Alfred Bester

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Alfred Bester
Biographical information
Born: December 18, 1913
Died: September 30, 1987
Nationality: Mini usa.gif American
Occupation: Writer
Website: N/A


Alfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. Though successful in all these fields, he is probably best remembered today for his work as a science fiction author, and as the winner of the first Hugo Award in 1953 for his novel The Demolished Man.

In 1942, two of his science fiction editors got work at DC Comics, and invited Bester to contribute to various DC titles. Consequently, Bester left the field of short story writing and began working for DC Comics as a writer on Superman, Green Lantern and other titles. It is popularly believed that Bester wrote the version of the Green Lantern Oath: "In brightest day, In blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, green latern's light".

Bester was also the writer for Lee Falk's comic strips The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician while their creator served in World War II. It is widely speculated how much influence Bester had on these comics. One theory claims that Bester was responsible for giving the Phantom his surname, "Walker".

After four years in the comics industry, in 1946 Bester turned his attention to radio scripts, after wife Rolly (a busy radio actress) told him that the show Nick Carter, Master Detective was looking for story submissions. Over the next few years, Bester wrote for Nick Carter, as well as The Shadow, Charlie Chan, Nero Wolfe and other shows. He later wrote for The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

Mandrake the Magician Dailies by Alfred Bester(1942-1946)

# Title Writer Artist Start End Weeks
28 "Baron Kord" Bester Davis 14 Sep 1942 10 Apr 1943 30
29 "The Witch of Kaloon" Bester Davis 12 Apr 1943 23 Oct 1943 28
30 "The Earthshaker" Bester Davis 25 Oct 1943 29 Jan 1944 14
31 "The Dome" Bester Davis 31 Jan 1944 24 Jun 1944 21
32 "Doctor Congo" Bester Davis 26 Jun 1944 7 Oct 1944 15
33 "The Mirror People" Bester Davis 9 Oct 1944 16 Dec 1944 10
34 "The Ice Lady" Bester Davis 18 Dec 1944 31 Mar 1945 15
35 "The Old Ones" Bester Davis 2 Apr 1945 30 Jun 1945 13
36 "The Mysterious Prince" Bester Davis 2 Jul 1945 13 Oct 1945 15
37 "The Sleeping Beauty" Bester Davis 15 Oct 1945 12 Jan 1946 13
38 "Pleasant Valley" Bester Davis 14 Jan 1946 23 Mar 1946 10
39 "Medusa" Bester Davis 25 Mar 1946 1 Jun 1946 10
40 "The Jinx" Bester Davis 3 Jun 1946 3 Aug 1946 9
41 "Felina" Bester Davis 5 Aug 1946 14 Dec 1946 19

Mandrake the Magician Sundays by Alfred Bester(1942-1946)