Johnston McCulley (1883-1958), the creator of Zorro, authored hundreds of stories, fifty novels, and numerous screenplays for film and television. The Avenging Twins books are "written at the same level of seriousness as the sayings on a party napkin."

A thrill-a minute ride set in the days of Spanish colonialism in California, where thugs and greedy tyrants try to wrest every penny from peasants . . . and the one hero who defends the common man is the mysterious masked stranger who calls himself Zorro--The Fox The first Zorro story appeared as a 5-part serial in All-Story Weekly, a famous American pulp fiction magazine, starting in the August 9, 1919 issue. In a case of fortunate timing, Douglas Fairbanks, the silent movie star, was in the process of trying to change his image at the time, and he chose Zorro as his next starring role. In 1920, when the romantic swashbuckler debuted, it set movie box office records. Riot police had to disperse the huge crowds that showed up at the New York opening. Zorro entered the public consciousness and is now a part of popular culture, the same as such heroes as Superman, Tarzan, and The Lone Ranger. The rest is history.

Before Zorro made him famous, Johnston McCulley experimented with other heroes in early pulp magazines, including The Scarlet Scourge, who in this volume investigates the case of a stock market swindler. From the mystery pulp Detective Story Magazine.

This volume collects three mysteries by Johnston McCulley (creator of Zorro) from the pages of "Detective Story Magazine." Included are "A Crook Without Honor," "Poddin's Mistake," and "Diamonds, Dirt, and Duty."

Probably McCulley's second most popular character (after Zorro), the Black Star is a criminal mastermind -- the kind once termed a "gentleman criminal." He does not commit murder, nor does he permit any of his gang to kill -- not even the police or his arch enemy, Roger Verbeck. Black Star does not threaten women, always keeps his word, and is invariably courteous. Nor does he deal with narcotics in any of his stories. He is always seen in a black cloak and a black hood on which is embossed a jet black star. The Black Star and his gang use "vapor bombs" and "vapor guns" to render their victims instantly unconscious, a technique which pre-dated the Green Hornet's gas gun by several decades. The Black Star first appeared in the Street & Smith pulp Detective Story Magazine on 5 March 1916. The stories proved very popular, and some were reprinted by Chelsea House in a series of inexpensive hardback books. The character's last original story appeared in 1930.

Probably McCulley's second most popular character (after Zorro), "The Black Star" is a criminal mastermind, what was once termed a "gentleman criminal." He does not commit murder, nor does he permit any of his gang to kill -- not even the police or his arch enemy, Roger Verbeck. The Black Star does not threaten women, always keeps his word, and is invariably courteous. Nor does he deal with narcotics in any of his stories. He is always seen in a black cloak and a black hood on which is embossed a jet black star.

The Black Star and his gang use "vapor bombs" and "vapor guns" to render their victims instantly unconscious, a technique which pre-dated the Green Hornet's gas gun by several decades.

The Black Star first appeared in the Street & Smith pulp Detective Story Magazine on 5 March 1916. The stories proved very popular, and some were reprinted by Chelsea House in a series of inexpensive hardback books. The character's last original story appeared in 1930.

Johnston McCulley (1883-1958), the creator of Zorro, authored hundreds of stories, fifty novels, and numerous screenplays for film and television. The Demon is another masked villain -- or is he --who cloaks his identity behind a horned red hood.

Johnston McCulley (1883-1958), the creator of Zorro, authored hundreds of stories, fifty novels, and numerous screenplays for film and television. Captain Fly-by-Night is another swashbuckling hero of Spanish California.

Before Zorro made him famous, Johnston McCulley experimented with other heroes in early pulp magazines, including The Scarlet Scourge, who in this volume investigates the case of a stock market swindler. From the mystery pulp Detective Story Magazine.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

The second issue of CLUES magazine (February, 1929) featured "The Man Who Changed Rooms," by Johnston McCulley, as its lead novel...in this case, actually a novella. The creator of Zorro once again shows his interest in the mystery genre in this exciting pulp fiction tale.