(CNN) -- Crime fiction fans know the name Parker, a single-named anti-hero of the 1960s. As a character, he's a career criminal, hired gun and professional thief, a pulp-fiction prince of America's seedy underworld. He's relentless and menacing with steely good looks. Imagine a hard-boiled Don Draper with a gun. Parker made his debut in 1962 in Richard Stark's "The Hunter." But Stark was a pseudonym of legendary author Donald Westlake, who continued writing about Parker's criminal exploits in more than two dozen books until his death in 2008. The character has long enjoyed cult classic status and found varying success on the big screen, portrayed by actors including Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. More recently, Parker has found new life in a series of imaginative and stylish graphic novels from Eisner Award-winning artist and writer Darwyn Cooke. Comic fans recognize Cooke from his past success in the superhero genre, putting his own creative spin on icons like Batman, Catwoman, The Spirit and Watchmen.
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Richard Stark's one-named hero Parker was the star of two dozen crime-fiction books
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Darwyn Cooke has taken up Parker's exploits in a new series of graphic novels
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Cooke will debut his newest book, "The Score," at San Diego Comic-Con this week
When @placeholder wrote the books, he did so under a pen name, Richard Stark.