title: The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics
author: Paul Gravett
description: This big volume, the third in the series, is an incredible value with a very high gem-to-dud ratio. Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: Dark City run of Sunday paper serials is presented in its original turn-the-book-sideways glory; Jack Kirby's The Money-Making Machine Swindlers is a retro blast, complete with cautionary monologue from the femme fatale. An opportunity is missed with the selection made to represent Will Eisner's <i>The Spirit</i>; the story chosen is tame and insubstantial. But there are a few standouts that make this book a strong buy candidate even for people who don't normally go in for noir: Max Allan Collins's Ms. Tree taking maternity leave; a lengthy continuity from Dashiell Hammett's newspaper strip Secret Agent X-9, with art by the great Alex Raymond; and most spectacular of all, an utterly odd story (author unknown) of a blind painter, set in the realm of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct. This wide-ranging collection is high on both visual appeal and entertainment value. <i>(Aug.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00330.jpeg)
  
  Constable & Robinson
  
  Independent thinking since 1795
  
  www.constablerobinson.com
  
   **Trisha Telep** was the romance and fantasy book buyer at Murder One, the
  UK’s premier crime and romance bookstore. She has recently re-launched this
  classic bookshop online at _w_
  
   _ww._ murderone.co.uk __ . Originally
  
  from Vancouver, Canada, she completed the Master of Publishing program at
  Simon Fraser University before moving to London. She lives in Hackney with her
  boyfriend, filmmaker Christopher Joseph.
  
  _Also available_
  
  The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best of Best New SF
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 8
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga 3
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 21
  
  The Mammoth Book of Best War Comics
  
  The Mammoth Book of Bikers
  
  The Mammoth Book of Boy