The Eel (fictional character)

The Eel is a pulp fiction character, a gentleman thief of "courageous action and questionable morals," created by Hugh B. Cave, writing under the pseudonym Justin Case. Short stories about The Eel originally appeared from 1936 to 1942 in the Spicy magazines issued by Culture Publications.

In the first of the series, "Eel Trap," the author introduces the character thus:

Cave would later explain, in his foreword to Escapades of the Eel, that it was his admiration of author Damon Runyon that led him to write the adventures using "the same present-tense, first-person narrative style that marked so many of his great yarns."

All 15 Eel tales were later reprinted in a compilation, Escapades of the Eel, published by Tattered Pages Press of Chicago, in 1977 (). The complete Eel Reprint History can be found online.

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