Manhunter

Manhunter is the name given to several different fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. They are depicted as superheroes and antiheroes. Paul Kirk, Rick Nelson, Paul Kirk "Paul Kirk, Manhunter" was a crime series that ran in Adventure Comics #58–72 (Jan. 1941 – March 1942). In this original incarnation, Kirk was a non-costumed investigator who helped police solve crimes. The word "manhunter" in the title was merely an epithet describing Kirk's role and was not a name, nickname, or alias used by Kirk in the stories. However, Paul Kirk was re-imagined as a kind of superhero called Manhunter in the 1970s, so he retroactively became comics' first Manhunter despite not possessing the name before the Quality or Simon & Kirby characters (below). The final issue of Adventure Comics to feature a "Paul Kirk, Manhunter" story was #72. The following issue replaced it with a new Manhunter, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. This was Rick Nelson, a former big game hunter turned superhero. After a few issues, the name Rick Nelson was replaced by the name Paul Kirk, despite being a totally different character. The Simon/Kirby team left the feature after #80 (November 1942), though this Manhunter appeared in Adventure Comics until #92 in June 1944. This version of Manhunter (published by DC) appeared concurrently with the Quality character below.