Customer Reviews

Adventure Heroes: Legendary Characters from Odysseus to James Bond

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I couldn't allow Jeff Rovin's ADVENTURE HEROES to be represented by only one derogatory review. In this book, Mr. Rovin continues his ongoing quest to familiarize his readers with the wide range of science fiction and fantasy characters that have been presented throughout history. I might quarrel with some aspects of Mr. Rovin's alphabetical system (The tv show wasn't called "Lt. Columbo," so why should the entry have been under the "L"s?), and, of course, Mr. Rovin's selection process is, as always, occasionally questionable (Where were the kids from the tv show "Dungeons and Dragons"? Where was Kolchak? Why give space to a one-shot parody of Sgt.s Fury and Rock? If you're going to include Rama, then why not delve further into various other religions? How do some golden-age comic book adventurers rate inclusion while others do not? And will we ever be treated to more than casual glances at the literatures and popular cultures of other countries?), but this book remains an excellent example of its type; with so many characters to choose from, we can't expect Mr. Rovin to get to them all, and he does pretty well by the ones he includes. Aside from the above, the only real complaint I can offer about this book is that the cover features Doc Savage so prominently, but, since Doc was covered in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SUPER-HEROES, the book does not discuss him at all. As noted, no book of this type can ever hope to be all-inclusive, but for a look at several American adventure characters of the first half of this century, most of whom Mr. Rovin had no space for, I strongly recommend Robert Sampson's six-volume series YESTERDAY'S FACES.

This is the sort of book that you can spend hours flipping through. Entry after entry brings back memories while revealing obscure facts that you never knew. I suspected that it would be worth purchasing from my experience with the author's ROBOTS, ALIENS AND SPACESHIPS. Sure, neither book is a comprehensive reference , but they both do a good survey while introducing quirky, obscure material that you just won't find elsewhere.

The book starts with a nice little introductory survey on the nature of the hero and the purpose of the book. Then you have an alphabetical section of over 500 entries. This is followed by a bibliography of references for further reading. Then there is a full index (24 pages in small print) to help find the topic you are looking for.

As for the entries, they are coded as to format: comic book, comic strip, folklore, literature, mythology, motion picture, opera, radio, stage, toy, trading cards, television, and video or computer game. Each individual entry is divided into first appearance, biography, and comment sections and range from approximately a quarter page to a couple pages. There are many sharp, appropriate black and white illustrations included.

You have a range of heroes here from the mythological and archetypical from the dawn of time to the modern day anti-hero. As for the format you have everything from 19th century pulp heroes like Frank Merriwell to video game characters like Mario. I would like to list more but there are just too many- I'd never stop. Just as an example you have Gilgamesh and Cuchulain, Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, Jonny Quest and Clutch Cargo, Allen Quatermain and Horatio Hornblower, Tom Sawyer and Dorothy Gale, Madmax and Rambo, Captain Kirk and Paul Atreides, etc., etc., etc.

My one small complaint is the cover. Why show both Doc Savage and the Lone Ranger when they aren't listed in the entries?

Perhaps you get out of this book what you bring to it. If you have no experience with any of these characters then perhaps it will disappoint you- or just perhaps it will spark your enthusiasm to seek out the sources...

Whether you are simply reliving much-loved memories by reading about the adventure heroes you know well (everyone from Doc Savage to The Avengers) or learning fascinating facts you never knew (Barney Blake was the first sleuth featured in a TV series?), this is a joy to read.

The heroes - ancient or modern - are meticulously researched and presented with just enough depth to make you want to seek out the original works they appeared in, whether books, comic books, radio, TV or movies.

Here we have another wonderful research tool from the author of the Encyclopedias of Superheroes,Supervillians and Monsters.As to be expected the listings are incredibly diverse.You get super-spies like James Bond,James West,John Drake and Derek Flint just to name a few.Mythological heroes like Odysseus,Jason and Theseus are represented.Hercules was of course featured in the Encyclopedia of Superheroes.TV western heroes like Cheyenne Bodie and Lucas McCain(the Rifleman)can be found in this volume.Mike Hammer,Philip Marlowe,Johnny Dynamite and John Shaft are some of the detectives listed here.But then so are Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.Swashbucklers like Captain Blood and D'Artagnan are here as are gentleman rogues like Simon Templar a.k.a the Saint.You can spend hours at a time going through this book.And it's loaded with illustrations(comic book and paperback covers as well as photos).Ironically the most prominent hero featured on the book's cover is Doc Savage who is featured in the Encyclopedia of Superheroes,but not in this volume.This is another book that I highly recommend.