Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction by Max Allan Collins & James L. Traylor

Mickey Spillane was a complicated man. Known by many as the creator of the iconic and influential character Mike Hammer, he is known by others primarily for a lengthy series of Miller Lite beer commercials. He earned a reputation as an edgy, hard-living, man’s man and yet was known to friends and family as kind, considerate, and willing to give a stranger the shirt off his back. His sense of humor was as evident as his legendary hard-punching, revenge-oriented, justice-delivering hero Mike Hammer.

I grew up after Spillane’s zenith and really only knew him via his reputation. In fact, I came to this biography not because of any great desire to learn about him and his work, (although I felt that would be interesting) but rather because I am a big fan of co-author Max Allan Collins (MAC) and his large body of work. I knew MAC had completed many of Spillane’s novels and stories after Spillane’s passing, a huge undertaking based on Spillane’s partially completed manuscripts, outlines, notes, interviews, and verbal knowledge passing.

Reading this biography was a real eye-opening experience. I confess to having only sampled the first three Hammer novels and one non-Hammer title so far but after completing this volume, I now have a desire to greatly expand my consumption of his writing. This biography is far more than a regurgitation of Spillane’s factual data, his writing, and the events of his life. MAC, along with co-author James L. Traylor have done a tremendous job of showing us the man himself. We come to understand how a fast-rising star of cutting edge, censor-baiting crime novels became an overnight pariah, despised by many of his peers. A ten-year absence from writing Mike Hammer novels, at the very pinnacle of their commercial success, may not have been due to his joining the Jehovah’s Witnesses as many people conclude. We get to ride along as Mickey combines an adrenaline-charged interest in adventurous hobbies like under water diving, racing cars, and collecting guns but the real joy here are the numerous insights into his writing processes, his complicated involvement in numerous movies and TV series, his self-parody, and his sheer joie de vivre.

Looking back on his incredibly popular fiction, Spillane referred to it as “the chewing gum of modern literature.” Maybe so, but along the way he was perfectly comfortable with and even seemed to relish in laughing all the way to the bank. And as the authors point out in this book, the evidence for him caring deeply about his writing, the “poetry” of his descriptive passages, and the masterful plotting is evident with each story he produced.

Included as appendices in this volume are a number of interesting additional items, not the least of which is a nice fragment of his own autobiography, a task that he had always planned to get to someday. It covers his childhood up until age 14 and provides some cool insights into his outlook on life. Also included is a timeline of key events in Spillane’s life which incorporates the dates of all his major publications and other media output. Several lists detail his novels, short stories, collections, etc. as well as a compilation of the Mike Danger comic book series titles. Pulp expert Will Murray provides input to an essay on whether or not pulp author Frank Morris was really Frank Morrison “Mickey” Spillane and I must say the evidence is compelling. Perhaps my favorite “extra” is MAC’s own resuscitation of his efforts to complete each of the Spillane unfinished manuscripts and how that process works.

Ultimately, the definition of a good biography of any author, is that it provides the reader with a full understanding of the subject while driving a burning need to read more of his work. By that standard, this is a great one. I must stop writing about this book now so that I can open up my copy of Kiss Me, Deadly and plunge once again into that rain-soaked New York world of Mike Hammer/Mickey Spillane.