Gentleman detective English country house. This archetype of British detective contrasts with the more "hardboiled" counterpart in American crime fiction. Gentlemen detectives appeared early in modern detective fiction, which began in the late 19th century. C. Auguste Dupin, created by Edgar Allan Poe, is widely considered to be the first fictional detective in English literature. He appeared in three short stories written in the 1840s: "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" (1842) and "The Purloined Letter" (1844). Poe created Dupin before the word "detective" had been coined, but began many common elements of detective fiction: Dupin
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.