If you missed the last one…
Avon’s Space Detective starred The Avenger, Rod Hathaway. (Not to be confused with Paul Ernst’s The Avenger, Richard Benson.) The first issue of the series had three famous men working on it. The author was Walter Gibson who had written The Shadow Pulps as Maxwell Grant. (He was one of two men who gave Ernst advice when creating the other Avenger.) Pencils and inks were swapped between Joe Orlando, who would eventually become a major editor at DC in the 1970s and legendary comic artist, Wally Wood. They only did the first issue but they set the pattern, several adventures tied together by the same villain. The authors of the remaining three issues are not known.
The Space Detective! Known as the Avenger! Feared by criminals of three worlds, Earth, Venus and Mars… That’s a pretty Pulpy description from a Pulpster of old. This could be Doc Savage in space. Lamont Cranston of the Spaceways. In his guise as Rod Hathaway, he is a young philanthropist is Great New York, but when the Space Patrol calls he becomes The Avenger.
The choice of “Space Detective” for a title may go back to characters from the Pulps like Frank Belknap Long’s John Carstairs, a scientist who solved adventures with plants. In the comics, there was Lance Lewis, Space Detective appearing in Startling Comics in 1948. Of course, the man-of-action in space dates back to Buck Rogers and Amazing Stories in 1926.
Like all good space heroes, Rod Hathaway has a girl sidekick, Teena. Her very name tells you who she is supposed to appeal to. She can throw a punch or follow a clue as well as any man. She looks pretty good in a space harness.
Space Detective #1 (July 1951)
“Bandits of the Spaceway” was written by Walter Gibson. The Avenger and Teena are called in when a space pirate, Maag, plunders the space liners near Venus. Capturing a spy, they learn that the Star Queen will be hit next. They save the ship but Maag escapes.
“The Opium Smugglers of Venus” was written by Walter Gibson. The actress Serra Venta is tied to an opium-smuggling ring from Earth. Rod and Teena find the secret dope farm and they nuke it.
“Trail to the Asteroid Hideout” was written by Walter Gibson. The trail takes our heroes to Maag’s hideout on an asteroid and his arrest.
Space Detective #2 (November 1951)
“Batwomen of Mercury” begins with the introduction of the Gargoyle, the once handsome William Reet. We also meet the winged patrol, space women with wings (a very old trope) who face off against the gargoyle-like bat-women. Reet escapes after an aerial battle worthy of Flash Gordon.
“The Metal Murderers of Mars” has our duo fighting the Gargoyle on Mars. Reet has a horde of robotic killers to help him. He escapes at the end, of course. The title of this one surprised me because I thought Fred Saberhagen was the first to use it with “The Adventure of the Metal Murderer” (Omni, January 1980). I wonder if old Fred ever read comics as a kid?
“Slave-Ship of Saturn” takes us to the slaves markets of Saturn. Teena poses as a slave girl to get Rod to the planet and finally capture the Gargoyle. All I could think of was Captain Pike and the Orion slave girl.
Space Detective #3 (February 1952)
“Pearl Ship of Death” features a new villain, the Chameleon. A stage show based on monsters sends Rod and Teena after the slippery villain. One of the monsters is clearly based on Frankenstein’s monster.
“Sea Nymphs of Neptune” has the duo swimming in the seas of Neptune, fighting octopoids and Xaga the Mole-Woman.
“Mole Woman of Jupiter” finishes the quest for justice on Jupiter. Rod and his girl get around the Solar System. Only Mercury and Pluto remain unvisited.
Space Detective #4 (July 1952)
“Chapter 1: Space Ship of the Dead” has pirates with x-ray helmets that make their heads look skeletal.
“Chapter 2, Attack of the Wasp Women” continues on Ganymede where Rod seeks the help of the insect women.
“Chapter 3, “Flame Women of Vulcan” sees the Beast Man and Vola, the villains, get their deserved fate on Vulcan.
All these comics are available free at DCM.
Conclusion
Each comic publisher had to have their own stock characters: a jungle lord or lady, cowboy hero, superheroes, and yes, space adventurer. For Avon’s Space Detective, this was Rod Hathaway. Rod is truly a detective though. Sure, he faces off against space pirates (who are green), bat-women, wasp-women, flame-women, and robots, but there is always the trail of clues that drive the adventure. Like all space heroes, Rod and Teena have to use their brains as often as their brawn to save the galaxy. Like another detective, Dick Tracy, Rod and Teena face off against a weird panoply of villains. Each issue has a triptych of stories culminating in the defeat of the baddies and peace reigning in the Solar System. It isn’t hard to see where all the elements came from, the detective Pulps (as well as the SF Pulps) of the past thirty years.
Next time…Cosmic Carson!
