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The Avenger #10
The Smiling Dogs
Is there a connection between two political murders, a sanity-test bill, reforestation plans for a national park and a tiny man with a green smiling dog? The Avenge embarks on a weird hunt to connect the links of a deadly chain.
In the roaring heart of the crucible, steel is made. In the raging flame of personal tragedy, men are sometimes forged into something more than human.
It was so with Dick Benson. He had been a man. After the dread loss inflicted on him by an inhuman crime ring, he became a machine of vengeance dedicated to the extermination of all other crime rings.
He turned into the the person we know now: A figure of ice and steel, more pitiless than both; A mechanism of whipcord and flame; A symbol to crooks and killers; A terrible, almost impersonal force, masking chill genius and super normal power behind a face as white and dead as a mask from the grave. Only his pale eyes, like ice in a polar dawn, hint at the deadliness of the scourge the underworld heedlessly invoked against itself when crime's greed turned millionaire adventurer Richard Benson into The Avenger.
In the roaring heart of the crucible, steel is made. In the raging flame of personal tragedy, men are sometimes forged into something more than human.
It was so with Dick Benson. He had been a man. After the dread loss inflicted on him by an inhuman crime ring, he became a machine of vengeance dedicated to the extermination of all other crime rings.
He turned into the the person we know now: A figure of ice and steel, more pitiless than both; A mechanism of whipcord and flame; A symbol to crooks and killers; A terrible, almost impersonal force, masking chill genius and super normal power behind a face as white and dead as a mask from the grave. Only his pale eyes, like ice in a polar dawn, hint at the deadliness of the scourge the underworld heedlessly invoked against itself when crime's greed turned millionaire adventurer Richard Benson into The Avenger.
159 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
About the author
Kenneth Robeson
926 books137 followersKenneth Robeson was the house name used by Street and Smith Publications as the author of their popular character Doc Savage and later The Avenger. Though most Doc Savage stories were written by the author Lester Dent, there were many others who contributed to the series, including:
William G. Bogart
Evelyn Coulson
Harold A. Davis
Lawrence Donovan
Alan Hathway
W. Ryerson Johnson
Lester Dent is usually considered to be the creator of Doc Savage. In the 1990s Philip José Farmer wrote a new Doc Savage adventure, but it was published under his own name and not by Robeson. Will Murray has since taken up the pseudonym and continued writing Doc Savage books as Robeson.
All 24 of the original stories featuring The Avenger were written by Paul Ernst, using the Robeson house name. In order to encourage sales Kenneth Robeson was credited on the cover of The Avenger magazine as "the creator of Doc Savage" even though Lester Dent had nothing to do with The Avenger series. In the 1970s, when the series was extended with 12 additional novels, Ron Goulart was hired to become Robeson.
William G. Bogart
Evelyn Coulson
Harold A. Davis
Lawrence Donovan
Alan Hathway
W. Ryerson Johnson
Lester Dent is usually considered to be the creator of Doc Savage. In the 1990s Philip José Farmer wrote a new Doc Savage adventure, but it was published under his own name and not by Robeson. Will Murray has since taken up the pseudonym and continued writing Doc Savage books as Robeson.
All 24 of the original stories featuring The Avenger were written by Paul Ernst, using the Robeson house name. In order to encourage sales Kenneth Robeson was credited on the cover of The Avenger magazine as "the creator of Doc Savage" even though Lester Dent had nothing to do with The Avenger series. In the 1970s, when the series was extended with 12 additional novels, Ron Goulart was hired to become Robeson.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 6, 2018
The Avenger and his team of crime-fighters was a weird mixture of clichés and odd breaks with those. The inclusion of the two African American members of his team, for example, was unusual for the time...and then the writer included a semi-stereotypical Scotsman. Sigh.
Still, one of the things I like about the Avenger stories is that he uses more brain than brawn in most of them, and this was no exception. Other than a fistfight or two, this was about outthinking the bad guys.
In this case, various people in important positions start seeing things...in particular, each one sees sort of a red gnome, walking a green dachshund on a leash made of flowers. Now, if you saw this in your house, you might think you were dreaming or having a hallucination, but in this case the sightings were presented in such a way as to make the viewers think they might be going mad. Not everyone would, and that is a plot clue. The reasons for the sightings were a complex mystery, slowly unfolded by the Avenger and his team. The idea that both good and evil sides were using science and the human mind in the adventure was fascinating. I'm still not sure about one part of the resolution, but for a pulp story, it was still good, even if not totally believable.
A quick adventure read, well worth the time and effort.
Still, one of the things I like about the Avenger stories is that he uses more brain than brawn in most of them, and this was no exception. Other than a fistfight or two, this was about outthinking the bad guys.
In this case, various people in important positions start seeing things...in particular, each one sees sort of a red gnome, walking a green dachshund on a leash made of flowers. Now, if you saw this in your house, you might think you were dreaming or having a hallucination, but in this case the sightings were presented in such a way as to make the viewers think they might be going mad. Not everyone would, and that is a plot clue. The reasons for the sightings were a complex mystery, slowly unfolded by the Avenger and his team. The idea that both good and evil sides were using science and the human mind in the adventure was fascinating. I'm still not sure about one part of the resolution, but for a pulp story, it was still good, even if not totally believable.
