Seduction of the Innocent

by Max Allan Collins Narrated by Dan John Miller

Overview

It's 1954, and a rabble-rousing social critic has declared war on comic books-especially the scary, gory, bloody sort published by the bad boys of the industry, EF Comics. But on the way to a Senate hearing on whether these depraved publications should be banned, the would-be censor meets a violent end of his own-leaving his opponents in hot water.

Can Jack Starr, private eye to the funny-book industry, and his beautiful boss Maggie unravel the secret of Dr. Frederick's gruesome demise? Or will the crackdown come, falling like an executioner's axe....?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Those who like their parody broad will best appreciate Collins’s third entry in his history of comic books trilogy (after 2008’s Strip for Murder). In 1954, psychiatrist Werner Frederick (the fictional alter ego of Fredric Wertham, author of the original Seduction of the Innocent) launches a crusade against comic books for their supposed glorification of violence and corrupting sexual imagery. In so doing, he rains on the parade of New York City’s Starr Syndicate, responsible for such comics as Wonder Guy, Batwing, and Amazonia. Despite efforts to derail Frederick in advance of congressional hearings on the future of comic strips, the threat to the syndicate remains, and leads to a murder that PI Jack Starr, its chief troubleshooter, must sort out. The gathering of suspects at the end for the reveal will please golden age mystery fans, but the total package falls short of Collins’s best. New illustrations in the classic EC style by Terry Beatty are a plus. (Feb.)

From the Publisher

"Collins masterfully blends fact and fiction...transcends the historical thriller." - Jeffery Deaver

"Violent and volatile and packed with sexuality...classic pulp fiction." - USA Today

"Collins' witty, hard-boiled prose would make Raymond Chandler proud." - Entertainment Weekly

"Max Allan Collins blends fact and fiction like no other writer." - Andrew Vachss

 "Collins makes it sound as though it really happened." - New York Daily News

"Few people alive today can tell a story better than Max Allan Collins. SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT is a great, page-turning read that is beautiful to look at and serves as another proud addition to the Hard Case Crime library." – Bookreporter

“A solid tale of crime, greed, and murder with a tasty dash of sequential art history in the mix.” – Fanboy Comics

“Everything I would ever want in a detective novel.” – Geek Hard

“When a book manages to keep me reading from beginning to end, I consider it a job well done, but when I sit there for hours on end reading because I can’t put it down, that’s when I consider a book truly good and Seduction of the Innocent falls happily in that second category.” – Geekenstein

“A fast read, hedged by a bevy of hilarious characters and culminating in a delicious ‘whodunit.’” – Noir Whale

“Any fan of noir, pulp fiction or comic books will appreciate Seduction of the Innocent.” – Pop Cults

“Hats off to Max Allan Collins for this phenomenally entertaining piece of historical fiction, and Terry Beatty, for the classic, inspired EC style art work.” – Comic Hype

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169582949
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	02/19/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

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