Johnny Maquis

Created by Vernon Warren Pseudonym of George Warren Vernon Chapman (1925-96) "Private-eye" JOHNNY MAQUIS was apparently a one-shot shamus brought to you by the same Brit who did the Mark Brandon series.  His lone appearance, Back-Lash, came out in 1960, and had Johnny investigating a five-year-old payroll robbery at the Fairfax General Engineering company (presumably … Continue reading Johnny Maquis

Sebastien Riffkin

Created by Bevis Winter An early character created by mushroom jungle author Bevis Winter, it's difficult to pin down exactly who SEBASTIEN RIFFKIN was. He was a private investigator--there seems to be no doubt about that--although many of his adventures seem to be played for laughs of the Wodehouse variety (Hubin's makes a point of … Continue reading Sebastien Riffkin

Johnny Merak

Created by A.J. MerakPseudonym of John S. GlasbyOther pseudonyms include include Chuck Adams, Tex Bradley, A. D. Brent, Randall Conway, Manning K. RobertsonHouse pseudonyms include James T. Elton(1928-2011)  "Somebody has to go out there and do the dirty work, Dawn, or the world will never be a clean place to live in."-- The Savage City JOHNNY … Continue reading Johnny Merak

Max Strong

Created by Robert Dudgeon Pseudonym of seudonym of Frank S. Greenop Straight up? I don't know much about MAX STRONG. He was apparently a series character who appeared in twenty or so novels put out in the fifties by Cleveland Publishing of Sydney, Australia, trying to duplicate the success of Carter Brown by promising “excitement … Continue reading Max Strong

Johnny Dekker

Created by Johnny Dekker Pseudonym of Maurice Anglowitz Other pseudonyms include Mick Anglo (1916-2011)   Another denizen of the Mushroom Jungle, private eye JOHNNY DEKKER appeared in perhaps as many as twenty or so pulp paperbacks in the late 40s.  Though the paperbacks were published in Britain, they were written very much in the “American … Continue reading Johnny Dekker

Nick Cranley

Created by Michael Storme Pseudonym of George H. Dawson Other pseudonyms include Michael Storm (1918-1979) The very first book featuring NICK CRANLEY, Make Mine a Shroud (1949), promised “a never-ending vortex of excitement ... tough mobs ... police that mean business; and gals that mean business too – but not the same kind," while the second suggested we'd find … Continue reading Nick Cranley

The Mushroom Jungle

The Private Eye Denizens Immediately following World War II, there was a boom in England, as a swarm of hungry writers and publishers, inspired by the success of Peter Cheyney and James Hadley Chase, sprang up seemingly overnight to meet the British public's apparently insatiable demand for "American-style" hard-boiled fiction. Steve Holland pretty much nailed the … Continue reading The Mushroom Jungle

Bill Truscott

Created by Griff Pseudonym of Ernest Lionel MacKeag (1896-1974) Known only as "Griff" to his many readers, this British writer was perhaps the biggest challenge to Hank Janson and Ben Sarto in the Mushroom Jungle. Too bad he didn't really exist. Turns out "Griff" was the house name used by Modern Fiction, a British publisher … Continue reading Bill Truscott

Al Rankin

Created by Bevis Winter Peseudonyms include Al Bocca, Peter Cagney, Sammy Coburn, Bennet Hill & Gordon Shayne; and the house pseudonym Hyman Zore (1918-1985) I don't know much about Bevis Winters’s 1948 novel, Redheads Are Poison, except that is starred hard-boiled gumshoe AL RANKIN, who at one point encounters the red-headed hottie Maisie Tewnham: “Her … Continue reading Al Rankin