Famous Players is an engaging and insightful volume that should be in the collection of anyone who enjoys historical books and comics, for it mixes both into a great little read.

Following in the steps of The Black Dahlia, Famous Players is a lurid story scandal in Hollywood's nascent film industry. When William Desmond Taylor, a prominent, successful, and well-liked director of photoplays, is found dead in his bungalow, the murder kicks off an investigation that digs up secrets that the dead director would have probably liked to have seen kept underground. Additionally, everyone who is a suspect--including several very prominent stars of the time--finds himself under an unwelcome spotlight.

What really makes Famous Players, though, is the level of detail that Rick Geary puts into both the writing and the art. In the writing, the early history of Hollywood is detailed as thoroughly as the murder, and it makes for fascinating reading. Whether it's hard facts that Geary dug up through research or the resulting rumors that sprung up after the murder that found their way to headlines, seemingly no detail, big or small, has escaped from this telling.

The art bears a resemblance to wood carving, which only reinforces the impression that the book is a prism into 1920s Hollywood. To tell the story, Geary employs sequential art, diagrams, and maps that all elicit an almost nostalgic feeling for the period. However, while it’s interesting to look back on a California long before it got terribly crowded, the book also doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of the early film culture.

Famous Players only has two drawbacks. The first is that the story is told in a very cut and dried tone that might not suit some readers. Second, the real-life murder of William Desmond Taylor was never solved, so the drama of a resolution in the book is never reached. However, whether these are good or bad is going to rely mostly on the individual tastes of the reader.

If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at http://madbastard.hypersites.com

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