Getting Literal
A list of characters who first made their debuts in literary mediums other than comic books.
A list of characters who first made their debuts in literary mediums other than comic books.
Michael Moorcock's fantasy antihero first appeared in a short story in 1961. He has had many comic book appearances subsequently.
Another Moorcock creation; first appeared in the novel The Jewel in the Skull in 1967.
The Eternal Champion, originally from short stories by Michael Moorcock in the 1960s.
The antagonist from Herman Melville's 1851 novel has made many appearances in comic books.
Victor Frankenstein's abominable creation has been a mainstay in horror comics for ages. From Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein.
Though inspired by the real life Vlad Dracul of Wallachia, Bram Stoker's 1897 novel provided one of horror's most iconic characters ever.
The Destroyer's been in movies and comics, but he first got his start in a series of novels that have been coming out since 1971.
The master of Sinanju has been a mainstay of The Destroyer novels since 1971.
Alice first fell down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll's novel of 1865.
Hard to believe, but Dorothy first came over the rainbow in L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, The Wizard of Oz.
I deduce that this character first appeared in the 1887 short story "A Study In Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle.
This iconic pulp hero first got his start in a magazine named after him, in 1933.
Though he's been adapted to comics, movies, television, cartoons, and roleplaying games, this hero of the future got his start in pulp magazine serials in 1928.
By Crom! Robert E. Howard's most famous creation has been kicking around since the 1930s, when he got started out as a pulp swords and sorcery hero!
It's no mystery that Sax Rohmer's criminal mastermind first appeared in the 1913 novel, The Mystery of Fu Manchu.
John Carter has been battling Martians since his creation in 1912 by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The original Ka-Zar first appeared in a pulp serial in 1939 before becoming a comic character.
The other famous barbaric creation of Robert E. Howard first appeared in 1929's "The Shadow Kingdom."
Who knows that this character first appeared in the story "The Living Shadow" in 1931? The Shadow knows.
This billionaire playboy/crimefighter first spun his web in 1933 in his own self-titled pulp serial.
This evil-vanquishing Puritan was another creation of Robert E. Howard. He first appeared in the story "Red Shadows" in 1928.
The original Lord of the Jungle was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs for the 1912 novel, Tarzan of the Apes.
The 1919 story, The Curse of Capistrano, marked the first appearance of this masked champion of justice.
Partner to Sherlock Holmes; it's elementary to surmise that he, too, made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet (1887).
Dr. Jekyll's darker half; first appeared in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
Cthulhu Ftaghn! The Great Elder One has been lurking in the depths since his appearance in 1928's short story, "The Call of Cthulhu."