A quick adventure read, well worth the time and effort.
June 30, 2024
Somewhat entertaining, but not as packed with action as a pulp featuring Doc Savage. Set primarily in pre-World War II Washington D.C., The Smiling Dogs details a scheme against various politicians to steal land from the government. The dead-faced and steely gray Avenger and his mock Fabulous Five crew near the end of their first run in Street & Smith Publications (there's one more double volume left in the Sanctum reprints before the "new and improved" Avenger takes the stage). Each of these pulps is a good quick filler and change of pace from more current thrillers. While I do run across scenes and stories that emphasize modern day situations, when a story is predictable like The Smiling Dogs the only plus is their brevity and seeing how well the writer handles obvious tropes.
December 13, 2015
(Wacky green dog cover!)
The Avenger, Richard Benson, was one of the greatest pulp crime-fighters. He and his band of associates comprised Justice, Inc., and, armed with keen gadgets, clear genius, stout hearts, good humor, and the force of right set forth from their Bleek Street headquarters to thwart evil, defend goodness, and protect American society. The adventures were published as "by Kenneth Robeson, the creator of Doc Savage," (which may have led to the perception that The Avenger was something of a second-rate Doc), though the originals were actually written by Paul Ernst and then continued by Ron Goulart many years later. Armed with Mike & Ike, a very special knife and gun, Benson was teamed with Mac and Smitty (analogous to Monk and Ham from the Doc Savage series) from the beginning, and then joined by blonde and diminutive Nellie Grey (who could definitely have held her own with Pat Savage or Nita van Slaon) in the second book, Josh and Rosabel Newton, perhaps the best-depicted African-American couple from the era in The Sky Walker, and light-hearted Cole Wilson in the thirteenth adventure. The stories were well-paced and exciting and very well-written for the context of the era. Benson's origin, as recounted in Justice, Inc., the first story, was similar to Bruce Wayne's in that the loss of his family spurred his decision to fight crime; his wealth and physical prowess allowed him to do so. The loss of his wife and daughter resulted in a weird facial
deformity that made his skin lose its pigmentation and left it malleable like wax so that he could reform it and made him "the man of a thousand faces"; the loss of this ability in the thirteenth novel was a downturn in the series. The series continued for a second dozen adventures in the 1940's, and then revived for a third dozen in the 1970's when Warner Books had Goulart continue the series for another dozen volumes after they put out the first two dozen in paperback. It was a fun and thrill-packed intelligent series, more down-to-Earth than the Doc Savage books and much less crazy than The Spider series.
The Avenger, Richard Benson, was one of the greatest pulp crime-fighters. He and his band of associates comprised Justice, Inc., and, armed with keen gadgets, clear genius, stout hearts, good humor, and the force of right set forth from their Bleek Street headquarters to thwart evil, defend goodness, and protect American society. The adventures were published as "by Kenneth Robeson, the creator of Doc Savage," (which may have led to the perception that The Avenger was something of a second-rate Doc), though the originals were actually written by Paul Ernst and then continued by Ron Goulart many years later. Armed with Mike & Ike, a very special knife and gun, Benson was teamed with Mac and Smitty (analogous to Monk and Ham from the Doc Savage series) from the beginning, and then joined by blonde and diminutive Nellie Grey (who could definitely have held her own with Pat Savage or Nita van Slaon) in the second book, Josh and Rosabel Newton, perhaps the best-depicted African-American couple from the era in The Sky Walker, and light-hearted Cole Wilson in the thirteenth adventure. The stories were well-paced and exciting and very well-written for the context of the era. Benson's origin, as recounted in Justice, Inc., the first story, was similar to Bruce Wayne's in that the loss of his family spurred his decision to fight crime; his wealth and physical prowess allowed him to do so. The loss of his wife and daughter resulted in a weird facial
deformity that made his skin lose its pigmentation and left it malleable like wax so that he could reform it and made him "the man of a thousand faces"; the loss of this ability in the thirteenth novel was a downturn in the series. The series continued for a second dozen adventures in the 1940's, and then revived for a third dozen in the 1970's when Warner Books had Goulart continue the series for another dozen volumes after they put out the first two dozen in paperback. It was a fun and thrill-packed intelligent series, more down-to-Earth than the Doc Savage books and much less crazy than The Spider series.
June 22, 2014
Taking the Avenger and his crew out of their familiar New York City was a risk, but the new settings pay off admirably. The story required the DC setting, and the underlying mystery was suspenseful provided you don't think too hard about it.
March 21, 2019
Much like Doc Savage the Avenger fights crime with the help of his aids. While the stories aren't as exciting and world ranging as Doc he is still a great pulp character and read. Very recommended
May 3, 2016
read SOMETIME in 1997
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews