TNT

Full Name:	Tony Nicholas Twin
Nationality:	American
Organization:	None
Occupation	Reporter

Creator:	Pierre Rey, Loup Durand
Time Span:	1985 - 1990

ABOUT THE SERIES

Anthony 'Tony' Nicholas Twin is an international photo-journalist.

He is also an operative for a spymaster named Arnold Bennedict, a cigar-chomping, soft-spoken man heading an unnamed department in the American Intelligence community who wields an impressive amount of authority over, it seems, every other branch of the government.

TNT, for that acronym is how he is mentioned, is not normally a willing agent for Bennedict. He is usually pushed into a mission by way of extortion or bribery or promises. Usually those deal with the one thing in the world that TNT cares about; October, his daughter, who is mentally challenged and needs constant medical treatment. As the need arises in Bennedict's pretty sick mind, October will be used as either a carrot - there is a cure for her out there and if you do this next job for me ... - or a stick - it would be a shame if something should happen to the young woman.

Prior to having the misfortune to come to the attention of a man like Bennedict, TNT, who was apparently already wealthy enouth to have an estate in Ireland, earned good money by traveling to all sorts of highly dangerous places and taking terrific photos for news organizations. Once the 'accident' happened and he falls into the grasp of Bennedict, those outings are largely curtailed.

Now on to the 'accident'.

The American government was staging yet another nuclear bomb test on a deserted (except for the sand crabs) atoll in the Pacific. This newest weapon was a specialized one consisting of seven bombs in a circle. The devices were placed on the island, the island again scoured for any intruders, the soldiers flew away, and the explosion took place. What was not known until the last moment was that TNT had snuck onto the island to photograph the proceedings and then, for reasons not fully explained, failed to get noticed and was there, at the epicenter of the destruction. He should have been disintegrated. Instead ....

Okay so now we have a freakish survivor in TNT, all 6'6" of his highly athletic body. The radiation that washed over him changed him and TNT now has some unusual powers. He can see in the dark. He can smell individual odors. His taste and touch are greatly heightened. His hearing is almost as impressive as his sight. And his sexual prowess is ... ?unmeasurable? That seems safe to say as there will be scads of opportunities to test it in the numerous recorded adventures we have of TNT.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	9
First Appearance:	1985
Last Appearance:	1986

The history of the 7 / 9 books in the TNT series is an interesting one, made even more so by author lineage.

Two successful French authors, Pierre Rey and Loup Durand, got together to create a series of adventures about Tony Nicholas Twin. They would craft 9 adventures of this dynamic photo-journalist turned spy adventurer turned incredible lover, the first book coming out in 1978 and the ninth in 1980. They published these tales under the pseudonym of Michael Borgia.

Five years after the last book was released, Charter Books in America hired veteran author/translator Victoria Reiter to translate them to English which were soon published in paperback under the pseudonym of Doug Masters. Actually, only 7 of the 9 actually made it to print. Whether the other two were translated but not released or never translated in the first place, well, I have no idea.

Adding to the fun, Charter decided to publish the translation slightly out of order so reading them in the order the English versions came out might reveal a minor discrepancy here or there. Since each book really is stand-alone, assuming you start with #1 to get the origin story, this should not be much of a problem.

I have listed the books in the order of the Charter releases with the two unpublished books listed at the end. I have added notes as to the original order as I believe it to be.

One last, important note: Glorious Trash has each of these adventure gloriously detailed, far better than I ever could. I strongly recommend going to that site for more information on this - and a ton of other - series.


1			TNT Written by Doug Masters, Michael Borgia Copyright: 1985 Published originally in France as TNT #1, Les Sept Cercles (The Seven Circles), in 1978. After impossibly surviving a nuclear explosion, Tony Nicholas Twin, aka TNT, is monitored by the government for several months. He is approached by the duplicitous Bennedict with an offer for a mission: head to a closely guarded island where an Italian fascist has holed up working on the method of creating petroleum. Bennedict has been paid by members of the oil industry to eliminate the scientist and stop the research.

2			The Beast Written by Doug Masters, Michael Borgia Copyright: 1985 Published originally in France as TNT #3, La Bete Du Goulag (The Gulag Beast), in 1978. "It's the ultimate weapon and the Russians have it. It's locked in a cavern where the dead are dangling from wires. It's guarded by a woman whose dream is to experience total sexual ecstasy just once before she dies. TNT's assignment (and he has no choice but to accept it): Go in. Get it. Bring it out."

3			Spiral Of Death Written by Doug Masters, Michael Borgia Copyright: 1985 Published originally in France as TNT #6, Terminus Eldorado (Eldorado Terminus), in 1979. "In the wilds of Paraguay is hidden a legendary city of sex and gold. For centuries its citizens have lived in peace. But now the fanatical Torquemada is stealing their treasure to finance his scheme to become the worldwide Napoleon of Terrorism. TNT's choice: infiltrate Torquemada's fascist killer corps by surviving their incredible suicide training. Or watch the only human he loves, sweet innocent October, subject to the most hideous torture ever dreamed of by animal or man!"

