Product Description: Manhattan, 1953. Hal Rapps Tall Paul, one of Americas most popular comic strips, is now a Broadway musical, infuriating Rapps long-time rival Sam Fizer, creator of the once beloved boxing strip Mug OMalley. Adding insult to injury is the casting of Misty Winters, Fizers wife, as one of Rapps hillbilly gals. Then Fizer is found murderedwith all evidence pointing to Rapp.
Starr Syndicate has distribution deals with both cartoonists, but V.P. Jack Starr and his stepmother (and company president) Maggie believe Rapps been framed. Between loan sharks, jealous husbands, bitter artists, and Fizers widow, there are more colorful characters with murderous motives than in a month of Sunday funnies.
Namely, jes' fine Max Allan Collins is the most prolific writer since, and possibly including, Isaac Asimov. Unlike Asimov, whom I knew slightly and admired immensely, Collins is actually a good writer as well as idea man. This latest (as of this writing) episode, the second in the series featuring Jack Starr and his sexy step mom Maggie , is an oddity on any number of delightful levels. A spoof of the production of the musical "Li'l Abner" (here called "Tall Paul") it fascinates in that only Collins would think there are enough people who remember the comic strip, let alone the Johnny Mercer/Gene DePaul musical. For those that do, however, the none-too-subtle portrait of the players involved (including Edie Adams, Ernie Kovacs, Peter Palmer, etc.-we will pause briefly while the vast majority out there say:"WHO????" ) is a hoot. If Collins' history is a wee bit shaky (both "The Pajama Game" & "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" were produced in 1954, not the 1953 of the story's setting), his style and sense of humor are impeccable. Buy this! Oh, and as an aside, demand Prime Crime bring Collins' other work for them back into print!
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