Seduction of the Innocent (Max Allan Collins, 2013)

Conclusion of Collins' Jack Star comic book trilogy. This time around, dark clouds are gathering over this unworthy business as an intense congressional campaign against the publishers of these books takes place. Dr. Werner Frederick is one of its leaders, so this whole witch hunt gets a whole new dimension when he is killed. Sinister shadow of suspicion falls on various publishers and artists. It's up to Jack Star to clear their names and, of course, save the face of the whole industry so it can continue to seduce and corrupt our precious innocent children.

Hard to do this one justice. As a crime/mystery novel, it more or less sucks. It starts okay, but soon I got fed up with its easy and humorous (well, kind of) style. Characters are interesting and offbeat enough (guy with a monkey in his office!), as it only becomes a book with a background in the comics industry. There are also numerous references to the comics industry (artists, publishers, distributors, events), which are cool enough but don't really help the story itself take off. When it finally does, it gets more readable (introduction of mobsters works quite well, I thought), but it's all fucked up with the horrible ending. Agatha Christie kind of climax where all the suspects are assembled in the same room and our hero reveals the fucking butler.

In fact, when I think about it, the whole setup is actually pretty good old Agatha-ish: crime in an unusual surroundings, strange murder with perpetrator doing some weird shit with ice to mess with the time of death, linear storyline with one or two characters introduced each chapter, etc. Maybe I don't get that latter thing, and I wouldn't be surprised if this structure is a homage to daily paper serials, but still, it was a bit too monotone. Also, Jack is an amateur detective, and he cracks the case simply by having a revelation (or, in comic books' jargon, a light bulb goes off over the character's head).

But on the other hand, and after having said all that, lots of things noted above work very well (just not as a whole) and give this book a special tone. Even though plotting is not its strongest side, the story is cool and unusual. And I did like the characters and all that crap about the 50s comics scene, and found most of the chapters preceding the illustrations adorable. Cool idea and welcome novelty indeed!  Collins, of course, is a master of dialogue (though strictly no fucks here!), smooth writing and fluent storytelling. A little resentment that I have (once again) is his totally childish depiction of women and sex. Jack is another one of his macho heroes to whom women throw themselves without much thinking. Perhaps in this case, it's somewhat justifiable, but still, phrases like "yes, she was a natural blonde" or "he was hung like a horse" sound somewhat immature and childish.

Don't know, really. It's a mixed bag. I expected it to be a cute silliness in the same vein as Deadly Beloved. I'm surprised it was published by Hard Case Crime in the first place because you won't find much hard-boiled action here, I'm afraid. It does manage to capture that pulpy feeling, but I still categorise it as a cosy crime, or, if we are a little mean, even put it in the young adult section. But let's not be mean - it is, after all, MAC's love letter to 50s comics and strip culture, which we all love.

3/5

Facts:

Hero:
Jack Starr, 33.  vice president of the Starr Syndicate. Troubleshooter, also registered P.I.

Location:
New York

Body count: 

2

Dames: 
Dr. Sylvia Winters, "Cross between Kim Novak and Grace Kelly." Layla Lamont, gifted, beautiful and wild cartoonist.

Blackouts: 
Jack passes out twice, but has a peculiar way of doing so. Not very convincing, to say the least, because he drops out after all the action's already finished. This gets even more peculiar (not to say ridiculous) the second time around because (1) he's beaten for a whole minute by two "professional" thugs. He then manages to (2) free himself, (3) beat the living shit out of both those assholes and their boss, (4) drive home and then pass out in the elevator on his way up to his apartment.

Title: 
Comic books seduce innocent children, and they must be stopped!

Cover:
Terrific once again, as we would expect from the maestro Glen Orbik. And it's actually 100% related to the story because it portrays the actual cover of one of the incriminated "Suspense Crime Stories" comic books. And it gets even better because in the prologue, Layla is pushed to her death from the 14th-story window. But needs to be said that the book offers even better material for its cover. I'm talking, of course, about the first fight between Jack and Pine on the staircase while naked Layla is watching them. Just imagine the possibilities! Maybe next edition...

Cool lines:  
He looked like a twelve-year-old who'd just been told the facts of life and was appalled yet intrigued.

"I remember you, Mr. Starr," she said, with a faint smile, as if she were recalling the long-ago day when she still could stand men.[The Coolest!]