Publisher's Synopsis
Probably McCulley's second most popular character (after Zorro), The Black Star is a criminal mastermind, what was once termed a 'gentleman criminal.' He does not commit murder, nor does he permit any of his gang to kill - not even the police or his arch enemy, Roger Verbeck. The Black Star does not threaten women, always keeps his word, and is invariably courteous. Nor does he deal with narcotics in any of his stories. He is always seen in a black cloak and a black hood on which is embossed a jet black star. The Black Star and his gang use 'vapor bombs' and 'vapor guns' to render their victims instantly unconscious, a technique which pre-dated the Green Hornet's gas gun by several decades. Johnston McCulley was the author of hundreds of stories, fifty novels, numerous screenplays for film and television, and the creator of the character Zorro. Many of his novels and stories were written under the pseudonyms Harrington Strong, Raley Brien, George Drayne, Monica Morton, Rowena Raley, Frederic Phelps, Walter Pierson, and John Mack Stone, among others. Aside from Zorro, McCulley created many other pulp characters, including Black Star, The Spider, The Mongoose, and Thubway Tham. Many of McCulley's characters-The Green Ghost, The Thunderbolt, and The Crimson Clown-were inspirations for the masked heroes that have appeared in popular culture from McCulley's time to the present day.
