In his earlier premoustache, prebalding days, he bore a strong resemblance to gil cohens early drawings of mack bolan. Mack bolan, alias the executioner, is a fictional character who has been serialized in over 600 novels with sales of more than 200 million books. Over the course of his 900volume novel series launched by don pendleton in 1969, elite antiterrorist operative mack bolan has cracked every conceivable case except onemaking it to a movie screen. Along the x axis is time, and on the y axis is the count of editions published. Hollywood, ever in search of a trend they can follow, is starting to position pulp heroes like doc savage and mack bolan and remo williams as their potential tentpoles, and we examine that idea. To avenge his father, former special forces sniper mack bolan declares a oneman war on the mafia. Bradley cooper to star in mack bolan movie for todd. War against the mafia is the very first executioner book and it is here that we are introduced to mack bolan. Mack bolan is vietnam vet and an expert sniper who recorded over 90 kills during his time serving, earning him the nickname. Mass market paperback december 6, 2016 by don pendleton.
It is a solidly written action the mens action novels of the sixties and seventies probably drew their roots from the sudden explosions of action in spillanes novels. Warner bros has acquired the don pendleton antiterrorist operative mack bolan novel series and will develop it as a star vehicle for bradley cooper to. We are told that he is thirty years old and has been a career soldier since signing up at eighteen. Don elaborated on the metaphysical elements and the essence of his executioner hero when he said, bolan lives large, responding to the challenge of life, remaining alive and remaining human in the process. In 1972, the graduate producer joseph levine optioned it for steve. Bolan, who at one time or another was going to be played by steve mcqueen, sly stallone, clint eastwood and vin diesel, is getting. Bolan, nicknamed the executioner, was the terrorismfighting star of 38 original pendleton novels and the character has gone on to star in hundreds of works of paperback fiction. Official website of author, don pendleton, creator of the. Don pendleton wrote 38 books and beginning with book 39, the books have been written by other authors under the harlequin gold eagle publishing program, including the spinoff of don pendleton original characters. The movie and television rights to the executioner are now held by columbia pictures. An interview with artist gil cohen about his executioner. Don pendleton is the creator of the original the executioner. In 1980, don pendleton sold the franchise don pendletons mack bolan to harlequins gold eagle books and satans sabbath was the last he ever wrote in the series. Apr 01, 2018 yes, thats been a topic of discussion in the mack bolan facebook group.
Mack bolan uses the killers next attack to flush them out. Bradley cooper looks set to star as the crimefighting vigilante mack bolan in a new film franchise being developed around the pulp hero of more than. From doc savage to mack bolan, hollywood seems poised. Included in this volume are books 79 in the longrunning series. This series is my favorite actionfiction series of all time. Frequently he returns to stony man to lead the agency on missions. Created by don pendleton, bolan made his first appearance on the printed page in war against the mafia 1969. The super bolan series shares characters and continuity of this initial the executioner series. Sigourney weaver joins a monster calls but passes on expendabelles.
Younger audiences arent likely to be familiar with the mack bolan series, but that sense of mystery could also allow cooper to introduce the. Buy war against the mafia the executioner book online at. Cursed for decades, the infamous mack bolan may finally get his movie. The super bolan book series by multiple authors includes books stony man doctrine, terminal velocity, resurrection day, and several more. Writer shane salerno is scripting a new mack bolan movie and bradley cooper will star as the executioner. See the complete mack bolan the executioner series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. For those that want to be critical yes, i have him being a vet of two. Graphicaudio guide mack bolan by graphicaudio graphic. Bradley cooper, todd phillips to produce mack bolan action movie. Todd phillips may direct bradley cooper as mack bolan, the. As i wrote last week, this gives new movie life to a series that had the top stars in hollywood ready to go bolan. Mack bolan nicknamed the executioner by his fellow soldiers is an elite sniperpenetration specialist in the vietnam war when he receives word that his father sam, a steelworker in pittsfield, has gone insane and shot dead his wife elsa and daughter cynthia cindy. The mack bolan books exploded upon publication in 1969, with the first batch of novels quickly selling more than 25 million copies and spawning a new paperback genre of mens actionadventure novels. Bradley cooper set to play vigilante mack bolan for warner.
An international exmilitary vigilante, mack bolan aka the executioner was drawn into fighting crime after taking leave from the army to take revenge on the mafia for the death of his family. They confirmed that stallone owned the movie rights the executioner for a while and wanted to play mack bolan in a movie. There has been much discussion by mack bolan fans on facebook about a bolan filmtelevision series. Aug 12, 2014 bolan has a prolific track record of movie development futility involving some of the top stars and filmmakers of their day. The mack bolan the executioner book series by multiple authors includes books double crossfire, the violent streets, iranian hit, and several more. Nightmare alley tba, bernstein tba, matt helm movie tba, untitled mack bolan project tba, american blood tba, dark invasion tba. After that, i did the mack bolan executioner covers for pinnacle and then for harlequins gold eagle books until 1987. Aug 12, 2014 its not uncommon that we hear about films that have been stuck in development hell for between five and 10 years, but paperback hero mack bolan has been waiting multiple decades for his time on. Cursed for decades, the infamous mack bolan may finally get his. Don pendleton still had more in terms of action novels series and between19871992 he wrote the joe copp, private eye series. Publishing history this is a chart to show the publishing history of editions of works about this subject. Mack bolan is the supersoldier currently working on his own at arms length distance from the us federal government agency stony man. The series was created and initially written by american author don. Mack bolan does not portray the human situation in stark shades of black and white, and his quest is every man and womans quest.
