Created by Reed Farrel Coleman (1956--) A handsome face on a twisted deformed body is New York private eye GULLIVER DOWD's lot in life. He's so short he fills up "only the bottom half a mirror," his arms and legs are too short for his squat body, his hands too big for his arms, his … Continue reading Gulliver Dowd
Tag: Defective Detectives
Inspector Allhoff
Created by D.L. Champion Pseudonyms include Tom Champion, Jack D’Arcy, G. Wayman Jones, C. K. M. Scanlon & Robert Wallace (1903-68) "... the unpleasantest detective who ever cracked a homicide case" --from a July 1938 Dime Detective blurb Not quite a P.I., not quite a cop, Dime Detective favourite INSPECTOR ALLHOFF is under contract, albeit unofficially, … Continue reading Inspector Allhoff
William “Billy” Wallace
Created by Ed Lacy Pseudonym of Leonard S. Zinberg (1911-1968) "I was afraid my heart would burst if I took another step." One year after he suffered his first heart attack, author Ed Lacy published Bugged For Murder (1961) about a middle-aged private eye, WILLIAM "Billy" WALLACE, who has a bad ticker ticker himself, and is … Continue reading William “Billy” Wallace
Sid Halley
Created by Dick Francis (1920-2010) “I was never particularly keen on my job before the day I got shot and nearly lost it, along with my life. But the .38 slug of lead that made a pepper shaker out of my intestines left me with fire in my belly in more ways than one.” -- … Continue reading Sid Halley
Jay J. Armes
Pseudonym of Julian Armas (1932--) "The Lord has given us a brain. We only use one-tenth of ten percent of it." -- Jay J. Armes Okay, you got me... JAY J. ARMES is a real person, not a fictional person. He's a real-life Texas private eye, generally considered, at least according to him, as one … Continue reading Jay J. Armes
Max Carrados & Louis Carlyle
Created by Ernest BramahPseudonym of Ernest Bramah Smith1868-1942 "I have no blundering, self-confident eyes to be hoodwinked." Ernest Bramah's MAX CARRADOS, often billed as "The Blind Detective," was arguably the first of the defective detectives, and certainly one of the worthiest rivals of Sherlock Holmes. It may have been a gimmick, but it was a … Continue reading Max Carrados & Louis Carlyle
Mike Longstreet
Developed for television by Stirling Silliphant From a character created by Baynard Kendricks The seventies were truly the Golden Age of the TV Dick, when the airwaves were saturated with private eyes and cops of all sizes and shapes. There were so many of them that the nightly barrage of murder and mayhem began to … Continue reading Mike Longstreet
Duncan Maclain
Created by Baynard H. KendrickPseudonyms include Richard Hayward(1894-1977) Blinded in World War I, wealthy, dashing CAPTAIN DUNCAN MACLAIN moves to New York and sets up a successful detective agency, aided by his partner, Spud Savage (is that a great name or what?) and his secretary (and Spud's wife) Rena. Rounding out the staff are Duncan's two specially-trained … Continue reading Duncan Maclain
Jason Bard
Created by Frank Robbins and Gil Kane Another pipe-sucking shamus from the backpages of Detective Comics, playing second fiddle to Batman? Gotham City private eye and ex-Marine JASON BARD is a young "resourceful, battle-scarred Vietnam vet, his only weapon a cane and a razor-sharp intelligence." In the straighter-than-thou world of DC of the seventies, Jason … Continue reading Jason Bard
Lionel Essrog (Motherless Brooklyn)
Created by Jonathan Lethem "Tell your story walkin', pal." When we last encountered author Jonathan Lethem in the P.I. waters, he was amusing us with various pistol-packing marsupials in Gun, With Occasional Music (1995), a wide-open sci-fi spoof/parody/tribute of the private eye genre, featuring private inquisitor Conrad Metcalf, or spinning metafictional tall tales about a … Continue reading Lionel Essrog (Motherless Brooklyn)