World Famous Comics: The Mike Hammer Collection Volume 1
The Mike Hammer Collection Volume 1
By: Mickey Spillane Publisher: NAL Trade Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: NAL Trade Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 448 Publication Date: June 01, 2001 Release Date: June 12, 2001
Product Description: SEX AND VIOLENCE. Mickey Spillane, the tough-as-nails, bestselling publishing phenomenon knew what readers wanted. Now he's really letting them have it...times three.
MIKE HAMMER-Spillane's ultimate creation, the original no-holds-barred private eye who became homicide's hottest anti-hero.
THE MIKE HAMMER COLLECTION, VOLUME 1-the first-ever trade anthology of Spillane's masterpieces of literary mayhem. In one exciting collection, here are the first three novels featuring legendary detective Mike Hammer.
I, the Jury My Gun is Quick Vengeance is Mine!
Mickey Spillane is a master. (The New York Times)
Mickey Spillane is the living master of the hard-boiled mystery. (Detecting Men)
Just get to the meat of the matter Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer collection is a must have for detective thrillers and nostalgia seekers alike. The lowest common denominator language unembellished with adjectives and adverbs is raw, urgent, harsh and cuts to the bone. Hammer is a hard drinking neanderthal with a nonstop libido. Maybe if people read more by writers like Spillane, they wouldn't believe the flowery garbage they see in print these days was so good. The first story dove straight into the fray. It is hard to put the volume down.
The only thing a punk understands is a crack on the jaw with the barrel of a forty-five This set (and it's companion volume) really represent Spillane and Hammer at their hard-bitten best. It took literally decades for Spillane to get the respect he always deserved (but couldn't have cared less about) for his creation. Frankly, Hammer deserves a place on the same plateau as Marlowe and Spade. From the cold blooded "It was easy" to the shocking "Juno was a..." Take a walk on the wild side and rain swept NY back alleys with the Hammer. It's dark and dangerous, but you will never regret it.
Down memory lane I loved these books when I was in High School. They were a big reason I became a private detective. But, they are a little dated for today. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane when everyone smoked, cars and starter buttons, and girls were dames. They are a wonderful look back into the 1950's.
Too much tough-guy posturing Contents: I, the jury; My gun is quick; Vengeance is mine
Too much like self-parody to be good. Has its moments, but too much posturing. Mickey Spillane, and by extension his detective Mike Hammer, are tough-guy wannabes.
The progression from Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler is not only generational, but devolutionary.
"It Was Easy." (No, it only looks that way) Back in the day when I was teaching university literature courses, I would annually shock some English department colleagues by suggesting to students that Raymond Chandler was a better writer than F. Scott Fitzgerald. I smile to think of their reactions today if I were teaching a course in American literature, in which I would spend serious time reading and discussing Mickey Spillane and his unforgettable character, Mike Hammer.
Spillane was never a trickster or sensationalist. He was a hard worker and a born storyteller who knew more about pacing and dialogue than most writers will ever know. He got readers to pay attention and turn the page, and he left the always wanting more. Even today, I dream of another new Hammer novel or two turning up somewhere in the dusty bottom drawer of a roll-top desk.
But even if they don't, I'll revisit Spillane/Hammer every few years, probably for the rest of my life. So many books are made for one reading, and that's it. Not these. Spillane succeeded in creating an iconic American character, a deeply flawed rebel with an unbreakable will and unwavering sense of what is right and good in life. The author and his main character were always true to themselves, and we're the beneficiaries of that truth.
Staying with these two is not tough to do; it's easy!
--Robert McDowell, The Poetry Mentor (www.robertmcdowell.net), author of POETRY AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE, July 15th, 2008, from Free Press.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
