Last Of The Full Grown Gumshoes!

I've talked more than a few times here at the Dojo about my adoration of the music and myth of Webb Wilder. Webb Wilder nudged onto the national scene (and my consciousness) way back in the late 80's on the old USA Network show Night Flight in a short film titled "The Saucer's Reign". Here's a look at that video here. As it turns out there were no aliens in that flick, but there was one memorable presence, the noir-lite hero "Webb Wilder". The character caught on, a band was built and over the decades several albums have trickled out. In past years Webb and his Beatnecks began touring again.

Some years ago, I picked up on Ebay an extravagantly priced copy of Webb Wilder's own 1996 double novel, which is titled Mole Men/The Doll. It's a little paperback the tradition of those classic ACE doubles, this too offers up two fully rendered tales of Webb Wilder, a Southern gumshoe of a character who operates in the mythical city of St.Vegas, Florida. The novels developed out of a failed television project for the Webb Wilder character, the result of a few scripts then turned into highly readable narratives by Steve Boyle and Shane Caldwell. How easy they are to get today I couldn't say, though I think Webb was still hawking them at the last concert I attended earlier this year. 

Mole Men is a neatly lurid tale of a farmer who feels he is under assault by giant-claw bearing aliens. He is obviously ignored by the authorities, but Webb finds that there might be something to this tale of nocturnal ramblings after all. His investigation finds that earthworms are the key, and not just any regular worms, but super worms. And Webb finds himself having to deal with an extremely attractive woman as well. 

The Doll is the tale of two girlhood friends who fall out over a doll, a very special doll admittedly -- a special edition one-of-a-kind Jackie Kennedy inspired Barbie doll. Their lifelong squabble comes to darken the lives of their children and perhaps even end them, and Webb finds that his best efforts to uncover the skullduggery creates a tragic result indeed. 

There is also a teaser for a third Webb Wilder adventure title Psychotronic Serenade in which Webb confronts an old foe, but it was not to be. 

Follow this link and scroll down and you'll find the actual proposal written up to interest folks in the potential TV show. It's a hoot. My favorite of these stories is Mole Men, but both are highly readable with a quick steady pace. The noir touches add just the right salt to this mix. If perchance you stumble across a copy, you'll be entertained. And I can heartily recommend the great DVD featuring Webb's short films along with some more experimental short films by Steve Mims who produced the Webb items. 

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