Serial Vigilantes of Paperback Fiction. An Encyclopedia from Able Team to Z-Comm
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Unlike many other serial vigilantes, Ape Swain is not driven from any tragedy or any sense of ideology to operate outside the law, but rather Swain is a businessman exploiting these situations to make a profit.
Swain attempts to overthrow governments to install ones more open to negotiation and organizes a large scale pipeline to smuggle people from behind the Iron Curtain.
Behind the Scenes
Daniel Da Cruz was born in 1921 and he served in the Marines from 1941 to 1947- A long time correspondent for various news services based in the Middle East, Da Cruz was able to utilize his experience, setting several of his books in the Middle East. In 1977, he was awarded a special Edgar award by the Mystery Writers of America for The Captive City. Da Cruz also wrote the Jock Sargent series. He died January 5, 1991, in Falls Church, Virginia.
The Books
All books were published by Ballantine:
1. Landfall Finesse, 219 pages, 1975
2. Pipedream Finesse, 200 pages, 1975
3. The Captive City, 198 pages, 1976
Arrow (Frank Arrow/Franco Arronetti)
Three books by Walter Deptula
Franco Arronetti was the son of Tony Arronetti, a tough and honest cop in New York's Italian Harlem. Franco followed in his father's footsteps and joined the force. Franco, unlike his father, felt that he was not rewarded enough for his services and when the opportunity presented itself he took four thousand dollars after stopping a bank robbery. When Tony discovered what his son was doing, he turned his own son in and disowned the boy
Franco then moved to Los Angeles and changed his name to Frank Arrow. After a chance meeting with a childhood friend, Arrow discovered that his talent for police work and his desire for money could be put to good use retrieving stolen items for a fee. His first retrieval operation was stealing back paintings from a dishonest art collector and claiming the reward money from the insurance companies.
From there Arrow built his fortune and moved to Hawaii where he lived a life of luxury between jobs. Arrow had his own jet, a purpose-built XTE 126, complete with library, bathroom and galley and a rainbow-colored tail and a red arrow on the front. He was able to travel all over the world.
Behind the Scenes
Walter J. Deptula Jr. was born in 1934. The Arrow books were his only published work.
The Books
All books were published by Curtis Books:
1. Wine, Women & Death, 222 pages, 1974
2. Naked Mistress, 194 pages, 1974
3. Death List of Rico Scalisi, 224 pages, 1974
The Assassin (Robert Briganti)
Three books by Peter McCurtin
Robert Briganti was born in New Orleans in 1935, the descendant of Tommo Briganti who arrived in America from Naples in 1892. At age sixteen Robert joined the Carnival and left New Orleans and become one of the best sharpshooters on the circuit, and he toured America for years, gaining friends and contacts. With the death of his mentor, Briganti joined the Marston Arms company, selling surplus arms throughout South America and gaining an expertise in nearly all weapons. After marrying, Briganti retired from Marston and opened a sporting goods store and had a son Michael in 1963.
In 1972, Briganti was approached by mobster Joe Coraldi to get him weapons for his current gang war and Briganti refused him. So the mobsters ordered that Briganti be killed; the attack killed Brigand's wife and son but left Briganti alive. After getting out of hospital, Briganti began his war against the Mafia, starting with Coraldi. Next, The Assassin took out a Mafia summit held in New Orleans and finally wiped out the Boston Mafia family after they tried to kill him. Briganti sends tapes recounting his exploits to the authorities and these tapes form the basis for his three books.
Behind the Scenes
Peter McCurtin was an editor for Belmont Towers books before becoming an author. McCurtin, under his own name, was the author of several western series such as Carmody and Sundance as well as the Soldier of Fortune/Death Dealer series; under various pen names he contributed to the Sexecutioner and Marksman series. McCurtin also novelized the movie The Exterminator as well as several exposes on organized crime, such as Mafioso, The Syndicate and Omerta.
The Books
The series was published by Dell Books
1. Manhattan Massacre, 140 pages, 1973
2. New Orleans Holocaust, 191 pages, 1973
3. Boston Bust, 140 pages, 1973
The Avenger (Matthew Hawke)
Four books by Chet Cunningham
Matt Hawke had served in Vietnam and upon his return joined the San Diego Police Department, eventually joining the Narcotics squad. From there he was recruited by the DEA and became one of their top agents. Hawke left the agency after finding his wife dead and tortured; she had been tortured for three days and made into what the Mafia called "turkey meat" (Mafia slang created by Don Pendleton for The Executioner series). Hawke, who had been on a stakeout for three days, discovered the remains of his wife and immediately shot and killed the Colombian responsible for the death and mutilation of his wife.
At that moment Hawke resigned from the DEA and began to wage a one-man war on drugs. His war took him from San Diego to Mexico, Houston, Miami and Columbia and Manhattan. Hawke would destroy all the drugs and use the money as his war chest. Hawke is aided by teenage prostitute Brandy who provides him with intelligence and he maintains his base in San Diego. The press dubs Hawke 'The Avenger" and it's a title he adopts in his war on drugs.
