cossack leader, is thoroughly wicked. The putative hero of Veter is Vasilia Guliavina, a cavalry regiment commander during the Civil War, but he's a rather bland wuss. Lelka, though...she's pretty cool. She's beautiful and vicious, enjoys killing (especially captured Whites), possessed of a vicious temper, and quite capable of murder in cold blood. Unfortunately, the heroic Reds kill her and wipe out the Cossacks by the film's end.

Nameless Girl. This unnamed character appeared in The Tripole Tragedy (1926). She is a sweet, innocent young girl who is captured by a brutal Cossack ataman. The ataman leads various slaughters of the Russian people just after the Revolution before he is killed by the girl, his lover, who is then killed by the ataman's Cossacks.

Oka-Shima. Oka-Shima, creator unknown, appeared in Oka-Shima, znamentiyi iaponskii syshchik (Oka-Shima, the Famous Japanese Detective), a serial published in Khar'kov in 1908. He is the son of a retired Russian officer and a Japanese woman. He is a detective and adventurer, and is described as having developed "his remarkable mind through study and travel and is now considered one of the most educated Japanese."

Oka Yuma. I know nothing about Oka Yuma except that he appeared in a serial in the 1910s entitled "Oka Yuma, Japanese Spy."

Anton Petrov. Petrov appeared in the 1914 installment serial "Anton Petrov of the Bloody Day." Petrov is a young Russian whose desire for adventure leads him to join up with the French Foreign Legion. Unfortunately, his being a Russian makes him an outcast, and he is forced to prove himself against the Arabs before he is allowed to leave the Legion with honor.

Nat Pinkerton. Nat Pinkerton has an entry in the French Heroes section, and most of the relevant particulars can be found there. But the Russian Nat Pinkerton was so notable and vivid, while it lasted, that I felt I should give him his own entry. As mentioned in the French Heroes section, the character of Nat Pinkerton was very lightly based on the American detective Allan Pinkerton (1819-1894), founder of the Pinkerton Detective Agency and author of several anti-labor novels, like The Molly Maguires and the Detectives (1877). Starting around 1906 or 1907 a German magazine (whose name I've so far been unable to discover) began taking Nick Carter stories and plagiarizing them and/or lightly-rewriting them, turning them into stories featuring "Nat Pinkerton." The stories quickly became popular, and Nat Pinkerton stories, as mentioned in Pinkerton's entry in the French Heroes section, began appearing across Europe.

Interestingly, the Nat Pinkerton stories were especially popular in Russia--not once, but twice. The initial Pinkerton craze, the Pinkertonovshchina, began in 1907, with a few stories featuring Nat Pinkerton and Sherlock Holmes being published in 15- and 20-kopeck editions. In 1908 the magazine prices were cut, sometimes down to only 2 or 3 kopecks, and sales skyrocketed; in 1908 almost 10 million copies of detective stories were purchased, with 622,000 Nat Pinkerton stories being purchased in St. Petersburg alone. The fad was short-lived, unfortunately, with sales falling in the next few years, and by 1914 there were no detective serials being published.

The Russian Nat Pinkerton of the Czarist years was an interesting case. Many of the stories were taken from Nick Carter stories as well as French and German Nat Pinkerton stories, with Nat fighting "Iness Navarro, the Beautiful Demon" (one of Nick Carter's enemies was Inez Navarro, the "Beautiful Demon," a psychotic Spanish lovely) and "Datsar" (one of Nick's most dangerous enemies was Dazaar the Arch-Fiend, for more information on whom see my Nick Carter Page). But the Russian Nat Pinkerton stories emphasized action and movement, with Nat Pinkerton taking every form of modern transportation across the United States. As with Nick Carter, the Russian Pinkerton found much more of a use for his fists and guns than for his deductive ability; Kornei Chukovskii, a Russian critic, noted that "the Russian version of Pinkerton was usually more eager to pursue and subdue miscreants than to outwit them." More importantly, the Russian Nat Pinkerton, most unlike either the American variety or the strike-breaking person on whom he was so-lightly based, had sympathies which lay with the workers, rather than management.  The Nat Pinkerton of these years was a famous private detective, aided by Bob Ruland, his "pupil and chief assistant," whose headquarters was in New York but who operated, as mentioned, around the U.S.

