Don Pendleton

Donald Eugene "Don" Pendleton (December 12, 1927 – October 23, 1995) was an American author of fiction and nonfiction books, best known for his creation of American hero The Executioner: Mack Bolan. Other works include the Joe Copp, Private Eye series of six novels, the Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective series of six novels, and nonfiction books. He collaborated on several books with his wife, Linda Pendleton, including their popular nonfiction book, To Dance With Angels. His earlier writings in the 1960s include mysteries, sci-fi, and futuristic books. Pendleton wrote several early books under the pseudonyms Dan Britain and Stephan Gregory.

Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan character is currently being developed as a Hollywood film franchise by screenwriter, producer, Shane Salerno. Bradley Cooper is set to play Mack Bolan, with Todd Phillips set to direct for Warner Bros.

Biography

Don Pendleton served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, in all theaters of the war. His enlistment ended in November 1947. He returned to active duty in 1952, during the Korean War, and served until 1954. He worked as a telegrapher for the Southern Pacific Railroad until 1957, and then as an air traffic control specialist for the Federal Aviation Administration. In the 1960s, he worked for Martin Marietta on the Titan missile program. He later served as an engineering administrator at NASA during the Apollo missions. Pendleton also worked on the C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft program.

Writings

Executioner series (1969–1980)

The best-selling The Executioner book series made the men's action-adventure genre popular in the late 1960s and '70s, and Pendleton was known as "the father of action adventure," a term he coined. The Mack Bolan novels penned by Pendleton revolved around Bolan's one-man war against the Mafia, beginning with War Against the Mafia (1969) and ending with Satan's Sabbath (1980), after which Pendleton licensed the rights to his Executioner characters to the Harlequin publishing group.

In the pulp tradition, Pendleton's Mack Bolan, a former United States Army sergeant and Vietnam War veteran called both "The Executioner" and "Sergeant Mercy," was larger than life, responsible for killing literally hundreds of mobsters over the course of his original 38 novels. Also in the pulp tradition, he left a trademark "calling card," in his case a marksman's medal, wherever he struck. Many see similarities between the Executioner and Marvel Comics's The Punisher, and Marvel freely acknowledges they took some inspiration from the novels in creating their antiheroic character. Bolan also inspired DC Comics's The Vigilante.

After 15 Executioner novels, Pendleton became involved in a legal battle with the publisher, Pinnacle Books, over ownership of the series. Pinnacle had the next entry, The Executioner #16: Sicilian Slaughter, written by an unknown writer under the pseudonym "Jim Peterson." Pendleton wrote what was published as #17, Jersey Guns, as his own sequel to #15, Panic in Philly, under a new contract with New American Library, which was ultimately voided by the terms of his settlement with Pinnacle,[1] and he returned to the Bolan character for 21 more novels.

Spin-offs (1980–present)

Since 1980, The Executioner, Mack Bolan books and spinoffs - Able Team, Phoenix Force, Stony Man, and Mack Bolan - have been written by Harlequin's team of writers. The Harlequin Gold Eagle books moved Bolan into a fight against terrorism, in whose course he was given the cover identity of "Colonel John Macklin Phoenix." Since 1980, Harlequin has produced new novels, and the writer's name is mentioned on the copyright page as a provider of "a contribution" to the work, pushing the number of Mack Bolan novels into the hundreds; all of them bear the byline, Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan.

Joe Copp, Private Eye series (1987–1992)

Pendleton's other enduring series was the Joe Copp, Private Eye novels, told in the first person by 6'3", 260 lb. Joe Copp, a private investigator. The novels were formulaic hardboiled detective fiction, always opening in the middle of the story, with Copp pursuing a variety of criminals, with the story then flashing back to the beginning to describe how Copp got into his current predicament. The Joe Copp series of six hardcover novels often had over-the-top action moments reminiscent to those found of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. The books were first published in hardcover by Donald I. Fine and then released in paperback by Harper. New editions are in print, Kindle, other ebook, and audiobook formats.

Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective series (1986–1988)

The first book of Don Pendleton's Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective series, Ashes to Ashes, was published in 1986 by Warner Books. The Ashton Ford character is a former naval officer and spy, skilled in cryptology and able to see into the future.

Bibliography

Mack Bolan novels

Joe Copp, Private Eye Novels

Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective Series

Fiction With Linda Pendleton

Nonfiction With Linda Pendleton

Nonfiction by Don Pendleton

Stewart Mann Novels by Stephan Gregory

Other Novels by Don Pendleton

It was announced August 2014 that Shane Salerno, Hollywood producer and screenwriter, had optioned the Executioner Mack Bolan Series of action/adventure novels for a film franchise.

Notes

  1. ↑ Kraft, David Anthony (1975). "The Executioner Speaks Out!". Marvel Preview (2) (Marvel Comics).

External links

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