Alfred Bester

Alfred Bester
Biographical information
Born:	December 18, 1913
Died:	September 30, 1987
Nationality:	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)

#	Title	Writer	Artist	Start	End	Weeks
22	"Pacifica"	Bester	Davis	19 Apr 1942	1 Nov 1942	29
23	"Mystery of the Girls with Red Hair"	Bester	Davis	8 Nov 1942	28 Feb 1943	17
24	"Cloud City"	Bester	Davis	7 Mar 1943	7 Nov 1943	36
25	"Gloria Golden"	Bester	Davis	14 Nov 1943	23 Jan 1944	11
26	"The Garden of Wuzzu"	Bester	Davis	30 Jan 1944	21 May 1944	17
27	"The Circus Adventure"	Bester	Davis	28 May 1944	27 Aug 1944	14
28	"The Santa Claus Pirates"	Bester	Davis	3 Sep 1944	3 Dec 1944	14
29	"Fountain of Youth"	Bester	Davis	10 Dec 1944	18 Mar 1945	15
30	"Kingdom of the Wind"	Bester	Davis	25 Mar 1945	17 Jun 1945	13
31	"The Attalan Deep"	Bester	Davis	24 Jun 1945	4 Nov 1945	20
32	"The Twins of Karana"	Bester	Davis	11 Nov 1945	3 Mar 1946	17
33	"The Singing Devils"	Bester	Davis	10 Mar 1946	30 Jun 1946	17
34	"Roc Island"	Bester	Davis	7 Jul 1946	3 Nov 1946	18

Note: Bester wrote the ending of the story "Pacifica".