Untitled mack bolan project news updates movie insider. Hunted by the police, the fbi, and every hood in america, bolan plans his next attack. Todd phillips may direct bradley cooper as mack bolan, the executioner. Mar 01, 2018 anyway, the portrait was part of the first work i did for the executioner books in the beginning of 1972. Its not uncommon that we hear about films that have been stuck in development hell for between five and 10 years, but paperback hero mack bolan has. Its not uncommon that we hear about films that have been stuck in development hell for between five and 10 years, but paperback hero mack bolan has been waiting multiple decades for his time on the silver screen. This was a secret move only known to her and the loan sharks. Aug 19, 2014 in the books, mack bolan was born in 1939 and fought in the vietnam war as a green beret. In the books, mack bolan was born in 1939 and fought in the vietnam war as a green beret. Yes, thats been a topic of discussion in the mack bolan facebook group. Every other month the series is complemented by the release of a superbolan, titles that are twice the length of a standard executioner novel.
Creator of the original the executioner mack bolan series of action adventure thrillers, joe copp mystery series, ashton ford paranormal series, and nonfiction books. Cursed for decades, the infamous mack bolan may finally. Bradley cooper reteaming with director todd phillips for. In 1980, pendleton sold his rights to the character. In a preemptive deal worth multiple sevenfigures for the package, warner bros has acquired the don pendleton antiterrorist operative mack bolan novel series and will develop it as a s.
Official website of author, don pendleton, bio, bibliography, books. Looking for info on the executioner movie based on don. The battle of pittsfield left dozens of mobsters dead, but that was only the beginning. Aug 19, 2014 todd phillips may direct bradley cooper as mack bolan, the executioner. Mack bolan is vietnam vet and an expert sniper who recorded over 90 kills. The complete series list for super bolan mack bolan don pendleton. The executioner is a monthly actionadventure series created by american author don pendleton. Don pendleton wrote mystery, actionadventure, sciencefiction, crime fiction, suspense, short stories, nonfiction, and was a comic scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, essayist, and. There has been much discussion by mack bolan fans on facebook. Dedicated to don pendletons character mack bolan, also known as the executioner. The series, starring vietnam veteran mack bolan, was so successful it inspired a new american literary genre, and pendleton became known as the father of actionadventure. Mack bolan, alias the executioner, is a fictional character who has been serialized in over 600.
But these assassins are inhumanly fast, impervious to pain and programmed with cutting. A story based on the antiterrorist operative mack bolan created by writer don pendleton. Don pendletons mack bolan finally has a good chance of coming to the big screen. A bounty on his head, the executioner takes his war to a new front when mafia pressure destroyed his family, sniper mack bolan declared war on organized crime. Pendleton wrote 37 other novels featuring bolan, often referred to as the mafia wars. Someone has locked sights on bolan, gunning for the warrior in a determined bid to put him down fast.
Mack bolan news newspapers books scholar jstor may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message. The character also appears in the stony man series and others. Super bolan mack bolan series in order don pendleton. It ended with mack bolan number 109 hong kong hit list in 1987. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Harlequingold eagle is not expected to play a part in the final casting. Mack bolans takedown of a brutal african warlord reveals a more sinister plot. There, he killed over 90 targets as a sniper, earning his nickname the executioner, but was also kind to. This super bolan series shares characters and continuity of the initial and still ongoing the executioner series. Aug 19, 2014 bradley cooper looks set to star as the crimefighting vigilante mack bolan in a new film franchise being developed around the pulp hero of more than 600 novels, reports deadline studio warner. Last fall, shortly before my life got blown sideways for several months by hurricane irma, i saw a brief article in an issue gary lovisis great magazine paperback parade saying that artist gil cohen was selling some of the original paintings he created for the covers of the novels about mack bolan, the executioner. Mack bolan is a fictional character created by american author don pendleton who appears in the mack bolan aka superbolan actionadventure series, which is a spinoff of his earlier series, the executioner.
Following the exploits of mack bolan and his war against organized crime and international terrorism, both. Graphicaudio is an audio entertainment publisher that features a full cast of actors, narrators, sound effects and cinematic music. Oct 03, 2014 don pendletons mack bolan finally has a good chance of coming to the big screen. Mack bolan character may come to film in new deal deadline.
The series spans 453 installments as of december 2017 and has sold more than 200 million copies since its debut installment, war against the mafia. Mar 27, 2014 this is a work of a fan, for the fans. Executioner creator don pendletons wife linda pendleton and some of the writers who wrote for the series hang out there. An interview with artist gil cohen about his executionermack. The executioner is a monthly mens actionadventure series following the exploits of the character mack bolan and his wars against organized crime and international terrorism.
Aug 25, 2014 paul giamatti joins straight outta compton. The executioner is a monthly actionadventure series created by american author don. Cursed for decades, the infamous mack bolan may finally get. He occasionally takes missions from stony mans director and personal friend hal brognola and the president of the united states. According to a report from deadline, actor bradley cooper is going to be reteaming with his hangover director, todd phillips, to star in a new potential franchise based on the mack bolan character. Mack bolan, nicknamed the executioner, was the terrorismfighting star of 38 original pendleton novels and the character has gone on to star in hundreds of works of paperback fiction. After producing a number of science fiction and mystery novels, in 1969, pendleton launched the executioner saga with war against the mafia. There, he killed over 90 targets as a sniper, earning his. Bolan has a prolific track record of movie development futility involving some of the top stars and filmmakers of their day. Cindy bolan, mack bolans second born sister was compelled by this infliction of pain and torment that she took a step to save his father. Shifting gears, bolan hunts the hunters as the trail leads him to ar. Some trilogies even jump from one series to the other and back forth.