Harry McLean

Created by M.E. Proctor HARRY McLEAN is a middle-aged private eye, an easy-going ex-cop and Army vet toiling for the Houston-based DG Investigative, a small, Houston-based detective agency owned and operated by Diana Galindo. So far, he's only appeared in short stories, but then again, maybe that's the way he likes it. The way the … Continue reading Harry McLean

Tim Chadwick

Created by Joseph S. Walker "Heston says you used to be a cop." — the opening line in every story Yep. TIM CHADWICK  used to be a cop. A detective in Major Crimes. But he drank. And now he's no longer a cop. When asked by a concerned waitress at his why he's no longer … Continue reading Tim Chadwick

Joe Standard

Created by Dan A. Sproul (1982-2004) Here's a good bet: Dan A. Sproul's race track tales to place. Most of these pleasantly pulpy short stories, published from 1989 to 2004 in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine have to do, in one way or another, with horse racing, or more precisely, betting on horse racing. And most … Continue reading Joe Standard

The Dean (aka “Dean Wardlow Rock”)

Created by Merle Constiner(1902-79) "Fortunes Devined from the Soles of Your Feet... Learn the Secrets of Love, Hate, Riches."— one of The Dean's many business cards Only in the pulps! One of the more entertaining sleuths of the detective pulps of the forties was DEAN WARDLOW ROCK (better known as "THE DEAN"), a quite likable … Continue reading The Dean (aka “Dean Wardlow Rock”)

Kaiser Lupowitz

Created by Woody Allen Pseudonym of Allen Stewart Konigsberg (1935--) I was sitting in my office, cleaning the debris out of my thirty-eight and wondering where my next case was coming from... KAISER LUPOWITZ is the gumshoe in a couple of Woody Allen's apparently affectionate parodies/tributes of/to the hardboiled private eye tale. Yes, that Woody … Continue reading Kaiser Lupowitz

Oke Oakley and Secrets. Inc.

Created by Frederick C. Davis Pseudonyms include Clark Aiken, Garry Grant & Stephen Ransome (1902-77) Just in case anyone thought Joe Gores was the first to relate the adventures of a large, fictional detective agency with his justifiably acclaimed Dan Kearney & Associates series, they ought to check out pulpster Frederick C. Davis' tales of … Continue reading Oke Oakley and Secrets. Inc.

Malachi Manatee

Created by William R. Cox Pseudonyms include William J. O’Sullivan, Joel Reeve, David Crewe, John M. Easterly, William Hartley, Lance Kermit, John Parkhill, Mat Rand, Ray P. Shotwell, Roger G. Spellman, Daniel Winters & Willard d’Arcy (1901-1988) MALACHI MANATEE came back from the war with a brand new plan. Wounded in action fighting the Japanese … Continue reading Malachi Manatee

Seekay

Created by Paul ErnstPseudonyms included Frederick Carr, Ernest Jason Fredericks, Kenneth Robeson, Robert Wallace, Chris Brand, George Alden Edson, George Edson, Emerson Graves, Paul Frederick Stern(1899-1985) "I am going to turn on the light now. Do not be alarmed at my face." Arguably the first of the "defective detectives," Paul Ernst's SEEKAY was a tall, … Continue reading Seekay

Needle Mike (aka Ken McNally)

Created by William E. Barrett (1900-1986) I wonder if  Jeff Johnson, creator of P.I/tatoo artist Darby Holland, knows about NEEDLE MIKE, William E. Barrett's crime-solving tattoo artist from the pulps? Posing as a seedy, disreputable alcoholic owner (complete with gold tooth and bum leg) of a grimy tattoo parlor on South Broadway in the equally … Continue reading Needle Mike (aka Ken McNally)

Joe Venice

Created by Jiro Kimura JOE VENICE is a New York City private eye with an office across the street from City Hall where, I guess, he can keep an eye on the mayor. Just an ordinary "Joe," except that his mother was Japanese. He was born at an American military base in Sakai, just outside … Continue reading Joe Venice