The Executioner (aka Mack Bolan) is a monthly men's action-adventure paperback series of books. It has spanned several spin-offs and imitators over its four decades in print and currently has 423 installments (as of February 2014) that have sold more than 200 million copies. [1] Created and initially written by American author Don Pendleton in 1969, who wrote 37 of the original 38 Bolan books (#16 was written by one "Jim Petersen" during a legal dispute between Pendleton and Pinnacle) [2] before he licensed the rights to Gold Eagle in 1980. Since 1981, the series has been written collectively by a series of ghostwriters.
Authors categorized into the decade in which they published their debut work.
| # | Author | Titles published | Years active | Debut novel | Final novel | Notes of interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don Pendleton | 38 | 1969–1980 | #1: War Against The Mafia | #38: Satan's Sabbath | |
| 2 | Jim Peterson | 1 | 1973 | #16: Sicilian Slaughter | #16: Sicilian Slaughter | Pseudonym of William Crawford [3] |
| # | Author | Titles published | Years active | Debut novel | Final novel | Notes of interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Saul Wernick | 1 | 1981 | #39: The New War | #39: The New War | |
| 4 | Steven Krauzer | 4 | 1982–1983 | #40: Double Crossfire | #50: Brothers in Blood | |
| 5 | Mike Newton | 78 [4] | 1982–present | #41: The Violent Streets | N/A | |
| 6 | Stephen Mertz | 11 | 1982–1986 | #42: The Iranian Hit | #94: Save the Children | |
| 7 | Ray Obstfeld | 4 | 1982–1986 | #46: Bloodsport | #93: The Fire Eaters | |
| 8 | Patrick Neary | 1 | 1983 | #51: Vulture's Vengeance | #51: Vulture's Vengeance | |
| 9 | Alan Bomack | 4 | 1983–1986 | #53: Invisible Assassins | #87: Hellfire Crusade | Pseudonym of David Wade [5] |
| 10 | E. Richard Churchill | 2 | 1983 | #54: Mountain Rampage | #56: Island Deathtrap | |
| 11 | Chet Cunningham | 6 | 1983–1986 | #59: Crude Kill | #88: Baltimore Trackdown | |
| 12 | Tom Jagninski | 2 | 1984 | #61: Tiger War | #65: Cambodia Clash | |
| 13 | Peter Leslie | 8 | 1984–1990 | #70: Ice Cold Kill | #143: Helldust Cruise | |
| 14 | Tom Arnett | 2 | 1985–1986 | #78: Death Games | #86: Hell's Gate | |
| 15 | James Lord | 1 | 1985 | #84: Fastburn | #86: Fastburn | |
| 16 | Dan Schmidt | 23 | 1986–2006 | #95: Blood and Thunder | #331: Assault Force | |
| 17 | Mike McQuay | 23 | 1986–1988 | #96: Death Has A Name | #116: The Killing Urge | |
| 18 | Charlie McDade | 8 | 1987–1993 | #97: Meltdown | #171: Deadly Force | |
| 19 | Kent Delaney | 1 | 1987 | #105: Countdown to Chaos | #105: Countdown to Chaos | |
| 20 | Kevin Randle | 1 | 1988 | #118: Warrior's Revenge | #118: Warrior's Revenge | |
| 21 | Kirk Sanson | 4 | 1989–1990 | #121: Twisted Path | #138: Kill Trap | |
| 22 | Jack Garside | 1 | 1989 | #122: Desert Strike | #122: Desert Strike | |
| 23 | Mel Odom | 18 | 1989–2003 | #123: War Born | #298: Final Play | |
| 24 | Carl Furst | 8 | 1989–1992 | #127: Kill Zone | #168: Blood Price | |
| # | Author | Titles published | Years active | Debut novel | Final novel | Notes of interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Jerry Van Cook | 32 [6] | 1990–present | #139: Cutting Edge | N/A | |
| 26 | Roland J. Green | 4 | 1991–1994 | #145: Chicago Payoff | #183: Clean Sweep | |
| 27 | Rich Rainey | 9 | 1991–2001 | #146: Deadly Tactics | #275: Crossed Borders | |
| 28 | William Fieldhouse | 6 | 1992–1999 | #166: Assassin's Creed | #245: Virtual Destruction | |
| 29 | Ron Renauld | 6 | 1992–2010 | #167: Double Action | #381: Killing Ground | |
| 30 | David L. Robbins | 9 | 1993–2005 | #169: White Heat | #322: Time Bomb | |
| 31 | Mike Linaker | 16 [6] | 1993–present | #179: War Hammer | N/A | |
| 32 | Michael Kasner | 2 | 1995–1997 | #198: Shoot Down | #217: Fight or Die | |
| 33 | Rick Price | 1 | 1995 | #201: Prime Target | #201: Prime Target | |
| 34 | David North | 4 | 1996–1998 | #207: Freedom Strike | #232: Jackal Hunt | |
| 35 | Chuck Rogers | 25 [6] | 1996–present | #208: Death Whisper | N/A | |
| 36 | Tim Somheil | 4 | 1996–2004 | #215: Fire Hammer | #306: Mercy Mission | |
| 37 | Will Murray | 1 | 1997 | #226: Red Horse | #226: Red Horse | |
| 38 | Alan Philipson | 4 | 1998–2000 | #231: Slaughter Squad | #261: Dawnkill | |
| 39 | Mark Ellis | 2 | 1998 | #237: Hellfire Trigger | #240: Devil's Guard | |
| # | Author | Titles published | Years active | Debut novel | Final novel | Notes of interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Jon Guenther | 12 | 2000–present | #255: War Bird | #466: Chicago Vendetta | |
| 42 | Gerald Montgomery | 4 | 2000–2001 | #262: Trigger Point | #276: Leviathan | |
| 43 | Douglas P. Wojtowicz | 11 [6] | 2003–present | #291: Blood Trade | #N/A | |
| 44 | Tim Tresslar | 4 [6] | 2003–present | #293: Death Merchants | #N/A | |
| 45 | Andy Boot | 6 [6] | 2003–present | #299: Dangerous Encounter | #N/A | |
| 46 | Nathan Meyer | 4 [6] | 2007–present | #341: Rebel Force | #N/A | |
| 47 | Peter Spring | 3 | 2007–2008 | #345: Orange Alert | #356: Defense Breach | |
| 48 | Phil Elmore | 9 [6] | 2007–present | #345: Orange Alert | N/A | |
| 49 | Russell Davis | 6 [6] | 2009–present | #371: Fire Zone | N/A | |
| 50 | Keith DeCandido | 2 | 2009–2010 | #373: Code of Honor | #379: Deep Recon | |
| # | Author | Titles published | Years active | Debut novel | Final novel | Notes of interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Darwin Holmstrom | 2 | 2010–2011 | #373: Code of Honor | #379: Deep Recon | |
| 52 | Travis Morgan | 2 | 2011–2012 | #393: Stand Down | #401: Jungle Hunt | |
| 53 | Joshua Reynolds | 1 | 2012 | #408: Border Offensive | #408: Border Offensive | |
| 54 | Michael A. Black | 1 [6] | 2013–present | #419: Sleeping Dragons | N/A | |
| 55 | Nick Pollotta | 1 | 2014 | #423: Breakout | #423: Breakout | Published posthumously. [7] |