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From the Files of...Mike Hammer, The Complete Dailies and Sundays
America's most famous hard boiled detective, Mike Hammer, returns with Hermes Press' complete archival reprint of the entire newspaper strip, From the Files of… Mike Hammer!
- GenresGraphic Novels
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 11, 2012
15 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Spillane
315 books446 followersMickey Spillane was one of the world's most popular mystery writers. His specialty was tight-fisted, sadistic revenge stories, often featuring his alcoholic gumshoe Mike Hammer and a cast of evildoers who launder money or spout the Communist Party line.
His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 people in six novels.
Starting with "I, the Jury," in 1947, Mr. Spillane sold hundreds of millions of books during his lifetime and garnered consistently scathing reviews. Even his father, a Brooklyn bartender, called them "crud."
Mr. Spillane was a struggling comic book publisher when he wrote "I, the Jury." He initially envisioned it as a comic book called "Mike Danger," and when that did not go over, he took a week to reconfigure it as a novel.
Even the editor in chief of E.P. Dutton and Co., Mr. Spillane's publisher, was skeptical of the book's literary merit but conceded it would probably be a smash with postwar readers looking for ready action. He was right. The book, in which Hammer pursues a murderous narcotics ring led by a curvaceous female psychiatrist, went on to sell more than 1 million copies.
Mr. Spillane spun out six novels in the next five years, among them "My Gun Is Quick," "The Big Kill," "One Lonely Night" and "Kiss Me, Deadly." Most concerned Hammer, his faithful sidekick, Velda, and the police homicide captain Pat Chambers, who acknowledges that Hammer's style of vigilante justice is often better suited than the law to dispatching criminals.
Mr. Spillane's success rankled other critics, who sometimes became very personal in their reviews. Malcolm Cowley called Mr. Spillane "a homicidal paranoiac," going on to note what he called his misogyny and vigilante tendencies.
His books were translated into many languages, and he proved so popular as a writer that he was able to transfer his thick-necked, barrel-chested personality across many media. With the charisma of a redwood, he played Hammer in "The Girl Hunters," a 1963 film adaptation of his novel.
Spillane also scripted several television shows and films and played a detective in the 1954 suspense film "Ring of Fear," set at a Clyde Beatty circus. He rewrote much of the film, too, refusing payment. In gratitude, the producer, John Wayne, surprised him one morning with a white Jaguar sportster wrapped in a red ribbon. The card read, "Thanks, Duke."
Done initially on a dare from his publisher, Mr. Spillane wrote a children's book, "The Day the Sea Rolled Back" (1979), about two boys who find a shipwreck loaded with treasure. This won a Junior Literary Guild award.
He also wrote another children's novel, "The Ship That Never Was," and then wrote his first Mike Hammer mystery in 20 years with "The Killing Man" (1989). "Black Alley" followed in 1996. In the last, a rapidly aging Hammer comes out of a gunshot-induced coma, then tracks down a friend's murderer and billions in mob loot. For the first time, he also confesses his love for Velda but, because of doctor's orders, cannot consummate the relationship.
Late in life, he received a career achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America and was named a grand master by the Mystery Writers of America.
In his private life, he neither smoked nor drank and was a house-to-house missionary for the Jehovah's Witnesses. He expressed at times great disdain for what he saw as corrosive forces in American life, from antiwar protesters to the United Nations.
His marriages to Mary Ann Pearce and Sherri Malinou ended in divorce. His second wife, a model, posed nude for the dust jacket of his 1972 novel "The Erection Set."
Survivors include his third wife, Jane Rodgers Johnson, a former beauty queen 30 years his junior; and four children from the first marriage.
He also carried on a long epistolary flirtation with Ayn Rand, an admirer of his writing.
His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 people in six novels.
Starting with "I, the Jury," in 1947, Mr. Spillane sold hundreds of millions of books during his lifetime and garnered consistently scathing reviews. Even his father, a Brooklyn bartender, called them "crud."
Mr. Spillane was a struggling comic book publisher when he wrote "I, the Jury." He initially envisioned it as a comic book called "Mike Danger," and when that did not go over, he took a week to reconfigure it as a novel.
Even the editor in chief of E.P. Dutton and Co., Mr. Spillane's publisher, was skeptical of the book's literary merit but conceded it would probably be a smash with postwar readers looking for ready action. He was right. The book, in which Hammer pursues a murderous narcotics ring led by a curvaceous female psychiatrist, went on to sell more than 1 million copies.
Mr. Spillane spun out six novels in the next five years, among them "My Gun Is Quick," "The Big Kill," "One Lonely Night" and "Kiss Me, Deadly." Most concerned Hammer, his faithful sidekick, Velda, and the police homicide captain Pat Chambers, who acknowledges that Hammer's style of vigilante justice is often better suited than the law to dispatching criminals.
Mr. Spillane's success rankled other critics, who sometimes became very personal in their reviews. Malcolm Cowley called Mr. Spillane "a homicidal paranoiac," going on to note what he called his misogyny and vigilante tendencies.
His books were translated into many languages, and he proved so popular as a writer that he was able to transfer his thick-necked, barrel-chested personality across many media. With the charisma of a redwood, he played Hammer in "The Girl Hunters," a 1963 film adaptation of his novel.
