Hannibal Smith

Created by C. William Harrison
Peseudonyms include Coe Williams and Will Hickok
(1913-1994)

HANNIBAL SMITH (no relation to the A-Team) is a sort of troubleshooter who appeared in a handful of stories in Dime Detective in 1945-46. About a million or so years ago, he used to be a boxer, but now he’s “fat, forty and futile,” and runs Hannobal Smith’s Sales, Service and Loans, scrounging out a living hocking various goods, loansharking and — if the price is right — doing “odd jobs” for people. Sort of like Mike Trye. And just like Mike, even the most seemingly innocent jobs seem to inevitably lead to… MURDER!

In “Down Among the Dead Men” (in the October 1945 issue), for example, he’s hired photograph a cow standing in a field. But don’t worry — the story soon transcends the bovine snapshot genre, and Hannibal finds himself the number one suspect in a homicide.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chester William Harrison was a prolific American author known primarily for his westerns, although he also wrote for the pulps and slicks, tie-in novels and non-fiction books about conservation and auto mechanics. One source claims he was responsible for over 1200 novels, non-fiction books and magazine stories. He also wrote as Coe Williams and Will Hickok.

SHORT STORIES

• “Killing Is a Grave Business” (July 1945, Dime Detective)
• “Down Among the Dead Men” (October 1945, Dime Detective)
• “Bring Your Own Coffin” (February 1946, Dime Detective)
• “The Bones of Barnaby Bliss” (May 1946, Dime Detective)
• “Twice Murdered—Once Dead” (September 1946, Dime Detective)

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith, with thanks to Juri Nummelin of pulpetti for the lead.