Review: Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer #2
“I don’t kiss whores on the mouth.” – Mike Hammer
This issue begins with our hero on a date with a beautiful blond named Helen Venn. It seems that Helen was the girlfriend of one Marty Wellman. But not just his girlfriend, his partner and Sub Rosa accountant. Helen wants more than Hammers…er…hammer (sorry) she wants him to find out who killed Wellman.
The Creative Team:
The only way you could get more Mickey Spillane than Max Collins is to resurrect Spillane from the dead, but since that’s not possible, we do have Collins adapting Spillane’s most popular character. And this issue brings us more mystery. While investigating the murder of Wellman, Spillane finds a homeless legless veteran named Garrity, who’s been shot to death. Great stuff includes the fate of mobster Carmen Rich and Hammer’s no-nonsense approach to interrogation.
The two Marc’s are as awesome as ever. Their gritty noir style brings a refreshing light to Mikey Spillane’s greatest character and the realistic renderings help bring this adaptation to par excellence in comic book format, which, as I always knew, was perfect for this medium. Highlights include the discovery of Garrity’s body and the fight between Hammer and Rich.
In Conclusion:
I can not state enough how much I love noir mystery and Max Collins knows how to deliver on this front. Hammer finds a few clues in searching for the murderer of Marty Wellman, he also finds a few more murder victims, not entirely unexpected, just one of the hazards of the job when your Mike Hammer. After a hard day of investigation, Hammer returns to the motel to find his secretary and Helen. He’s ready to settle in for the night…But are they alone? To be continued. ***1/2 (8.6 rating)
Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer #2
Writer – Mickey Spillane, Max Collins
Art – Marcelo Salaza, Marcio Freire
Letters – Tom Williams
Publisher – Titan
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