Spillane also scripted several television shows and films and played a detective in the 1954 suspense film "Ring of Fear," set at a Clyde Beatty circus. He rewrote much of the film, too, refusing payment. In gratitude, the producer, John Wayne, surprised him one morning with a white Jaguar sportster wrapped in a red ribbon. The card read, "Thanks, Duke."
Done initially on a dare from his publisher, Mr. Spillane wrote a children's book, "The Day the Sea Rolled Back" (1979), about two boys who find a shipwreck loaded with treasure. This won a Junior Literary Guild award.
He also wrote another children's novel, "The Ship That Never Was," and then wrote his first Mike Hammer mystery in 20 years with "The Killing Man" (1989). "Black Alley" followed in 1996. In the last, a rapidly aging Hammer comes out of a gunshot-induced coma, then tracks down a friend's murderer and billions in mob loot. For the first time, he also confesses his love for Velda but, because of doctor's orders, cannot consummate the relationship.
Late in life, he received a career achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America and was named a grand master by the Mystery Writers of America.
In his private life, he neither smoked nor drank and was a house-to-house missionary for the Jehovah's Witnesses. He expressed at times great disdain for what he saw as corrosive forces in American life, from antiwar protesters to the United Nations.
His marriages to Mary Ann Pearce and Sherri Malinou ended in divorce. His second wife, a model, posed nude for the dust jacket of his 1972 novel "The Erection Set."
Survivors include his third wife, Jane Rodgers Johnson, a former beauty queen 30 years his junior; and four children from the first marriage.
He also carried on a long epistolary flirtation with Ayn Rand, an admirer of his writing.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 11, 2020
Mike Hammer seems like an odd choice for a newspaper strip, but I suppose he's just a more realistic version of Dick Tracy. This was actually a very good strip with great art and written by Mickey Spillane himself.
If you're a Mike Hammer fan or just like hardboiled crime (or crime comics) in general, this is worth a read.
If you're a Mike Hammer fan or just like hardboiled crime (or crime comics) in general, this is worth a read.
October 14, 2016
This a collection of all the Mike Hammer comic strips from 1953, restored and printed in one volume. It includes both the daily strips and the full page Sunday comics. The script was written by Spillane, art by Ed Robbins, forward and additional information and editing by Max Allan Collins.
This was a relatively short lived comic strip and it's nice to see it preserved and republished. It was short lived because the papers thought the strip to violent. For 1953 I suppose it was for a newspaper. But at that time, Spillane's novels were selling by the boatload, so there must have been a large receptive market. It would certainly never pass muster in today sanitized nanny state :)
I'm only giving this 3 stars because the book is printed on glossy high quality paper which I though necessary and inappropriate for the pulp era newspaper strips. It also makes this book cost a ridiculous $49.95
This was a relatively short lived comic strip and it's nice to see it preserved and republished. It was short lived because the papers thought the strip to violent. For 1953 I suppose it was for a newspaper. But at that time, Spillane's novels were selling by the boatload, so there must have been a large receptive market. It would certainly never pass muster in today sanitized nanny state :)
I'm only giving this 3 stars because the book is printed on glossy high quality paper which I though necessary and inappropriate for the pulp era newspaper strips. It also makes this book cost a ridiculous $49.95
January 30, 2022
"finally appearing in the medium for which he was intended"
Spillane himself
Spillane himself
May 20, 2013
While I am familiar with the Mike Hammer character through books and television, I was unaware of his life as a comic strip character. As explained in an excellent forward by Max Allan Collins, we learn of Mickey Spillane's foray into comics before World War II, and how the Mike Hammer dailies came about.
The strips are great. A bit crowded with words, they crackle with a noir life filled with vicious cracks to the back of the head, double dealers and the women that Mike can't resist, even if they mean trouble. Included are Mike's loyal confidante Velda, and his cop friend Pat Chambers, there to dole out common sense and help Mike out when he needs it. The stories are dated, but still a lot of fun to read. The restoration process includes some before and after shots and shows the amazing work to restore these comics (especially the Sunday strips) to life.
Included in the book are lobby cards from films with Mike Hammer, book covers and a nice overview of how this strip came to be, then suddenly came to be cancelled. A nice volume for fans of Mike Hammer and crime comics. Now I feel like roughing up some thugs and cracking wise.
The strips are great. A bit crowded with words, they crackle with a noir life filled with vicious cracks to the back of the head, double dealers and the women that Mike can't resist, even if they mean trouble. Included are Mike's loyal confidante Velda, and his cop friend Pat Chambers, there to dole out common sense and help Mike out when he needs it. The stories are dated, but still a lot of fun to read. The restoration process includes some before and after shots and shows the amazing work to restore these comics (especially the Sunday strips) to life.
Included in the book are lobby cards from films with Mike Hammer, book covers and a nice overview of how this strip came to be, then suddenly came to be cancelled. A nice volume for fans of Mike Hammer and crime comics. Now I feel like roughing up some thugs and cracking wise.
December 14, 2018
After reading this, I can understand why his creator, Mickey Spillane, thought him made for comics. Gorgeous art by Ed Robbins, noir-filled mood throughout and good, tight plots. This collection also includes an introduction by Max Allan Collins which was thoroughly interesting.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews