Jerry Cotton
Jerry Cotton is the most commercially successful crime novel series in German-speaking countries . They are classified as trivial literature or so-called book novels . The series was invented by Delfried Kaufmann . The total print run is around 850 million copies; at the same time, Jerry Cotton serves as the publishing pseudonym under whose alleged authorship the series appears. The series of magazines is published by Bastei-Verlag and is mainly sold through kiosks and magazine stores. Volume 3263 of the series was published at the end of 2019.
Bastei Lübbe Verlag has been publishing one episode of the series in eBook format every week since January 2015. In May 2015, the publisher also launched a digital “Jerry Cotton Special Edition”, in which an eBook series is published every two weeks.
After a series of eight films with George Nader in the 1960s, a remake was released in 2010 .
Characterization of the figure
G-Man Jerry Cotton, born as Jeremias Cotton in the fictional Harpersvillage, Connecticut , trained at the FBI Academy in Quantico , Virginia , is a New York FBI agent and investigates organized crime. Jerry Cotton's appearance is only vaguely described in the novels, which are written in the first-person form, so that each reader can form their own picture. In the older novels, a resemblance to George Nader is sometimes emphasized by female characters . In terms of character, Cotton is described as “tough but warm”, has a sense of humor and is of average intelligence. But he often shows astonishing cunning and improvisation skills in order to get out of tricky situations with more or less healthy skin. In situations where innocent lives are at stake, he is ready to sacrifice both the life of the opponent and his own. In the novel ... and nothing but the truth! , in which Cotton is charged with the shooting of a supposedly unarmed suspect of murder, a psychologist testifies that Cotton goes too far in dangerous situations, for example when it comes to the lives of hostages. Unarmed gangsters, on the other hand, are generally attacked unarmed by Cotton, if necessary. Cotton doesn't like being addressed by his full first name, Jeremias, because he sees it as old-fashioned. Phil Decker , his best friend and partner, likes to use this to tease him a little.
Other important minor characters
John D. High is the District Chief ( Special Agent in Charge ) for the New York FBI District. High is portrayed as a man in his fifties whose family was murdered by gangsters years before the series began. Mr. High never loses his temper and trusts his agent unconditionally.
Zeerokah , nicknamed Zeery , is an FBI agent of Native American descent; which tribe is never explained in detail. His most noticeable trait is his tendency towards stylish, expensive bespoke suits, which is why he is often jokingly referred to as "New York's best-dressed FBI agent" or has to put up with innuendos that he cannot afford furniture or food because he has all his money for would spend expensive clothes. However, he basically ignores this, or if he does, then he only points out to look better in clothing than the person concerned. In interrogations he likes to play the "bad Indian" to unsettle suspects with low intelligence. He has no other name because of his parentage.
Steve Dilaggio is of Italian descent but is described as blonde, blue-eyed and very tall. Dilaggio coordinates missions in which he does not participate directly via radio and in the excitement forgets to regularly observe radio discipline . After only six months of marriage, his wife Molly is murdered due to a mix-up. Cotton wants to pull him out of this case, but Steve stays with him until the perpetrator is resolved and arrested.
Captain Hywood of the homicide of the NYPD 's Cottons and Deckers's main contact with the City Police. Though he initially thinks all FBI people are arrogant know-it-alls, over time he becomes a good friend of Cotton and Decker. Hywood is described as huge and awkward and has a voice “like a foghorn”, so he is extremely loud even without consciously shouting. Nevertheless, he is a very capable police officer with by far the highest clearance rate, even without the help of the FBI.
Other recurring characters include agents Joe Brandenburg, June Clark, Les Bedell and others, as well as Mr. High's secretary, Helen, whose coffee is considered the best in town, and Myrna, whose voice is described as smoky and erotic and who is in the day shift runs the FBI switchboard.
In Volume 3000 ( Goodbye, New York , Dec. 16, 2014) Assistant Director Edward G. Homer is killed and Mr. High succeeds him. Jerry Cotton and Phil Decker go with him to Washington, now with the rank of inspector and are responsible for several states (east coast including New York). Jerry's and Phil's new comrades-in-arms are a) Mai-Lin Cha, computer expert, b) Concita Mendez, economist, c) Fortesque ("FGF"), forensic scientist and d) Dr. Willson, pathologist .
history
In 1954 the first book of novels appeared with the title I was looking for the gangster boss as No. 68 in the series Bastei Kriminalroman . After about twenty issues, Jerry Cotton was removed from the 1956 Bastei crime novel and appeared for the first time as an independent series with the title I hunted the diamond shark . Volume 500 of the series, I want to die in New York , appeared in the first edition in oversize format with a New York city map and the initial story of Jerry Cotton ( Jeremias Cotton ). In 2014, the series reached its 3,000th edition. Because of its great success, the second edition, world success, began on March 7, 1959, with the subtitle Nothing is more exciting . The third edition of the bestseller , in which selected novels from the series were published, started on January 19, 1970 and was discontinued on November 8, 2005 with number 1600.
At the height of the Jerry Cotton fever, a fourth edition appeared every two weeks, which began on January 17, 1978, but was discontinued on February 16, 1996 with volume 554.
The third edition was replaced by the Jerry Cotton Classics, which has appeared since October 25, 2005 with the subtitle The Cases of the Early Years . Volume 1 was a previously unpublished original manuscript; all other novels, as in the fourth edition, were printed in a completely incoherent order.
In 1963 the paperback series also started, the first volumes of which were by Heinz Werner Höber. The paperback books reached the 500th edition in 2003, the editor in charge was ex-booklet editor Peter Thannisch. The paperbacks were also published as a second edition in individual volumes; today they are combined into a volume of three every two months. Since 2015, these novels have been reprinted every fortnight in the form of 80-page booklets.
The series was invented by Delfried Kaufmann, about whose person Bastei-Verlag kept a great secret for years by only vaguely speaking of a “Mr. K.”. Only Jörg Weigand discovered Kaufmann in 1998 in an article for Die Welt as the inventor of the Cotton series. Kaufmann is still active in the Cotton series and wrote, among other things, large anniversary volumes such as No. 500, 1000 and 2000. Allegedly, with his first novel, Kaufmann wanted to satirize the American crime novels that were circulating at the time and that he disliked. That is why he would have come up with a less heroic sounding name for the main character with Cotton . He refutes this story in an interview that was printed in Martin Compart's book G-man Jerry Cotton - A Homage to the World's Most Successful Crime Heroes . There Kaufmann is quoted as follows: “There is this story, I would have wanted to ironize American crime novels, the hard-boiled crime novels. This story is not true. ... My original inspirations were Old Shatterhand and Winnetou. You will hardly find irony in Karl May. "
Jerry Cottons vehicles
Jaguar XK 120 Coupe
Red Jaguar E-Type
(Subtitle
The titles of the series are deliberately designed sensationally in order to attract a larger readership (e.g. volume 386: Hell was already heated ).
For years there have also been subtitles that were printed on the cover alongside the regular novel title. These subtitles were abolished with Volume 2496 ( Murder is Murder! ). The publisher's decision was that readers' views on the subtitles had always been divided. Originally, the cover and subtitles of the first edition were mostly used for the second edition, but this was changed by the new Jerry Cotton editor; recently, neither subtitles nor original covers have been printed on the new editions.
From 1999 to 2005 there were also imprints such as “Total circulation: over 850 million!” Or “Jerry Cotton - the world's best seller”.
Sarah Hunter cycle
On the occasion of the 50th Jerry Cotton anniversary, Bastei-Verlag offered some extras, including a. two hardcover from Lübbe-Buch-Verlag and one hardcover from Zaubermond-Verlag. Within the series of issues there was the Sarah Hunter cycle from volume 2445 to 2457, with an opening volume 2444. In volume 2444 ( The Terror Camp ) arch villain Jeff Patrick receives a bitter defeat from the New York FBI. He takes revenge in the Sarah Hunter cycle, in which Cotton's partner Phil Decker leaves the FBI service (see volume 2445: When Decker went to the dogs ) and Jerry Cotton gets Sarah Hunter as a new partner. Within the Sarah Hunter cycle, Patrick et al. a., to ruin Jerry Cotton's reputation (see Volume 2455: Me - the Man with the Bomb ), and plans to include Cotton and Decker in the final two-part of the Sarah Hunter cycle (Volume 2456: The Enemy fortress , Volume 2457: Deckers Return ). Ultimately, his plan fails, but he is still not caught.
Washington cycle
After Mister High was transferred to Washington due to the events in Volume 3000 ( Goodbye New York! ) To be responsible for the management of the American East Coast as Head of Field Operation Section East, Jerry Cotton and Phil Decker also left New York. You continue to work for your old boss, but now as FBI inspectors, so you have a higher rank than before. In this role they are active on the entire east coast and beyond. A Scientific Research Team (SRT) from Quantico is at your disposal. Members of this team are Dr. med. Gerold M. Wilson, Dr. Mai-Lin Cha, Dr. Frederik George Fortesque (FGF) and Concira Mendez. Mister High has a new secretary, Dorothy Taylor. The Washington cycle ends with volume 3199. In Volume 3200, Mister High, Jerry Cotton and Phil Decker all return to New York. They hold their old posts there and fight primarily against the strengthened Mafia.
Cotton Reloaded
On October 13, 2012, a remake of the series started under the title Cotton Reloaded . Its theme differs from that of the original series in several ways. Jeremiah Cotton travels to New York City with his family as a teenager. There he saw his parents and sister become victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He himself is buried when he tries to penetrate one of the towers shortly before the collapse. As a young police officer, a decade later, through unauthorized investigations, he came across the "G-Team", a secret department of the FBI, which finally took him in because of his persistence and his successful searches. His partner is the attractive and astute special agent Philippa "Phil" Decker.
The individual volumes of the series tell self-contained stories and are published monthly as an e-book by Bastei Lübbe Verlag with the names of the authors . The unabridged, non-staged audio books are read by Tobias Kluckert .
After episode 50, which ended with a cliffhanger , the publisher announced a miniseries for autumn 2017 entitled Cotton Reloaded - Nemesis , which should take up these events. In the meantime, series specials that are not related to content have been published (episode 51 ff.)
So far, the following episodes have appeared in the "Cotton Reloaded" series or will appear in the near future:
| episode | title | Publication date | author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The beginning | October 13, 2012 | Mario Giordano |
| 2 | countdown | November 8, 2012 | Peter Mennigen |
| 3 | Invisible shadows | December 13, 2012 | Jan Gardemann |
| 4th | The disappeared | January 10, 2013 | Alexander Lohmann |
| 5 | The infection | February 14, 2013 | Linda Budinger |
| 6th | Corpse lake | March 14, 2013 | Peter Mennigen |
| 7th | The Kumo cartel | April 11, 2013 | Mara Laue |
| 8th | Killer apps | May 9, 2013 | Peter Mennigen |
| 9 | Death game | 13th June 2013 | Alfred Bekker |
| 10 | Omega project | July 11th 2013 | Peter Mennigen |
| 11 | Death to order | August 8, 2013 | Alexander Lohmann |
| 12 | Survival | September 12th, 2013 | Peter Mennigen |
| 13 | The informant | October 10th, 2013 | Jürgen Benvenuti |
| 14th | Civil war | November 14, 2013 | Linda Budinger |
| 15th | Deadly mess | November 28, 2013 | Peter Mennigen |
| 16 | The voice of anger | January 9, 2014 | Alfred Bekker |
| 17th | The city of the dead | February 13, 2014 | Peter Mennigen |
| 18th | The senator's son | March 13, 2014 | Arno Endler |
| 19th | Under suspicion | April 10, 2014 | Alexander Lohmann |
| 20th | Ice cold death | May 8, 2014 | Kerstin Haman |
| 21st | Deadly swamp | June 12, 2014 | Timothy steel |
| 22nd | Dollar murder | July 10, 2014 | Jack Lance |
| 23 | The immortals | August 14, 2014 | Peter Mennigen |
| 24 | Desert of retribution | September 11, 2014 | Timothy steel |
| 25th | Death of the phoenix | October 9, 2014 | Linda Budinger |
| 26th | The wolf man | November 13, 2014 | Jürgen Benvenuti |
| 27 | Mute witness | November 27, 2014 | Peter Mennigen |
| 28 | Killer cockroaches | January 8, 2015 | Alfred Bekker |
| 29 | Return to death | February 12, 2015 | Peter Mennigen |
| 30th | Crime scene: London | March 12, 2015 | Peter Mennigen |
| 31 | The pin-up girl | April 9, 2015 | Leonhard Michael Seidl |
| 32 | Level zero | May 14, 2015 | Christian Weis |
| 33 | The drawer | June 11, 2015 | Kerstin Hamann |
| 34 | eye to eye | July 9, 2015 | Arno Endler |
| 35 | The ghost | August 13, 2015 | Peter Mennigen |
| 36 | The cell phone | September 10, 2015 | Alfred Bekker |
| 37 | Killer from beyond the grave | October 8, 2015 | Oliver Buslau |
| 38 | Deadly pills | November 12, 2015 | Jürgen Benvenuti |
| 39 | Silent night, quieter night | November 26, 2015 | Peter Mennigen |
| 40 | A dirty nest | January 14, 2016 | Linda Budinger |
| 41 | Hawaii hot patch | 19th February 2016 | Nadine Buranaseda |
| 42 | Blood wedding | March 10, 2016 | Peter Mennigen |
| 43 | The poison of the viper | April 14, 2016 | Christian Weis |
| 44 | Vienna Calling | May 12, 2016 | Jürgen Benvenuti |
| 45 | Nowhere in New Mexico | June 9, 2016 | Peter Mennigen |
| 46 | El Doctor | July 14, 2016 | Oliver Buslau |
| 47 | Young heroes die early | 11th August 2016 | Timothy steel |
| 48 | Mister Hangman | September 8, 2016 | Alfred Bekker |
| 49 | Killing in Memphis | October 13, 2016 | Peter Mennigen |
| 50 | Deadly Finale (anniversary episode) | November 10, 2016 | Nadine Buranaseda |
| Series specials | |||
| 51 | The last night (series special) | December 8, 2016 | Timothy steel |
| 52 | Bloody Valentine (series special) | February 9, 2017 | Alfred Bekker |
| 53 | Wrong game in Quantico (series special) | April 13, 2017 | Christian Weis |
| 54 | The death of a good man (series special) | June 8, 2017 | Jürgen Benvenuti |
| 55 | 1881 (series special) | August 10, 2017 | Linda Budinger |
| Cotton Reloaded - Nemesis | |||
| 56 | Nemesis 1 - Condemned | October 10, 2017 | Gabriel Conroy & Timothy Stahl |
| 57 | Nemesis 2 - On the Run | November 14, 2017 | Gabriel Conroy & Timothy Stahl |
| 58 | Nemesis 3 - False Friends | December 12, 2017 | Gabriel Conroy & Timothy Stahl |
| 59 | Nemesis 4 - Ghosts of the Past | January 9, 2018 | Gabriel Conroy & Timothy Stahl |
| 60 | Nemesis 5 - Before the Storm | February 13, 2018 | Gabriel Conroy & Timothy Stahl |
| 61 | Nemesis 6 - Deadly Hunt | March 13, 2018 | Gabriel Conroy & Timothy Stahl |
Authors
More than 100 authors write without naming the author or under the collective pseudonym Jerry Cotton (in the past, Jerry Cotton was given as the author ; in the meantime, authors are not mentioned). The current editor and editor of the series is Florian Marzin , who previously worked for the Pabel-Moewig publishing union (including Perry Rhodan ). It is not known how many writers co-wrote the series; The number 100 is considered certain, other estimates are from 150 to 180. The authors were kept secret by the publisher for many years until Heinz Werner Höber ( The Man Who Was Jerry Cotton ) sued Bastei Verlag in 1970 and thus became known as one of the authors. The authors are not named in the novels; the only exceptions are volume 2500, in which (probably by mistake) Michael Peinkofer is noted as the author, and volume 2781, in which Delfried Kaufmann is expressly stated as the author. Bastei-Verlag has published a list of Cotton authors on the back of Volume 3000.
The following authors are known:
Film adaptations
In the 1960s, a series of B-films based on the Cotton novels was shot in Germany, initially in black and white. The role of Jerry Cotton was played primarily by the German television audience through his leading role as insurance detective Shannon in the 36-part early-evening crime series Shannon clears up well-known American actor George Nader , that of Phil Decker by the German actor Heinz Weiss and that of her boss Mr. John High Richard Münch . The film music was written by the composer Peter Thomas and set to music with his orchestra ( Jerry Cotton March ); it has since appeared on various sound carriers.
