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The Avenger #28
Dr. Time: The Avenger #28
He called himself Dr. Time, and claimed he could really travel back-and-forth in time. Five New York businessmen are convinced he's for real. Then their family members disappear, and Dr. Time demands money for their return. Otherwise they'll be marooned in the past for the rest of their lives! Can the Avenger solve this mystery? Can he stop Time?
Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
32 people want to read
About the author
George Gross
53 books1 followerGeorge Gross was born February 16, 1909 in Brooklyn. His parents, David and Serena Gross, were both young Jewish immigrants from the city of Szeged, Hungary. They married in 1908 and raised three children, George, his younger brother Arthur, and youngest sister, Beatrice. The family lived at 105 Bay 29th Street in Brooklyn. The father, David Gross, attended Pratt Institute and had a successful art career in the fashion industry. The father owned and operated a midtown art studio called Fashion Paper. One of his best clients was the popular Montgomery Wards mail order catalog.
In June of 1927 George Gross graduated from high school. That fall he began to attend Pratt, as his father had before him.
In June of 1931 George Gross graduated from Pratt. Even before graduation he worked for his father at Fashion Paper. He was soon joined by both of his younger siblings, Arthur and Beatrice Gross. The Gross family business provided George with a uniquely practical approach to commercial illustration.
His first pulp cover assignments were for Mystery Novels Magazine and Double Action Western, which were produced by Winford Publications. George Gross next found work at Fiction House, where he became their top cover artist. He painted dozens of freelance pulp covers for Fiction House pulps, such as Action Stories, Air Stories, Baseball Stories, Complete Northwest, Detective Book Magazine, Fight Stories, Football Stories, Jungle Stories, North West Romances, and Wings. He also sold pulp covers to A. A. Wyn's Periodical House, for titles such as Ace Sports and Western Aces.
In 1936 the father formed a new art agency, called the Nangro Ferrod Studios, at relocated to 15 West 38th Street in Manhattan. George Gross shared his studio space at this company with his brother and sister. He produced all of his pre-war pulp covers at this studio. His brother, Arthur Gross, drew pen and ink story illustrations for pulps produced by Fiction House, Popular Publications, Winford, and Ace Publications.
In 1940 George Gross married his Dora Gross. She was born February 1, 1906 in NYC. The married couple moved to Flushing, Queens, and also bought a Summer home in Milford, Pennsylvania. They had one son.
In 1942 George Gross reported to his draft board for induction in WWII. Although his age was thirty-three, he was disqualified from military service because of a lifelong serious impairment of vision in his right eye, which effected his depth perception and required corrective glasses.
After the war George Gross began to sell freelance illustrations to paperback books from such publishers as Dell, Star Books, Lion Books, Bantam, Berkley Books, Cameo Books, and Ace Publications.
In the 1950s George Gross shared an art studio with the illustrator, Mort Kunstler, on White Street in the Tribeca warehouse section of Lower Manhattan.
In the 1960s he worked for men's adventure magazines, such as Male, Cavalcade, Action For Men, Argosy, Bluebook, Man's Conquest, Man's Illustrated, Man's World, Real, Saga, See, Stag, and True Adventures.
On August 22, 1972 the wife of George Gross, Dora Gross, died at the age of sixty-six.
In 1974 George Gross married his second wife, Gidget Gross. They moved to Rockaway, New Jersey.
In the 1970s George Gross painted covers for The Avenger series of paperback books, published by Warner Paperbacks.
In the 1980s he painted covers for the popular Nick Carter series of paperbacks for Ace Publications.
According to the author Bill Cox, "George Gross could do exciting paintings even when there were no scantily clad damsels around, and what's more amazing, Fiction House let him!"
George Gross died at age ninety-four on February 23, 2003.
In June of 1927 George Gross graduated from high school. That fall he began to attend Pratt, as his father had before him.
In June of 1931 George Gross graduated from Pratt. Even before graduation he worked for his father at Fashion Paper. He was soon joined by both of his younger siblings, Arthur and Beatrice Gross. The Gross family business provided George with a uniquely practical approach to commercial illustration.