The second craze for Nat Pinkerton in Russia took place in Russia in the early 1920s. During the NEP period, after the Revolution was over and after the initial attempt by the West to overthrow the nascent Soviet Union had ended, the Russian people evinced a great enthusiasm for adventure novels of all genres, including detective fiction. Many Western writers were very popular, from Jack London to Joseph Conrad, in large part because most Russian novels, to that point, had been slow-moving, psychology- and character-heavy works, while Western adventure novels stressed action, adventure, motion and thrills. Classic adventure novels were popular, but the cheap, disposable, and (above all) regularly published dime novels, including those featuring Nick Carter and Nat Pinkerton and the endless Sherlock Holmes knock-offs, were very popular.

By 1923 the Soviet government began taking steps to exploit the popularity of the adventure novel and of Nat Pinkerton in particular for ideological and propagandistic purposes, and began the krasnyi Pinkertonitscha, the "Red Pinkertonism" movement, which made use of the classic tropes of adventure and dime novel detective fiction, but slaved them to the theme of international class struggle and the triumph of Revolution. Mess-Mend (see Mike Thingmaster) is a good example of Red Pinkertonism in this, and was designed by Marietta Shaginian as both an exemplar of the form and a parody of it. Another example, from science fiction but still a Red Pinkerton novel, is Engineer Garin's Hyperboloid (see Garin). Nat Pinkerton, naturally, was a part of this, continuing to fight criminals and solve crimes, internationally and in the U.S., but doing so in the service of Revolution and the workers and the proletariat.

I.D. Putilin. Putilin was a Russian detective; he the hero of the serial "I.D. Putilin, the Genius of Russian Detection," which had 18 issues in a St. Petersburg newspaper and had a total print run of 380,000 copies, no small feat.

Naum Rogozhin. Rogozhin was created by Lev Nikulin and appeared in the film Krest i Mauzer (The Cross and the Mauser, 1925). Rogozhin, though an anti-Catholic stereotype, sounds like a great deal of fun, and in fact was one of the most popular and beloved villains of his day. He is a Catholic "vicar," although he dresses more like a bishop, and he has evil designs on humanity in general and the Russians and the Soviet Union in particular. He files his nails to a sharp point, he fathers children on the nuns in his monastery, he beats innocents and holds orgies, he engages in pogroms for kicks, he reads pornography--he's a party animal.

Kornet Savinno. I know nothing of Savinno other than that he was the criminal hero of the serial "The Unusual Adventures of Korent Savinno, the Famous Russian Adventurer," which appeared in a St. Petersburg newspaper in the years before the Revolution, mostly likely 1909 or 1910.

Tref. I know nothing of Tref other than that he was a detective hero and appeared in "Tref, the First Detective in Russia" in a St. Petersburg newspaper in 1910.

Valerii. Valerii appeared in the film Poison (1928). He is a Komsomol member whose lover draws him into a counterrevolutionary spy ring, led by the fiendish American spy Johnson Scott. Scott persuades Valerii's lover to persuade Valerii to murder his father, but Valerii's lover betrays the plot; Scott kills Valerii's lover, and Valerii attempts suicide, eventually being rehabilitated by the daughter of a common worker.

Ataman Vilde. Vilde appeared in "The Bandit Son Ataman Vilde and his Daring Band," a newspaper serial which appeared in 1912. To quote one critic on Vilde,

The novel begins typically for these works. "`Help! Save us! Whip up the horses full speed ahead! Bandits!' shout two frightened aristocratic girls." They are rescued by Hans Vilde, a young forester, who has been raised by their uncle. Vilde loves one of the young girls, but their uncle blasts his hopes of marriage by telling him the terrible secret of his patrimony, that his father was a bandit. Like Gaisler and many other heroes of this type, he then becomes a bandit chieftain.

Zaur. Zaur was created by I. Bei-Abai and appeared in the film Abrek Zaur (1926). Zaur is a white mountaineer who kills a Russian "imperialist" and becomes an abrek, a member of the anti-Russian gangs roaming the Caucasus Mountains at the end of the nineteenth century. Zaur never steals from the people, only from the imperialists; he is in constant danger of being captured, but always manages to outwit the Russians and their Cossack minions.

Rybnikov, Captain. Captain Rybnikov was created by the Russian writer Alexander Kuprin and appeared in Hauptmann Rybnikov (1906). Rybnikov was, as far as I can tell, a Russian double agent, masquerading as a turncoat for the Japanese and operating in Moscow.
 

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.