Ken Shannon

    (Quality, 1951-1953)
™ and © Quality

In the early 1950s, the iconic world-weary private investigator made famous in the tales of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler gave way to a more action-oriented figure personified by Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer. Ken Shannon, Crime-Busting Private Eye is Quality Comics’ attempt to translate the appeal of the two-fisted shamus to the comics page, complete with the melodramatic voice-overs, fast women and seedy gangsters. Shannon is a tough guy and not especially bright—the kind of character that actors like Dick Powell and William Bendix specialized in bringing to life in the crime films of the era. The stories are pitched to Mike Hammer readers who don’t like stupid details like clues and police procedure to get in the way of a good “mystery” story. Fortunately, the talented pen of Reed Crandall was on hand to lift the artwork up to Quality’s typically high standards.
Jump to issue:
  NotesWriterArtist