Luke Malone, Manhunter was buried in the back of Atlas' Police Action, backing up Al McWilliams' Lomax, NYPD, although it was actually the better strip.
Tough talking cop Sam Lomax was fine, in a Dirty Harry does ABC Mystery Movie kind of way, but private eye Malone drips with atmosphere, crackles with rat-a-tat dialogue, and is written and drawn by Mike Ploog at the peak of his powers. OK, he's inked by Frank Springer, but you can't have everything.
The story, and who did what to whom and why, is, like all the best detective stories, kind of irrelevant. It's all about the atmosphere.
