Stryker #01 - Stryker

William Crawford's first notable work was the infamous 'The Executioner' installment “Sicilian Slaughter”. By 1973, and after 15 successful series entries, Don Pendleton and his publisher Pinnacle had some discord regarding the future of Mack Bolan. Under fire, Pinnacle chose William Crawford (writing as Jim Peterson) as Pendleton's replacement for “Sicilian Slaughter”. The book took some liberties with the character, enraged fans, and thankfully Pendleton and Pinnacle negotiated to have Pendleton continue the series through the 38th installment.

But Pinnacle wasn't finished with Crawford.

Hoping to capitalize on the success of men's vigilante-styled fiction, like Bolan, Pinnacle hooked their cash-wagon to Crawford for a new series called 'Stryker'. Crawford, fresh off the “Sicilian Slaughter”, had just released a western-turd to Zebra entitled “Ranger Kirk” (under the clever pseudonym W.C. Rawford). Pinnacle, feeling confident that Stryker would be profitable, had Crawford write four books in the series - “Stryker”, “Cop Kill”, “Drug Run” and “Deadly Alliance” - between 1973-1975. The series was an utter failure. My research doesn't cite any specific cause for lackluster sales, but my suspicion is that William Crawford's disjointed writing style bewildered fans of men's action-adventure.

My first and only experience with the series is the debut, “Stryker”. The book's back cover has an Editor's Note promising that Styrker is the toughest guy you'll ever read about. It goes on to state, with conviction, that “this is the raw, unpolished realism of the street, where law meets crime and the stronger man (not necessarily the better man) wins.” On the book's front cover, Pinnacle assures readers that this is a revenge story about a brutal cop who's experienced the death of his wife and the blinding of his child by criminals.

It's easy to take the revenge story-line and run with it. The late 60s, 70s and 80s pop-culture was fueled on the revenge headline: “Family Murdered, Man Takes Action!” But Crawford buries the story in endless introductions to a host of characters that have no real purpose. Within the book's first 120-pages, there's so many characters and backstories that the central theme is disoriented. By the 120th page, Stryker's family is still alive and the whole narrative is bogged down by arrangements, criminal infrastructure and a dog-tired necessity to explain everyone in the room. Where's this whole vengeance thing?

The centerpiece, as lost as it is, is two bank robbers working for a mob kingpin named Sam. The two men, while not screwing each other, work a heist and hit list for Sam across the country. After Sam tangles with a bribery charge filed by Stryker's partner Chino, the two hit men are employed to kill both Sam and Chino. Only those two guys get killed off rather nonchalantly (after we read pages and pages of character backstory), and Sam employs another assassin to do the job. Eventually Stryker's family is killed (shamefully I was ecstatic when the moment finally arrived!), but the narrative then settles into a court case instead of the two-fisted, sawed-off shotgun violence I was anticipating.

William Crawford may shine in some other form of literary work. Within the confines of men's action-adventure, he's a dud. I have no intention of reading any more of the Stryker books. I've suffered so you don't have to. “Stryker” should be stricken from the record.

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Ranger Kirk

It’s hard to guess why William Crawford adopted the pseudonym of W.C. Rawford for his 1974 stand-alone western, “Ranger Kirk.” The copyright page says it’s by William Crawford and the book is dedicated to “Robert Gene Crawford, my brother.” Moreover, the pen name of W.C. Rawford isn’t really throwing pseudonym sleuths off the scent. Who was he fooling?

My best theory is that maybe he thought that “Ranger Kirk” was a crappy novel he could unload on Zebra Books - and later Pinnacle Books - without the stench of the paperback following him to his grave. The publication of “Ranger Kirk” also coincided with the debut of his 'Stryker' series, and Pinnacle Books really thought they had a hit on their hands with Stryker (Spoiler: They didn’t). Crawford was also Pinnacle’s choice to replace Don Pendleton as the author of the Mack Bolan series during a time when Pendleton was feuding with his publisher. In fact, Crawford authored The Executioner #16: “Sicilian Slaughter” published under the pseudonym of Jim Peterson, a controversial installment in the iconic series that still has hardcore Pendleton loyalists seeing red.

Whatever the case, I figured I’d give “Ranger Kirk” a fair hearing and see if this good-looking paperback is a lost literary treasure or best-forgotten garbage. The character of Ranger Kirk is Sergeant Tom Kirk, an Old West Texas Ranger with the Frontier Battalion along the Mexican border who approaches his job the way a modern intel officer might. He deploys undercover agents into Mexico to gather information about criminal activity. This clandestine approach to law enforcement makes Kirk an oddity among his colleagues who are more of a shoot first and ask questions later bunch of guys. Moreover, Kirk’s spy operations have been going poorly and three consecutive operatives are slaughtered and mutilated by the enigmatic Mexican crime lord, Tuerto.

As the reader gets to know our hero, we quickly discover that Kirk is a flaming asshole. He’s that friend of yours who starts taking swings at you after he has a few drinks in him. His abhorrent behavior crosses the line one too many times, and he is forced to give up his Ranger badge. This leads to a fairly clever and unexpected series of events that brings Kirk right into the heart of Tuerto’s operational base in Mexico.

When Kirk finally meets Tuerto face-to-face, it’s a surprising encounter. Once again, the author chooses a plot turn quite unexpected and somewhat more satisfying than the typical western showdown the reader expects. Tuerto is a fascinating character, and Crawford should have done more with him. Along the way, there are Indian attacks, a damsel in distress, and the eventual redemption of our hero.

Even with all this, “Ranger Kirk” is a pretty lousy novel. The story never really comes together into anything particularly interesting. The action scenes are poorly-written, and Kirk never turns the corner fully into a likable character. The upside is that it’s a blessedly-short paperback at 160 big-font pages with blank page between each chapter for further padding. In fact, the brevity of the book is the only reason I finished it. Finally, the cover art by George Gross is outstanding, but this paperback isn’t worthy of its own packaging.

Final assessment: Don’t bother.

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Paperback Warrior Primer - Mack Bolan

In March of 1969, Pinnacle published a paperback titled War Against the Mafia. It was written by Don Pendleton (1927-1995), a U.S. Navy veteran who entered World War II at the age of 14. The novel became a success for Pinnacle/Pendleton, eventually earning literary prominence as a major catalyst for men's action-adventure paperbacks. Don Pendleton's 170-page vigilante yarn spawned a character universe that grew to a staggering 900 books across multiple publishers, authors, and titles.

The fifth podcast episode explored Bolan's publishing world, and numerous reviews exist here at Paperback Warrior covering the series. However, many readers new to the character may prefer a brief outline of the series. That's the point of this article, a Paperback Warrior Primer on this shifting, gritty, and violent experience known as The Executioner.

Mack Bolan's origin begins with Don Pendleton. As I alluded to earlier, he served in the U.S. Navy during WW2. Additionally, he served in the Korean War before becoming an air traffic controller for the FAA and an engineering administrator at NASA. Pendleton turned to writing at the age of 40.

In War Against the Mafia, the essential origin tale, readers are introduced to 30-yr-old Bolan. He's a U.S. Army Master Sergeant serving a second tour of duty in the Vietnam War. With 12 years of military service, he's a skilled sniper, holding an official record of killing 32 high-ranking North Vietnamese and 63 Viet Cong leaders. Bolan and his mother Elsa, communicate twice a week and she sends him care packages. Bolan's father is Sam, a steel worker he respects “as indestructible as the steel he made.” Bolan's two siblings are 17-yr-old Cindy and 14-yr-old Johnny. 

Elsa explains in a letter that Sam had a heart attack, and, due to lost wages, the family was in a financial bind. On a fateful day in August, Bolan is summoned to the base camp chaplain's office, where he's informed that his parents and sister are dead and his brother is in critical condition. On emergency leave, Bolan arrives stateside and learns about events leading to their deaths.

Sam borrowed money from a mob-run loan shark. Despite paying off the loan with interest, the mob puts the squeeze on Sam and requires him to endlessly pay them money. Under the financial stress, Sam cracks and fatally shoots his wife and daughter in a murder suicide. Johnny is critically wounded in the exchange.

There are a number of iconic and pivotal moments in the Mack Bolan universe, but in my opinion, none compare to the first sequence of events in Bolan's vigilance. The character purchases a Marlin .444 rifle, camps in front of the loan shark office, then shoots and kills five of the corrupt employees, thus setting off a violent rampage that will become his way of life for decades. He declares his mantra in War Against the Mafia:

"Life is a competition, and I am a competitor. I have the tools and the skills, and I must accept the responsibilities. I will fight the battle, spill the blood, smear myself with it, and stand at the bar of judgment to be crushed and chewed and ingested by those I serve. It is the way of the world. It is the ultimate disposition. Stand ready, Mafiosi, The Executioner is here."

