June 16, 2008

Indian Super-Detective

Here's a rarity: a hard-boiled pulp-fiction hero who was half Native. I gather Off-Trail Publications is reprinting his 1940s magazine adventures as flip books.

Guest Review and Giveaway:  'Super Detective' by Robert Leslie BellemSuper-Detective is a flip book containing two novels about the adventures of pulp hero Jim Anthony. The original Super-Detective stories were introduced in 1940 as monthly pulp fiction novels. They were written by various authors, sometimes in collaboration.

Anthony was created as a super sleuth with extra-ordinary physical and mental powers and enormous wealth. He is a scientist and an inventor who has the money necessary to produce his creations. He has incredible hearing, night vision, and super strength. Anthony’s Legion is a far-flung organization of citizen vigilantes who come to Jim Anthony’s aid whenever needed. Anthony lives in Penthouse A which is located at the top of, what else, the Waldorf-Anthony Hotel in New York City. He also has a sanctuary located in the Catskill Mountains where he maintains a secret underground laboratory. In a nod to his Native American mother and grandfather, he calls it the Teepee. His father was an Irish adventurer who amassed the great fortune Anthony uses to finance his private war against the enemies of the United States.
Super Detective (Stories)Super Detective Stories was a character pulp that ran for 15 issues in the mid-1930s and was then successfully revived in 1940 when it ran for a further 65 issues, each issue featuring a novel about Jim Anthony, scientist, businessman and adventurer.Comment:  The flip book's cover notes that "Jim Anthony, Super-Detective, is perfect for fans who can't get enough of Doc Savage."

The second link presents cover images from the original magazines. There aren't any obvious Native connections, but there are a lot of damsels in various stages of distress and undress.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Books.



1 comment:

  1. For more on the subject, see:

    http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/03/13/another-week-of-proto-comics/

    [Someone] had the bright idea of taking the basic Doc Savage idea and giving it the 'spicy' treatment, and that gave us Jim Anthony, Super-Detective.

    Jim was a lot like Doc but with added nudity and sadism ... and less sensitivity. Jim Anthony was described as "half Irish, half Indian, and all-American." He inherited great wealth, though it's not clear from whom since his grandfather Mephito was a stereotypical Indian Chief whose dialogue was largely confined to comments like "Ugh. Bad medicine for grandson."

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