Behind the Scenes
The Avenger was written by Chet Cunningham, who lives in San Diego, the setting for the first novel in The Avenger series. Cunningham has also written numerous western novels both under his own name and pseudonyms. Under his own name, Cunningham wrote The Specialists and, as Lionel Derrick, he wrote the even numbered books in The Penetrator series. A veteran of the Korean War, Cunningham has also written several volumes of military history. The Avenger series was ended due to a change in editorial staff and policy, with Cunningham planning a fifth novel where Matt Hawke took his war on drugs to Hollywood.
The series has no connection to the earlier pulp novel series, the Avenger by Kenneth Robeson (Paul Ernst), which was reprinted by Warner Books during the 1970s with Ron Goulart adopting the Robeson pen name and adding several new adventures to that series when the pulp adventures ran out.
The Books
All four books were published by Warner Books:
1. The Avenger, 204 pages, 1987
2. Houston Hellground, 187 pages, 1988
3. Columbian Crackdown, 183 pages, 1988
4. Manhattan Massacre, 170 pages, 1988
The Baroness (Penelope St. John Orsini)
Eight books by Paul Kenyon
The National Security Agency (NSA) has a secret operative code-named "Coin." This operative's identity is so secret that it is only known to a man codenamed Key and Key's identity is only known to very few in the NSA. Coin is in reality Baroness Penelope St. John Orsini. The Baroness is one of the world's top models, her face gracing the covers of Vogue and other fashion magazines.
Born Penelope Worthington, she married John Stanton Marlowe when she was young. Marlowe worked in espionage and died mysteriously, piloting his own Gulfstream. After his death, Penny married Baron Reynaldo St. John Orsini, a playboy who died in car crash in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, leaving his widow wealthy and bored. Using the contacts she made during her time with both husbands, the Baroness began a freelance spy operation, using her cover as a top model to gain access anywhere in the world.
The Baroness is aided in her missions by her entourage from her modeling agency International Models:
• John Farnsworth: codename Key, former OSS agent and the Baroness' handler for the NSA under the cover of her business manager.
• Dan Wharton: Green Beret and master espionage agent trained by the CIA and NSA who poses as the Baroness' chauffeur and photographer.
• Joe Skytop: The Baroness' top photographer, a full-blood Cherok
ee and master of unarmed combat.
• Tom Sumo: First-generation Japanese American and electrical genius. Fashion consultant for the photo shoots.
• Paul and Yvette: two models in the Baroness' stable. Paul is adept in guerrilla warfare and is an explosives expert. Yvette is a mistress of disguise and costuming.
• Eric: Son of a Norwegian sailor, this blonde brawler is the top male model in the Baroness' agency.
• Fiona: The Baroness' top female model.
Behind the Scenes
The series was devised by Lyle Kenyon Engel. Engel was behind the creation of a number of series, including The Killmaster, Blade, and The Butcher, as well as packaging a number of historical family sagas such as those of Pearl S. Buck and John Jakes. Engel also wrote a number of nonfiction works many of which were about cars and car racing.
Engel founded the fiction factory Book Creations, Inc. (BCI), in 1973. This company conceived books and series, then hired writers to write the books and then sell the publication rights to paperback publishers. Engel passed away in 1986. Control of BCI went to Engel's brother George who ran the company until 1991, when it ceased business.
The Books
All books were published by Pocket Books:
1. The Ecstasy Connection, 223 pages, 1974
2. Diamonds Are for Dying, 173 pages, 1974
3. Death Is a Ruby Light, 207 pages, 1974
4. Hard-Core Murder, 223 pages, 1974
5. Operation Doomsday, 218 pages, 1974
6. Sonic Slave, 216 pages, 1974
7. Flicker of Doom, 222 pages, 1974
8. Black Gold, 217 pages, 1975
Several books were written but not published due to the cancellation. Those titles were :
9. "A Black Hole to Die In"
10. "Death Is a Copycat"
11. "Quicktime Death"
The Big Brain (Colin Garrett)
Three books by Gary Brandner
The Big Brain is Colin Garrett, the man with the highest IQ ever recorded. Garrett's parents, a professor of English and a PhD in biology, planned the birth of a genius child. Nothing was left to chance from diet to personal associates. The couple succeeded. Colin could read before he was two, argue logic at three and compose sonnets at four. But this genius came at a physical cost during periods of intense concentration: Colin's eyes glowed green, his temperature rose up to six degrees and his breathing and pulse rate slowed.
At age nine Colin was orphaned when his parents were killed in a car accident. The super genius child was adopted by his mother's sister and her husband, a childless couple in Boston who sent Colin to public school. It was at school that Colin learned to limit the amount of brain power he used, saving him from both ridicule and burnout.
Colin then attended college and, following that, joined the army and served in Vietnam. He showed a general the way to end the war, which led to his being tested by the Army, the results of which were so spectacular that he was offered any government post he wanted.