His first pulp cover assignments were for Mystery Novels Magazine and Double Action Western, which were produced by Winford Publications. George Gross next found work at Fiction House, where he became their top cover artist. He painted dozens of freelance pulp covers for Fiction House pulps, such as Action Stories, Air Stories, Baseball Stories, Complete Northwest, Detective Book Magazine, Fight Stories, Football Stories, Jungle Stories, North West Romances, and Wings. He also sold pulp covers to A. A. Wyn's Periodical House, for titles such as Ace Sports and Western Aces.
In 1936 the father formed a new art agency, called the Nangro Ferrod Studios, at relocated to 15 West 38th Street in Manhattan. George Gross shared his studio space at this company with his brother and sister. He produced all of his pre-war pulp covers at this studio. His brother, Arthur Gross, drew pen and ink story illustrations for pulps produced by Fiction House, Popular Publications, Winford, and Ace Publications.
In 1940 George Gross married his Dora Gross. She was born February 1, 1906 in NYC. The married couple moved to Flushing, Queens, and also bought a Summer home in Milford, Pennsylvania. They had one son.
In 1942 George Gross reported to his draft board for induction in WWII. Although his age was thirty-three, he was disqualified from military service because of a lifelong serious impairment of vision in his right eye, which effected his depth perception and required corrective glasses.
After the war George Gross began to sell freelance illustrations to paperback books from such publishers as Dell, Star Books, Lion Books, Bantam, Berkley Books, Cameo Books, and Ace Publications.
In the 1950s George Gross shared an art studio with the illustrator, Mort Kunstler, on White Street in the Tribeca warehouse section of Lower Manhattan.
In the 1960s he worked for men's adventure magazines, such as Male, Cavalcade, Action For Men, Argosy, Bluebook, Man's Conquest, Man's Illustrated, Man's World, Real, Saga, See, Stag, and True Adventures.
On August 22, 1972 the wife of George Gross, Dora Gross, died at the age of sixty-six.
In 1974 George Gross married his second wife, Gidget Gross. They moved to Rockaway, New Jersey.
In the 1970s George Gross painted covers for The Avenger series of paperback books, published by Warner Paperbacks.
In the 1980s he painted covers for the popular Nick Carter series of paperbacks for Ace Publications.
According to the author Bill Cox, "George Gross could do exciting paintings even when there were no scantily clad damsels around, and what's more amazing, Fiction House let him!"
George Gross died at age ninety-four on February 23, 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 10, 2021
It was odd that a 1970s publisher hired a then-current SF writer to write an extra dozen pulp stories, continuing a 1940s series that wasn't all that successful. Still, it permitted them to sell an extra dozen stories to add to the limited original run.
This was a peculiar story, involving kidnapping and an apparent time-travel gimmick that greatly confused things. It's one of those stories where a scientist invents a real, valuable thing and then turns to crime when he doesn't become rich from his invention, but the time-travel story really throws the characters and the reader for a loop for the first few chapters.
It wasn't great, and was pretty formulaic, but it wasn't bad as a continuation.
I had been under the impression that one of the Avenger's team, Cole Wilson, had been described as Native American in at least one of the 1940s stories, but in this one there is no hint of that. He and the two African American characters had been left out of the radio show, which was no more of a hit than the pulp was.
This was a peculiar story, involving kidnapping and an apparent time-travel gimmick that greatly confused things. It's one of those stories where a scientist invents a real, valuable thing and then turns to crime when he doesn't become rich from his invention, but the time-travel story really throws the characters and the reader for a loop for the first few chapters.
It wasn't great, and was pretty formulaic, but it wasn't bad as a continuation.
I had been under the impression that one of the Avenger's team, Cole Wilson, had been described as Native American in at least one of the 1940s stories, but in this one there is no hint of that. He and the two African American characters had been left out of the radio show, which was no more of a hit than the pulp was.
February 14, 2024
The Ron Goulart pastiches all have the same characteristics: They're less exciting. The team rather easily defeats what turns out to be a rather lame kidnapping plot tricked out with some cheap illusions to make the victims think there is super science involved (the very thing that would be sure to draw the Avenger's interest). And while the villain can be ruthless in killing a character that tries blackmail, they repeatedly have Justice, Inc. at their mercy and let them off scott-free. A sub-par villain that at any time could've wiped out the heroes, makes for a so-so read. The rule of thumb in action literature is that the more formidable the villain, the more satisfying the victory. Still, a lesser Avenger is far better than no Avenger at all.