By most standards, the first four installments are considered the essential building blocks of The Executioner series - #2 Death Squad, #3 Battle Mask, #4 Miami Massacre. After 15 novels, Pendleton and Pinnacle experience a dispute and the publisher releases the 16th novel, Sicilian Slaughter, without Pendleton's involvement, instead settling on William Crawford's writing (using the name Jim Peterson). Pendleton returned to the series with the 17th installment, ignoring events that transpired in Crawford's book.

37 of the first 38 The Executioner novels were all written by Don Pendleton and considered the "Mafia Wars" story arc. The covers for many of these novels were painted by Gil Cohen, who began working with Pinnacle on the title with the 11th installment, California Hit (1972). The publisher was so impressed with Cohen's paintings that they had him paint covers for reprints of the series' first ten installments. Cohen would continue painting over 100 Bolan novels and companions, making his name nearly synonymous with that of Mack Bolan. Men's Adventure Library, published by New Texture, offers an amazing collection of Cohen's Mack Bolan artwork titled One Man Army: The Action Paperback Art of Gil Cohen. Get the book HERE.

There's a 1977 stand-alone companion piece called Executioner War Book. According to Linda Pendleton, it was a collaborative effort stemming from Pinnacle Editorial featuring Stephen Mertz, Mike Newton, Don Pendleton's son Greg and daughter Melinda doing the research and putting the book together. The book has some letters written by fans to the author as well as drawings of Bolan's battle van and firearms. 

After the 38th novel, Satan's Sabbath, there is a major shake-up with Bolan and the publisher.

Pendleton, who grew complacent with the Mack Bolan character, sold the licensing rights to the Harlequin publishing group. Under Harlequin's Gold Eagle brand, the series continued as The Executioner, but utilized bold fonts stating Mack Bolan on the paperback covers. The iconic face of Bolan at the top of each book was replaced with a small circular font that stated The Executioner and the series installment number. 

The first paperback of this new enterprise was #39 The New War (1981), the second book of the series to be written by someone other than Don Pendleton. Gold Eagle's investment in the series brought a rotating assembly of writers who would utilize Pendleton's name. However, Pendleton was adamant about listing the writer of the books on the inside copyright page, a feat that isn't often used in the cutthroat paperback publishing business of that era.

With The New War, the character and premise of the series changed. After 38 novels of Bolan fighting the Mob, this new 80s decade warranted a different type of enemy. Global terrorism began making headlines in the 1970s, spurred by horrific events like the “Black September” Munich massacre, and rising organizations at the time consisting of the Japanese Red Army, the Symbionese Liberartion Army, and the Weather Underground.

In The New War, readers learn that Bolan, once a fugitive wanted by the F.B.I. and C.I.A., is now working for the U.S. government to combat global terrorism and international crime. Mack Bolan's new name is John Macklin Phoenix and his headquarters is a covert operation in Virginia called Stony Man.

The Executioner would run from 1981 through 2020 with a total of 464 installments authored by a variety of writers. The most respected of the series' writers was Stephen Mertz, although Mike Newton, Dan Schmidt, Jerry VanCook, Chuck Rogers, and Mike McQuay wrote the majority of the series, collectively 181 total installments. 

The other major changes and additions that began after The New War included an expansion of The Executioner title. Because of the many allies that serve Stony Man and Bolan, Gold Eagle took the opportunity to launch companion titles.  

Collaborating with Gold Eagle, Don Pendleton created the titles Able Team and Phoenix Force and “helped” write the series debut installments. Able Team consists of allies previously seen in Death Mask and Bolan's California infiltrations. The title ran 51 installments and two Super Able Team novels, using rotating authors using the house name Dick Stivers. Phoenix Force consists of international special operatives hand-selected by Bolan. The title ran 51 installments and four Super Phoenix Force special editions. The series was written by rotating authors using the name Gar Wilson.

Both of these titles were featured in a giant crossover of Bolan and allies in the 1983 novel Stony Man Doctrine. This impressive “giant-sized” novel served a couple of purposes. 

First, it was the first of the Super Bolan paperbacks published by Gold Eagle. These were double the size of the The Executioner books and had a higher price tag of $3.95. These Super Bolan novels worked in the same fashion as the standard The Executioner title and featured a revolving door of authors. 

Second, Stony Man Doctrine also served as the first of the Stony Man books, a series that would take off in 1991 after Able Team and Phoenix Force stopped publication. Stony Man combined both of the teams with other Bolan allies for a massive 140-book run through 2015. The start of the series in the early 90s also paralleled a marketing change for men's action-adventure novels – a shift to more epic, technical thrillers that honed in on the Tom Clancy marketplace share. Covers featuring good guys with guns morphed into generic covers of satellites, military installations, and fighter jets. 