- Shots from the violin case (1965, b / w), directed by Fritz Umgelter
- Mordnacht in Manhattan (1965, b / w), directed by Harald Philipp
- At midnight the trap snaps shut (1966, b / w), director: Harald Philipp
- The bill - served ice cold (1966, b / w), directed by Helmut Ashley
- The Brooklyn Killer Club (1967, color), directed by Werner Jacobs
- Dynamite in green silk (1968, color), director: Harald Reinl
- Death in the Red Jaguar (1968, color), director: Harald Reinl
- Fatal Shots on Broadway (1969, color), directed by Harald Reinl
An elaborate remake was released on March 11, 2010. It was produced by Rat Pack Filmproduktion in co-production with Studio Babelsberg . The cast includes Christian Tramitz as Jerry Cotton and Christian Ulmen as his partner Decker. Also starring occur Mónica Cruz , Christiane Paul , Heino Ferch and Moritz Bleibtreu on.
- Jerry Cotton (2010, color) directed by Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert
literature
- Klaus Kunkel: A good James Bond. Jerry Cotton and Bastei Verlag . In: The month . tape 18 , no. 208 . Berlin January 1966, p. 61-70 .
- Klaus Kunkel: A good James Bond. Jerry Cotton and Bastei Verlag . In: Jochen Vogt (Ed.): The crime novel . 2 (On the theory and history of a genus). Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1971, ISBN 3-7705-0628-6 , p. 559-578 (reprint).
- Klaus Kunkel: A good James Bond. Jerry Cotton and Bastei Verlag . In: Jochen Vogt (Ed.): The crime novel. Poetics - Theory - History . tape 8147 . UTB, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8252-8147-7 , pp. 581 (reprint).
- Friedrich Jakuba: Jerry Cotton. Nothing but truth and legends . Gustav Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 2003, ISBN 3-7857-2139-0 , p. 318 (hardcover for the 50th anniversary of Cotton).
- Jerry Cotton (Delfried Kaufmann): Jerry Cotton. The colors of death . Bastei-Lübbe-Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-7857-2177-3 , p. 365 (hardcover for the 50th anniversary of Cotton).
- Martin Compart: G-man Jerry Cotton. A homage to the most successful crime heroes in the world . Bastei-Lübbe-Verlag, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-7857-2400-2 , p. 208 .
- Gerhard Teuscher: Perry Rhodan, Jerry Cotton and Johannes Mario Simmel. A presentation on theory, history and representatives of trivial literature. ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-932602-76-5 .
- Joachim Kramp, Gerd Naumann (ed.): The Jerry Cotton Films. When Jerry Cotton came to Germany. Ibidem Verlag 2011. ISBN 3-8382-0213-9 .
- Working group mass literature: usable immaturity: on the series of books Jerry Cotton. In: Aesthetics & Communication . Amounts for political education. Vol. 2, H. 5-6, Rowohlt, Reinbek February 1972. ISBN 3-498-08503-4 , pp. 49-58.
Web links
- Bastei Verlag website (with a detailed Jerry Cotton page)
- Jerry Cotton in the lexicon of German crime writers
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jerry Cotton (Delfried Kaufmann): I was looking for the gangster boss. G-man Jerry Cotton . In: Bastei crime novel . tape 68 . Bastei, March 1954, p. 64 .
- ↑ Jörg Weigand: Jerry Cotton - finally exposed. The FBI agent is the brainchild of representative Delfried Kaufmann . In: The world . Axel Springer Verlag, May 6, 1998 ( welt.de [accessed August 1, 2009]).
- ↑ COTTON RELOADED: Deadly Finale ... and a New Beginning . December 12, 2016 ( be-ebooks.de [accessed December 19, 2016]). be-ebooks.de ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Gerd Naumann: The film composer Peter Thomas. From Edgar Wallace and Jerry Cotton to Orion space patrol . ibidem-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-8382-0003-3 , ISSN 1866-3397 .
- ↑ jerrycotton.film.de ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
