Created by John Grange (Robert Lesie Bellem, W.T. Ballard. Victor Rouseeau & possibly others)"As a manhunter Jim Anthony had no equals; his fame as an amateur scientific criminologist was world-wide. Detection was his hobby, his avocation; countless were the mysteries he had solved, the murderers he had brought to justice after the police themselves had failed. In consequence, the mere mention of his name was enough to strike terror into the heart of any transgressor." -- from "Murder's Migrants"
The first was that, unlike Savage, Anthony was not just a millionaire philanthropist adventurer. He was also for hire, although of course he could never say "No" to a pretty girl. Which brings us to the second big difference. The good doctor never had much to do with the fairer sex. Jim had no such compunctions. He made his debut in the very first issue of Super-Detective back in October 1940 and his gadget-filled exploits full of derring-do and buxom damsels in distress appeared off and on until his last story in October 1943. But like Savage, Anthony (at least at first) was one whiz bang of a guy, possessing both great wealth and more than his fair share of physical attributes, including the ability to see in the dark. He excelled in physics, psychiatry, and electro-chemistry, and even possessed psychic powers. He operated out of his penthouse apartment (and secret laboratory) atop the Waldorf-Anthony Hotel in New York, but he had other secret headquarters all over the world. Of course. Eventually the more fantastic sci-fi elements were toned down and then dropped altogether, though, and Anthony became more of a standard hard-boiled pulp gumshoe. He appeared in twenty-five stories in all, and -- judging by the covers of Super-Detective -- whether he was battling evil criminal masterminds hellbent on world domination or more earthbound blackmailers, thugs and gangsters -- went through more shirts than the Hulk. Evidently being shirtless makes you bulletproof. But of course anyone who's ever seen the Die Hard movies knows that...
SHORT STORIESAll stories by "John Grange"
COLLECTIONS
Contains "Legion of Robots" (November 1940) and "Murder's Migrants" (March 1943). Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
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