My Scrapbook: That Cover. Again!

My Scrapbook That cover. Again! Glenn Grohe's much-used cover From the March 1954 issue of Bluebook. Take a look. If you've been poking around the Shamus Game (or even just this site) for a while, chances are you've seen that chisel-jawed, hard-boiled private dick somewhere before, resplendent in the obligatory trenchcoat-and-fedora, skulking around the corner … Continue reading My Scrapbook: That Cover. Again!

My Scrapbook: Boston Blackie by N.C. Wyeth

Boston Blackie by N.C. Wyeth July 1914, The American Magazine "Unhurried and without excitement, but quickly, Boston Blackie forced drawer after drawer" . THIS WAS the lead illustration for "The Price of Principle," the first-ever Boston Blackie story and thus the first-ever depiction of one of crime fiction's more enduring characters. It appeared in the … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Boston Blackie by N.C. Wyeth

My Scrapbook: “We’d Like You to Follow a Star”

My Scrapbook"We'd Like You to Follow a Star" I dunno. There's just something about this gag Christmas card that made me smile — a perfect little blend of seasonal greetings and the Shamus Game. The cartoon is by Stan Eales, and it's printed on recycled paper, and it's available on the Nobleworks.com web site, where … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “We’d Like You to Follow a Star”

My Scrapbook: Carroll John Daly’s Obituary

My ScrapbookCarroll John Daly's Obituary CARROLL JOHN DALY  was one of the most pivotal figures in the development of hard-boiled crime fiction and pretty much created the "private eye" as we now understand the term, but even now, all these years later, he still can’t get no respect. But he apparently never got much even … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Carroll John Daly’s Obituary

My Scrapbook: Luke Cage, Page One

My ScrapbookLuke Cage, Page One The above splash page, presented in all its pre-press, pasted-up, camera-ready glory, is from the very first issue of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire (June 1972), garnered a lot of attention when it came up for auction at Heritage Collectibles. Not just because it's one righteous, bad ass piece of … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Luke Cage, Page One

My Scrapbook: This or That? (A Lincoln Lawyer Dilemma)

My ScrapbookThis or That? I'm just asking... FURTHER INVESTIGATION Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer)Our take... My ScrapbookA Cornucopia of Tear Sheets, Illustrations, Photos, Scribbles & Other Crap That I Think is Cool. Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.  

My Scrapbook: A Kent Murdock Murder Mystery TOLD IN PICTURES!

My ScrapbookA Kent Murdock Murder Mystery TOLD IN PICTURES! Is this cool, or what? Above is the actual cover of Four Frightened Women (1950, Dell), and right below is an ad for it. Occasionally touted as "the very first graphic novel"  (it wasn't), it was number two in  Dell's "Told in Pictures" line, Dell's ambitious … Continue reading My Scrapbook: A Kent Murdock Murder Mystery TOLD IN PICTURES!

My Scrapbook: Raymond Chandler’s Typewriter

My ScrapbookRaymond Chandler's Typewriter Is this the coolest thing ever or what? Long-time friend of the site, Mark Coggins, author of the acclaimed August Riordan private eye series, has scored a typewriter at an estate sale,  conducted by auction house Doyle New York. And not just any typewriter. It's the the Olivetti Studio 44 that … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Raymond Chandler’s Typewriter

My Scrapbook: “It’s about my wife. I need you to find out what she thinks I did wrong.”

My Scrapbook "It's about my wife. I need you to find out what she thinks I did wrong." By Jon Adams (The New Yorker) Private eyes are so ubitquious in pop culture by now that they pop up everywhere; a well-established meme that almost everyone instantly recognizes, and thus a frequent inclusion in humor. Here, … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “It’s about my wife. I need you to find out what she thinks I did wrong.”

My Scrapbook: Dashiell Hammett as The Thin Man

My Scrapbook Dashiell Hammett as The Thin Man A good part of Dashiell Hammett's initial — and ongoing —success and popularity  was not simply due to his writing, but also to the fact that Hammett himself was a former detective for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He wasn't no oil company exec, or a CPA, or, … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Dashiell Hammett as The Thin Man