Something Funny About The Eyes
Humorous Eyes, Parodies, Spoofs & Satire

The Funniest Eyes

No, really. People have been poking fun at the P.I. genre -- and the whole mystery genre, for that matter -- almost as soon as it appeared. But there were a few brave soul over the years who dated to suggest that murder just might also be funny...

• The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
• Dan Turner by Robert Leslie Bellem
• Bill Crane by Jonathan Latimer
• John J. Malone by Craig Rice
• Max Latin by Norbert Davis
• Shell Scott by Richard S. Prather
• Trace/Digger/Murphy by Warren Murphy
• Fitzroy MacLean Angel by Mike Ripley
• Almost Anything by Carl Hiaasen
• Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich
• Pete Ingalls by Ellis Weiner

Winking Eyes: The Parodies

I dunno. When is it funny, and when is it a spoof, and when is it just hilariously bad writing? A case could arguably be made that people like Bellem and Prather were parodying the genre, not combining humour with it. But these guys are definitely spoofs.

I think...

• Roger Ackroyd by Jules Feiffer
• C. Card by Richard Brautigan
• Eddy Deco's Last Caper by Gahan Wilson
• Nick Danger by The Firesign Theatre
• Red Diamond by Mark Schoor
• Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective by Frank Cammuso
• Helena Handbasket by Donna Moore
• Kaiser Lupowitz by Woody Allen
• Sam Marlow by Andrew J. Fenady
• Conrad Metcalf by Johnathan Lethem
• Mike Noonan in "Farewell My Lovely Appetizer" by S.J. Perelman
• Chance Purdue by Ross H. Spencer
• Guy Noir by Garrison Keillor
• Silky Pincus by Leo Rosten
• Eddie Bear and Jack in The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin
• Mac Slade by John Blumenthal
• Dudley Sledge by Hunt Collins
• Lenny Schneider by Ed Goldberg
• Surf by Raymond Embrack
• Eddie Valiant by Gary K. Wolf
• Russell Wren by Thomas Berger
• "Green Gravy for the Blush" by Jon Breen (March 1971, EQMM; Travis McGee parody)
  .
• And don't forget:
• Cinematic Pie in the Eye: The Best Private Eye Spoofs on Film
• What, Me Shamus? Parodies and satires of TV Eyes in MAD Magazine.

Tell Me No Lies
Non-Fiction

• "Somewhere a Roscoe" "
  (October15, 1938, The New Yorker; by S.J. Perelman)
  The humourist's affectionate tribute to pulp writer Robert Leslie Bellem and his greatest creation, Hollywood orb, Dan Turner.
  .
• Gun in Cheek and Son of Gun in Cheek
  And then, of course there's Bill Pronzini's and his odes to "alternative classics."