4			The Devil's Claw Written by Doug Masters, Michael Borgia Copyright: 1985 Published originally in France as TNT #4, Huit Petits Hommes Rouges (Eight Little Red People), in 1978. "A snow-covered mountain bursts into flame. A couple vacationing in the Caribbean is frozen to death on the beach. And the second most important woman in TNT's life is kidnapped into a sultan's harem. The world is on the brink of destruction. But TNT doesn't care. He'll go through hell to save this woman - he's already done it more than once! But this time even TNT's incredible sexual powers may not be enough to survive the deadly ecstasies of The Garden of Alhambra's unbearable delights."

5			Killer Angel Written by Doug Masters, Michael Borgia Copyright: 1986 Published originally in France as TNT #5, Les Jeux D'Hercule (The Games of Hercules), in 1978. "The most beautiful and terrifying woman in the world, she lives in the mountains of Albania. She has a special method for turning her lovers into supermen - but there is a horrible price to pay for her gift. All TNT wants to do is go home - to sweet, innocent October who desperately needs him. but the queen of death has other plans. She has never had a man with unlimited sexual power and she doesn't intend to let TNT go."

6			Ritual Of Blood Written by Doug Masters, Michael Borgia Copyright: 1986 Published originally in France as TNT #9, Le 10e Mari De Barbe-Bleue (Bluebeard's 10th Husband), in 1980. "Six of the richest men in the world. All dead. All had been married to the same mysterious woman. A woman so elegant, so deeply sensual, no man could resist her. No man, except of course, TNT. But when the deadly seductress traps TNT on a mirrored bed suspended from a helicopter high over the Empire state Building - the man with the uncanny sexual prowess has to make a crucial decision - become the black widow's new mate or end up as a grease spot on Fifth Avenue."

7			Kingdom Of Death Written by Doug Masters, Michael Borgia Copyright: 1986 Published originally in France as TNT #2, Le Grand Congelateur (The Large Freezer), in 1978. "Eleven people. All with the same rare blood type. All dead. Butchered and bled by international terrorists. One woman. The only possible donor left in the world. Frozen - her body reses in a secret cryogenic laboratory in Hungary. TNT is about to enter a living, breathing hell of staggering proportions. A Kingdom of Death - where blood runs cold and hearts cease to beat the the push of a button. It is a nightmare world that leaves TNT only two choices - kill with razor-edged precision ... or end up as a human popsicle."

8			The Large Black Hood Written by Michael Borgia Copyright: - Not published in English. Published originally in France as TNT #7, Le Grand Chaperon Noir (The Large Black Hood), in 1979. [plot unknown] Glorious Trash says of the plot: "I have no idea what the book is about, but the lady on the dover certainly intrigues me."

9			Cobras Of Lilliput Written by Michael Borgia Copyright: - Not published in English. Published originally in France as TNT #8, Les Cobras De Lilliput, in 1979. [plot unknown] Glorious Trash says of the plot: "It appears that our man Tony Twin is shrunk to Lilliputian size in the adventure."

COMIC BOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, AND MANGA

Number of Stories:	3
First Appearance:	1989
Last Appearance:	1990

There has been NO graphic representations of TNT adventures in English. There were three issues written in French by Editions Claude Lefrancq which were translated into Dutch. These are shown below.

The first two were taken from the first book in the series while the third was from the 3rd book (French order) and was to have been also a two-issue affair but the second never reached materialized.


1			Octobre Published by Editions Claude Lefrancq Contributors: Loup Durand (writer), Andre-Paul Duchateau (writer), Christian Denayer (artist) Copyright: 1989 Adaptation of the first half of the first TNT adventure.

2			Les 7 Cercles De L'Enfer Published by Editions Claude Lefrancq Contributors: Loup Durand (writer), Andre-Paul Duchateau (writer), Christian Denayer (artist) Copyright: 1989 Adaptation of the second half of the first TNT adventure.

3			La Horde D'Or Published by Editions Claude Lefrancq Contributors: Loup Durand (writer), Andre-Paul Duchateau (writer), Christian Denayer (artist) Copyright: 1990 Adaptation of the first half of the third TNT adventure.

MY COMMENTS

For health reasons, I quit drinking alcohol several decades ago. When I first picked up these adventures a few years later, I was tempted to take it up again. Or maybe thought I already had! They were so ... over the top. Crazy and bizarre and not just a bit confusing.

Mind you, this was before I learned that the publisher of these adventures had chosen to release them out of order. Didn't know that when I read them and, boy, would that have helped. It would not have done anything to remove the crazy and bizarre, but at least the confusing would have been ameliorated. A tad.

Reviewing these books again for this entry, I found myself wondering about the woman who did the translation of all of them from their native French to English. What she must have thought!!

GRADE

My Grade: D+

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