C. Auguste Dupin implies "duping" or deception, a skill Dupin shows off in "The Purloined Letter." Detective fiction, however, had no real precedent and the word "detective" had not yet been coined when Poe first introduced Dupin. The closest example in fiction is Voltaire's "Zadig" (1748), in which the main character performs similar feats of analysis, themselves borrowed from "The Three Princes of Serendip", an Italian rendition of Amir Khusrau's Hasht Bihisht. In writing the series of Dupin tales, Poe capitalized on contemporary popular interest. His use of an orangutan in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" was inspired by the popular reaction
Lance Lewis, Space Detective SMASH that had been placed in suspended animation after an alien invasion from the moon in 1969. Awakened 30 years later, Lance Lewis joined his former comrades in the fight against the alien. After SMASH disbanded, Lance and Halford opened The Magnet Detective Agency. Lance Lewis was killed three years later by Mystico ("Terra Obscura" #2, September 2003). Lance Lewis, Space Detective Lance Lewis, Space Detective is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comics. He first appeared in "Mystery Comics" #3 (1944), published by Nedor Comics. The character was revived by writer Alan Moore for America's Best Comics.