A note on star-ratings for Old/New Pulp lit: Like many readers of this particular sub-genre, the nostalgia factor, the affection for the characters, the craving for pulp-style heroics, and an over-developed tolerance for clichés means a higher rating than a normal reader would be inclined to give. Doritos might not be haute cuisine, but what I want after eating one Dorito is another exactly like it until the Party Size bag is empty. I want more Avenger stories, and I'm willing to accept this until I can get better. My star ratings for Old/New Pulp are intended for those who share my addiction. Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest are five-star novels. To say that Dr. Time is a three-star novel on the same scale is ludicrous. But in the world of Old/New Pulp, this is a middle-of-the-road effort, good enough for an aficionado to want in their collection.
A note on star-ratings for Old/New Pulp lit: Like many readers of this particular sub-genre, the nostalgia factor, the affection for the characters, the craving for pulp-style heroics, and an over-developed tolerance for clichés means a higher rating than a normal reader would be inclined to give. Doritos might not be haute cuisine, but what I want after eating one Dorito is another exactly like it until the Party Size bag is empty. I want more Avenger stories, and I'm willing to accept this until I can get better. My star ratings for Old/New Pulp are intended for those who share my addiction. Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest are five-star novels. To say that Dr. Time is a three-star novel on the same scale is ludicrous. But in the world of Old/New Pulp, this is a middle-of-the-road effort, good enough for an aficionado to want in their collection.
June 29, 2020
A fun read.
December 13, 2015
The Avenger, Richard Benson, was one of the greatest pulp crime-fighters. He and his band of associates comprised Justice, Inc., and, armed with keen gadgets, clear genius, stout hearts, good humor, and the force of right set forth from their Bleek Street headquarters to thwart evil, defend goodness, and protect American society. The adventures were published as "by Kenneth Robeson, the creator of Doc Savage," (which may have led to the perception that The Avenger was something of a second-rate Doc), though the originals were actually written by Paul Ernst and then continued by Ron Goulart many years later. Armed with Mike & Ike, a very special knife and gun, Benson was teamed with Mac and Smitty (analogous to Monk and Ham from the Doc Savage series) from the beginning, and then joined by blonde and diminutive Nellie Grey (who could definitely have held her own with Pat Savage or Nita van Slaon) in the second book, Josh and Rosabel Newton, perhaps the best-depicted African-American couple from the era in The Sky Walker, and light-hearted Cole Wilson in the thirteenth adventure. The stories were well-paced and exciting and very well-written for the context of the era. Benson's origin, as recounted in Justice, Inc., the first story, was similar to Bruce Wayne's in that the loss of his family spurred his decision to fight crime; his wealth and physical prowess allowed him to do so. The loss of his wife and daughter resulted in a weird facial
deformity that made his skin lose its pigmentation and left it malleable like wax so that he could reform it and made him "the man of a thousand faces"; the loss of this ability in the thirteenth novel was a downturn in the series. The series continued for a second dozen adventures in the 1940's, and then revived for a third dozen in the 1970's when Warner Books had Goulart continue the series for another dozen volumes after they put out the first two dozen in paperback. It was a fun and thrill-packed intelligent series, more down-to-Earth than the Doc Savage books and much less crazy than The Spider series.
deformity that made his skin lose its pigmentation and left it malleable like wax so that he could reform it and made him "the man of a thousand faces"; the loss of this ability in the thirteenth novel was a downturn in the series. The series continued for a second dozen adventures in the 1940's, and then revived for a third dozen in the 1970's when Warner Books had Goulart continue the series for another dozen volumes after they put out the first two dozen in paperback. It was a fun and thrill-packed intelligent series, more down-to-Earth than the Doc Savage books and much less crazy than The Spider series.
August 31, 2012
Never been a fan of Ron Goulart's writing and this novel did nothing to change my mind. Slow considering the length. Light on action and a plot as thin as a window pane. The original Avenger novels are much better than this. Gotta love that cover though.
March 21, 2019
Much like Doc Savage the Avenger fights crime with the help of his aids. While the stories aren't as exciting and world ranging as Doc he is still a great pulp character and read. Very recommended
August 4, 2008
Ron Goulart
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews