He first appeared in a Spanish Novelas del Oeste ("Stories of the West") Number 9 pulp novel in 1943, written by Carter Mulford, later as J.

Mallorquí now started writing a series of extremely popular novels, with the character "El Coyote" in the head role, for Ediciones Cliper.

Between September 1944 and late 1953 the hero appeared in a series of 192 pulp-like EL COYOTE novels,[6] with several revival editions throughout the years.

[24] César de Echagüe (the III – with Mexican and Spanish roots) was a wealthy, elegant Californio nobleman, resident at the large 40,000 hectare (100,000 acres or 400 km2) ranch, Rancho San Antonio,[25] just north-east of Los Angeles.

Behind his facade he doubled as El Coyote, a masked vigilante hero and defender of the weak – fighting for freedom, honesty and justice.

[29] The stories continued the mythical traditions of Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, and The Scarlet Pimpernel – published in 1905, which was the very first popular novel with the "double identity" plot.

Among other early famous, often masked American novel and/or radio heroes, were The Shadow, debuting 1930 (and 1931), plus The Phantom Detective, Doc Savage, The Spider and Lone Ranger in 1933, and Green Hornet in 1936.

Some of the very early comic strip superheroes (or costumed crime-fighters) were Buck Rogers introduced in 1928, Dick Tracy 1931, and Flash Gordon in 1934.

[30] Coyote wore a black (mostly illustrated as dark blue, also in the comics – and sometimes brown) Mexican, decorated charro costume.

In these novels Joaquin Murrieta, who was a "real life" Sonora, Mexico – and later California – famous bandit, is presented in the Mallorqui way.

The original novel number 115, El hogar de los valientes, and its sequel, takes us back to around 1855, before Jr. was born.

A late original Cliper novel, the six-year-celebration novel La casa de los Valdez and its sequel, told a story César picked up in Spain in 1857 about César I (his grandfather arriving in California in 1767 – the story begins and ends in 1872 at home at the San Antonio ranch).

[42] The original editions in Norway, Denmark and Sweden (with no illustration inside) often had identical covers (special unique ones made for these three countries 18x12 cm).

Brazil, often Batet and Bernal covers (but also several others),[44] published all novels in different editions, except for the high-ranked (extended, 6 pesetas) Extra-Especial on the elder Don César de Echagüe.

[49] an early Extra novel,[50] where César was inspired by a masked female actress and by the Zorro legend when he started operating as El Coyote.

César (Coyote) left Los Angeles again directly after his wife's death (even travelling to Europe and Spain) for several years (handing over the child-care to maiden Guadalupe Martinez).

César's and Lupe's child Leonorin was born in 1871 – and fosterchild Eduardito (Gómez de la Mata) that same year (in Rapto).

Guadalupe later became de Torres (Julian's real name) and suddenly – in early/mid 1872 (El código del Coyote and its sequels) – was even much richer than César, inheriting a huge ranch (Rancho del Todo) in Coahuila in north Mexico, where she had to spend several months each year with her daughter (the formal heiress) to claim her rights.

Ricardo was born around 1839/40, and married Serena Morales in Los Angeles in 1866, where he had become the owner of Posada (hotel) del Rey Don Carlos III (Coyote's new and "secret headquarters").

Among them, Fray Jacinto at the mission station San Juan de Capistrano, who knew of Coyote's identity (and tried to get César to marry Lupe – he was the only one knowing Julian's true background).

Former civil war spy Ginevra St. Clair appeared in 1869 (El exterminio de la Calavera, where César fell in love with her, but she died).

Anita was Guadalupe's maiden, and San Francisco chief vigilante Captain Farrell became a good friend of Coyote.

In the novels there were of course also a lot of villains – Coyote's worst and toughest enemy probably was Robert Toombs (featured in Guadalupe and its sequels around 1872).