In addition to paperbacks, there are four issues of the short-lived The Executioner Mystery Magazine (Ackerman Productions), a 1993 four-issue comic adaptation of War Against the Mafia (Innovation Publishing), a 1996 black-and-white comic adaptation of Death Squad (Vivid Comics), and a 2008 five-issue comic titled Don Pendleton's The Executioner: The Devil's Tool (IDW). 

There's no denying that Marvel Comics' The Punisher is a direct descendant of the Bolan character and series. In June of 1993, Advance Comics interviewed Don Pendleton about the comparisons between The Punisher and The Executioner. In it, Pendleton says, “Let's just say The Punisher has taken a lot of liberties with my work. Anyone who knows the history of The Executioner has known that all along. I elected many years ago to just let it pass, feeling that there is room for both of us in the industry.”

Audio books exist on cassette through DH Audio and Books in Motion. Cutting Edge Audio published The Executioner and Stony Man novels between 2004-2006.

You can get most of the Mack Bolan universe using this LINK.

The Executioner #39 - The New War

There's no denying that Don PendletonDon Pendleton's The Executioner (1969) was the catalyst for 70s and 80s men's action-adventure fiction. The series went on to spawn hundreds of imitators with the majority fixed on the idea of “er” at the end. Thus, The Enforcer, The Butcher, The Punisher, The Avenger brands are born. Other than one novel, the first 38 books are penned by Don Pendleton (the oddity was the 16th entry, William Crawford's Sicilian Slaughter). After legal battles with publisher Gold Eagle, and maybe just lack of ideas, Pendleton left the series in 1980 to focus on Joe Copp and Ashton Ford installments. In turn, Gold Eagle continued on without Pendleton's pen, rebranding it as Mack Bolan with entry number 39, The New War. 

Like all great bands, there comes a time when the act either calls it quits or simply evolves into the next lineup featuring the “replacement” singer. They've all done it – AC/DC, Journey, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden...it seems to be the rite of passage. With 1981's The New War, Mack Bolan's life changes under new writers. The mission remains the same, but the methods vary drastically. Under writer Saul Wernick, familiar readers find Bolan fighting crazed terrorists in Central America – for the US government. 

Bolan, fugitive from justice, wanted by the F.B.I., C.I.A. and even a “Bolan Taskforce”, is now working for the US government. It would only make sense right? Can't beat them, join them. But it's the other way around here – the government is joining Bolan's fight. 

The book's opening pages is not only important to the direction of the series, but it also builds what we now consider the Bolan Universe – the series of Able Team, Phoenix Force and Stony Man gain a foundation here. The Executioner series regulars like April Rose and Hal Brognola are now in charge as a directive of the C.I.A. (sort of). Specifically, Mack Bolan no longer exists, instead he has been created as John Macklin Phoenix, a retired Colonel. The entire Phoenix Program is now a covert operation running out of a Virginia farm called Stony Man. It's officially a C.I.A. “quiet house” spread over 160 acres. 

Behind the curtain are plenty of familiar Mack Bolan allies. Carl Lyons, Hermann “Gadgets” Schwarz and Rosario “Pol” Blancanales are at Stony Man. These three would later collaborate as Able Team (series debut in 1982). Other Stony Man players are here as well, including Jack Grimaldi and Leo Turrin, both supporting characters as far back as single-digit entries in The Executioner. Billed as “Stony People”, they are mostly just spectators in The New War. 

Bolan's mission is to locate an American secret agent named Laconia. He's been captured by Islamic terrorists and imprisoned on a jungle base between Colombia and Panama. After days of intense torture he's hovering between worlds and the rush is on for Bolan to capture or kill him. Bolan, understanding the sense of urgency, is battling overwhelming forces and a looming hurricane that could play havoc for any air support. 

First and foremost, Saul Wernick isn't a remarkable writer. While average at best, his prose contains plenty of exclamation marks that were outdated and unnecessary even for 1981. Pulpy hyperbole isn't typical for a Bolan novel, thus Wernick's writing style alienates fans and creates even more abrasion. However, I'm probably committing an act of treason when I say that I want Bolan fighting internationally. I prefer Bolan vs Armed Terrorist more than any mafia war. I love Pendleton, but after more than 10 novels of Mack vs Mob...I needed some liberation. 

The New War introduces a lot of interesting ideas and expands the vigilante idea into a robust and entertaining concept. Even though this novel isn't written with a distinct literary prose, it's a much-needed new Bolan that introduces me to the Stony Man universe. From here, one can use The New War as an “origin” story. A simple reboot for a new generation of fans. I'm one of them.

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