Publications
The Comicbook Detective
The story always starts with a dame. Or so it does in Alex Carter’s imaginary noir-world.
When Naomi Price walks into Alex’s Comics Clubhouse one day asking for help cataloging thousands of rare, inherited comicbooks, Alex is sure he’s hit the comics jackpot. Along with his two best friends and a ready supply of Mountain Dew, Alex embarks on a search for the elusive Action Comics #1, potentially worth millions. But when Alex meets Richard, Naomi’s overbearing fiancé, he knows something’s amiss.
As he slips back and forth between personas—affable retailer by day, hardboiled detective by night—Alex has trouble keeping his conspiracy theories in check. Torn between the reality of completing the job and the fantasy of rescuing the damsel in distress, Alex finds himself in trouble with everyone. With his fedora perched askance, cold Mountain Dew in hand, Alex presses on. He sets out to be the hero of his own story—even if it means losing the dame.
Reviews
In The Comic Book Detective Al Clover invites us to leave loftier pursuits and enter his wacky world of off-beat good guys and comic book villains and the film noir fantastical imaginings of his loveably nerdy anti-hero. This is a delightful ditty, a box of Cracker Jack—sweet, salty, and a little bit nutty, best enjoyed while sipping on a Mtn. Dew.
—Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, author of Fire & Water and Filling Her Shoes
Heroes, villains, mayhem, and madness, The Comicbook Detective has it all. Follow Alex Carter, the quirky, loveable, would-be comicbook detective as he simultaneously navigates both the imaginary and actual worlds of comicbook collectors, investors, and thieves. Jump in, this is one ride you don’t want to miss!
—Lorinda Boyer, author of Straight Enough
A fun read! A compelling mystery, a pulse-poundingly perfect comic collection and enough danger to it (never mind the people; the comics are what matter!) to give any collector palpitations, the whole adventure wrapped in the comforting aromas of Chinese food, fresh rain, and that lovely Golden and Silver Ages comic paper smell. Plus, a minor mystery; how does one man drink so much Mountain Dew and be okay?
—Roman Stadtler, PMM (Permanent Marvelite Maximus), The Comics Place
I published excerpts from The Comicbook Detective in True Stories Volume III and True Stories Volume IV.
The Comicbook Detective is a story wrought with intrigue, folly, and . . . okay it’s about a guy who stumbles into a million-dollar collection of comicbooks. Alex Carter is a big comics nerd with a vivid imagination who must figure out how to navigate his imaginary noir world and the real world.
I published these stories with the guidance of The Narrative Project—a program which supports writers who have stories to tell. With writing coach Cami Ostman, who is also a published author, leading the charge along with an awesome group of coaches, we writers are given the tools to start the journey. That journey begins with an idea and ends with conviction. Conviction that you will hold a book in your hands with your name on the cover. If publishing your story is your dream, The Narrative Project will help you attain it. True Stories Volume III and True Stories IV are only the beginning of my journey and I’m so excited to introduce you to the launch of so many other dreams represented here.
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