Sick of all the testing, he left the Army and went into private consulting. After three years, at age thirty, he was at the top of this field. It was then that Garrett was offered the opportunity to work for the very top-secret Agency Zero by the Army officer responsible for testing him.
Agency Zero is a highly covert agency that does not officially exist and has a budget taken from the official budgets of other departments. There are no records anywhere that relate to Agency Zero; this allows the agency to operate free from the normal laws, regulations and red tape that hinders other more official agencies. Agency Zero is on call to any government agency or department that requires its services.
Colin becomes a consultant for Agency Zero, tackling the cases that are too tough or unconventional for the normal agents. Garrett tackles brain-draining weapons, Satanic cults and energy weapons.
Behind the Scenes
Gary Brandner was born in 1933 and worked in a variety of writing careers, such as copy writing and technical writing, before he turned to fiction writing. He is the author of many books, including the Howling books, which were adapted to a number of movies. He has also written a number of other horror novels as well as nonfiction works. He has also edited a number of anthologies and submitted a number of mystery short stories to Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock s Mystery Magazine and Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.
The Books
All books in this series were published by Zebra Books:
1. The Aardvark Affair, 160 pages, 1975
2. The Beelzebub Business, 159 pages, 1975
3. Energy Zero, 203 pages, 1976
Black Ops
Three books by Michael Kasner
When the war on terror became bogged down in red tape and diplomacy, a number of high-ranking people in elite positions in the American government couldn't stand by and see American citizens killed. So they created a black ops team that didnt exist, officially. This team was called the Clandestine Anti-terrorist Team or CAT.
The team's contact in the government is Winston T Stedman, bureaucrat in the Pentagon who oversees all the team's missions and, through his cover in Defense Procurement Agency, is able to finance and equip the five-man team.
This clandestine team consists of:
• Judson Rykoff: ex-special forces major and team leader who served in the first Gulf War.
• Alexander Sendak: second-in-command ex-Delta Force invalided out of the army after serving in the first Gulf War.
• Melissa Bao: Chinese American whose family fled the fall of Saigon and former Seattle undercover police officer.
• Jacob "Big Jake" MacLeod: Former Navy SEAL.
• Erik Estevez: Ex-DEA pilot turned vigilante.
Each member was at a loss returning to civilian life after retiring until Judson offered them membership in CAT and an opportunity to make a difference — free from the rules.
Behind the Scenes
Michael Kasner is also the author of the futuristic Warkeep 2030 series also published by Gold Eagle Books.
The Books
All books were published by Gold Eagle books:
1. Undercover War, 349 pages, 1996
2. Armageddon Now, 349 pages, 1996
3. Deep Terror, 348 pages, 1996
Black Samurai (Robert Sand)
Eight books by Marc Olden
Robert Sand was an African-American soldier serving in Vietnam and while on leave in Japan came to the rescue of an old man being harassed by a group of racist soldiers. During the skirmish Sand was shot in the belly. The old man took Sand home and tended to his wounds and revealed that he was a Samurai Master and in gratitude for his help wanted to train Sand in the ways of the samurai. Seven years later, Sand had become the best pupil of the master, when a group of mercenaries attack the master's dojo, killing everyone except Sand.
The Black Samurai tracked down the men who killed his master and brother samurai, discovering a group of disgruntled soldiers intent on taking revenge on America for turning its back on them.
During his quest, Sand is contacted by a former United States president named Clarke. In many respects, Clarke bears a number of similarities to former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, including the fact that they both come from Texas.
Clarke offers to finance Sand's quest and gives him information on situations that suit Sand's unique talents, ranging from stopping a nuclear attack on New York, destroying a conspiracy, and fighting cults, slavery rings, right-wing takeovers of America and terrorist attacks.
Behind the Scenes
Marc Olden was born in Baltimore, Maryland, before his family moved to New York in the 1940s. He attended Queen's College and graduated with a degree in Creative Writing and Journalism. Initially working as a Broadway and entertainment publicist, he retired from that field to become a full-time writer.
One of his earliest nonfiction works, Cocaine-, brought Olden into contact with a number of law enforcement personnel, which he used as the basis
for his first series, Narc, about an undercover narcotics officer.
Olden was a lifelong student of the martial arts and the Orient and several of his thriller novels, such as Kasieng, Giri and Oni, explore the theme of Eastern culture.
Olden passed away in 2003.
The Books
All books were published by Signet Books:
1. Black Samurai, 167 pages, 1974
2. Golden Kill, 176 pages, 1974
3. Killer Warrior, 159 pages, 1974
4. Deadly Peril, 153 pages, 1974
5. Inquisition, 170 pages, 1974
6. Warlock, 153 pages, 1975
7. Sword of Allah, 152 pages,1975
8. Katana, 168 pages, 1975
The Movie
In 1976, Jim Kelly starred in The Black Samurai: Agent for Dragon. The film was directed by Al Adamson. In the film Robert Sand is an agent for DRAGON, but he works without interference from his fellow agents and he investigates the kidnapping of a former lover Tuki by the cult leader/slaver known as the Warlock. The movie takes several elements from several of the books and combines them into one story.