Monsieur Zenith the Albino is an ambiguous

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

created by writer Anthony Skene for the "

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications ...

" series of detective

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

. Zenith is an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

, world-weary

gentleman thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...

, originally

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n nobility but in exile for undetermined reasons. He is full of an ennui which can only be relieved by opium, danger and adventure. Zenith sets himself against Blake not out of avarice but for the joy of the game, and treats Blake with sportsmanship rather than anger or hatred. Zenith is influenced as much by the anti-heroes of

Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of e ...

as he is by the master villains of 20th century pulp fiction, notably

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appear ...

. Zenith remains one of Blake's most popular adversaries. M. Zenith was an important influence in the creation of the fantasy character

Elric of Melniboné Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VII ...

. Elric's creator

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worke ...

in turn influenced the re-publication of Skene's sole novel, ''Monsieur Zenith: The Albino'' (), for which he wrote an introduction, and reused the characters in '' The Metatemporal Detective''. A new collection of five original Zenith short stories, '' Zenith Lives!: Tales of M.Zenith, the Albino'', edited by Stuart Douglas, was published in April 2012 by

Obverse Books Obverse Books is a British publisher initially known for publishing books relating to the character Iris Wildthyme, and currently for the '' Black Archive'' series of critical books on '' Doctor Who,'' and two sister series - the Gold Archive, ...

as Book 4 of ''The Obverse Quarterly''. It includes stories by Stuart Douglas, Sexton Blake scholar Mark Hodder,

Paul Magrs Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"; born 12 November 1969) is a writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad. Early life Magrs was born in Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, on ...

, George Mann (a story set in his steampunk universe which also features a crossover character from Mann's '' Doctor Who'' novel, ''Paradox Lost''), and

(featuring Seaton Begg, an alternate version of Sexton Blake).Zenith Lives!
/ref>

Other uses

* Zenith is briefly mentioned in

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at ...

's novel ''

Dracula Cha Cha Cha ''Anno Dracula: Dracula Cha Cha Cha'' (re-titled ''Judgment of Tears: Anno Dracula 1959'' upon initial U.S. release) is an alternate history/ horror novel by British writer Kim Newman. First published in 1998 by Carroll & Graf, it is the third ...

'' as a possible leader of anti-

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

murders in Rome. * Zenith (identified with Elric) appears in

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

and Kevin O'Neill's '' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier'' as a member of Les Hommes Mysterieux, a French version of Britain's League. * Zenith is the eponymous albino who opposes Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in ''

The Albino's Treasure ''The Albino's Treasure'' is a mystery pastiche novel written by Stuart Douglas, featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson up against Monsieur Zenith from the Sexton Blake novels. Titan Books printed the book in 2015, as part of its ''Fur ...

'' by Stuart Douglas, part of

Titan Publishing Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and ...

's ''Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' series of pastiche novels.

References

External links

Moorcock's Miscellany
(formerly Tanelorn, Multiverse.org & Moorcock's Weekly Miscellany)

Zenith, Monsieur America's Best Comics characters {{novel-char-stub

Other uses

References

Further reading

External links