I'm going to stick to heroes for the moment, and, given my
predilection, to procedural-type cops.
Steve Carella (Evan "Ed McBain" Hunter; the 87th Precinct
Series)
Charles Ripley (John Wainwright; the Lessford Police
series)
Bumper Morgan (Joseph Wambaugh; THE BLUE KNIGHT)
Mitch Taylor (Lawrence Treat; Taylor/Freeman/Decker
series)
Christie Opara (Dorothy Uhnak; Opara trilogy)
I nominate the above based on the character's long-term
popularity, the quality of the writing, and the influence the
characters, or their creators have had on the genre. On that
basis, I'd like to nominate two characters who, though they
appear in novels and short stories, were created for mediums
other than prose fiction.
Joe Friday (Jack Webb; the radio/TV series DRAGNET)
Dick Tracy (Chester Gould; the TRACY newspaper strip)
Webb, through Friday and DRAGNET was virtually the inventor
of the police procedural sub-genre, and writers from McBain
to Creasey have acknowledged the influence of the show on
their own work.
Tracy is, with the sole exception of Sherlock Holmes, the
most famous detective in fiction.
I'll also second, if nobody else has yet, Coffin Ed Johnson
and Gravedigger Jones, Quiller, the Op, and Mike
Hammer.
I'd also like to suggest a rule. While the nominated
characters don't have to be series characters, or even
heroes, I think they should be MAIN characters. Supporting
characters are subjects for another poll.
JIM DOHERTY
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