Don Pendleton

Donald Eugene Pendleton (December 12, 1927 – October 23, 1995) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction books, best known for his creation of the fictional character Mack Bolan, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide since the character's 1969 debut. Since 1980 the Bolan adventure-espionage books were written by other authors under the Pendleton name, and initially under Pendleton's editorial guidance.

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.

Biography

Don Pendleton served in the

At the age of 40 he started a creative writing correspondence course, but never completed it, instead turning in his first manuscript and selling it to a publisher. He is credited with creating the genre of action-adventure novels.[2] He died in 1995, at age 67.

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.^[3]

In the

After 15 Executioner novels, Pendleton became involved in a legal battle with the publisher,

• Roulette: The Search for the Sunrise Killer
• War Against the Mafia Graphic Comic Novel Adaptation Part 1–3. Part 4 not published.^[citation needed]

Nonfiction

• Whispers from the Soul: The Divine Dance of Consciousness
• The Metaphysics of a Novel: The Inner Workings of a Novel and Novelist
• To Dance With Angels
• The Cosmic Breath: Metaphysical Essays of Don Pendleton

Adaptations

Numerous rumors of upcoming film treatments of the Executioner series have circulated over the years. It was announced August 2014 that Shane Salerno, Hollywood producer and screenwriter, had optioned the Executioner novels for a film franchise.^[8]

Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway (who went on to become a show runner on Dick Wolf's Law & Order series) has acknowledged that his creation of Marvel's Punisher character was directly inspired by Pendleton's Executioner, in perhaps the most blatantly direct adaptation (or less politely, "lift") of Pendleton's character. Originally conceived as a villain for the Spider-Man comic book series, the character proved incredibly popular and the costumed version of the Executioner that became a comic book hero has taken Pendleton's original idea to comic-book-ridiculous extremes in comics, cinema and television, all carefully sidestepping any issues of creative ownership.

References