225. Famous Players by Rick Geary

Famous Players: The Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor by Rick Geary (Canada) - (USA)
A Treasury of XXth Century Murder, Vol. 2

Pages: 80
Ages: 18+ (YA crossover 13+)
Finished: Oct. 25, 2010
First Published: Aug. 1, 2009
Publisher: NBM Comics Lit
Genre: true crime, graphic novel

Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

As the 20th century dawns, the community of Hollywood is a sleepy village nestled in the foothills north of Los Angeles ...

Acquired: Borrowed a copy from the Calgary Library while I was on vacation.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

It's been a while since I've read Geary and what a wonderful treat to delve into one of his graphics again. I love Geary's artwork and he shall always remain one of my favourite artists. His style is simple b/w drawings but very detailed. This story is about the murder of a great early silent movie director whom I've never heard of before. The world of early Hollywood and silent movies is explored. Something I, myself am familiar with having read a lot of biographies from the era. It is always an exciting world to visit. The murder is an unsolved one which the authorities really haven't a clue as to who the perpetrator was, having no solid evidence at all. The crime scene was compromised beyond all belief before the police even got there and continued to be so even while they were there. The murder itself isn't particularly enthralling but what is amazing is the sheer number of possible suspects. Geary doesn't try to present his own solution to the murder but instead provides all the possibilities for each suspect. Not one of Geary's best when compared to his backlist, but when writing a true crime Geary's work is never *not* well done.

NB: Geary's true crime books are written for an adult audience but they are easily crossovers for the YA market containing nothing one wouldn't find in the news. In fact, I recommend them to YAs who are interested in the topic.