Kill Me In Shimbashi

Burns Bannion #2: “Kill Me In Shimbashi” by Earl Norman (Norman Thompson). Inspector Ezawa comes down hard on Bannion, and demands that he becomes legal or ship back to the states. So now he has to enroll in the university as a student, plus get the proper cards and papers to remain in Japan. To solve his money problems, he has business cards printed, declaring him a private detective, only the cards read ‘pirate’ detective; never mind, a marine sergeant hires him to find the Peking Man. This gives him a job, with money coming in, and plenty of karate and danger. The author’s writing is tighter in this second novel, and is another action-packed case for the self-styled private detective as he makes the rounds of Japanese bars and lots of girls! Top notch.

Kill Me In Tokyo

Burns Bannion #1: “Kill Me In Tokyo” by Earl Norman (Norman Thompson), 1958 from Berkley.  Burns Bannion had just been released from the U.S. Army in Japan, where he claimed he was entering college. Instead, he wanted to stay in Japan to study Karate. One night he’s in one of his favorite bars watching strippers when a drunk American approaches him, thinking he is a private eye. Bannion was actually wondering how he was going to make a living in Japan, and this sounded like his answer. The American hands him money, and asks that he find a missing girl for him named Mitsuko. Bannion figures there is 90 million people in Japan, and most of them are named Mitsuko, but needing the money he accepts. Bannion ends up neck deep in gangsters and karate killers. Though he is training with a 7^th degree black belt, Bannion hasn’t reached black belt level yet. Just about everyone he crosses is, but somehow the American comes out the winner. However, he is pretty well beat to a pulp before the story comes to a conclusion. One of my favorite scenes is after he takes some hard hits and kicks, but manages to get to one of his friends, the guy says, “Good Lord, it’s Frankenstein!” The story did have its moments, though it was a little loose at times, and some things were left open, which may appear in future stories. In 1958, this was one of the first really good karate series, and Thompson patterned it somewhat after the tough Mike Hammer. Well worth the read.

Kill Me In Tokyo - Erle Edition

Here is the Erle Edition of the 1st Burns Bannion novel, published in Japan.

Kill Me In Yoshiwara

Here is the 5th story in Berkley's 1961 edition of Earl Norman' Burns Bannion series.

Kill Me In Shimbashi

Here is the 1959 edition of Berkley's Kill Me In Shimbashi, the second novel by Earl Norman in the Burns Bannion series.

Kill Me In Shinjuku

Here is Berkley’s #4 in the Burns Bannion series, “Kill Me In Shinjuku”. Following is a listing of the titles in order.

1)   Kill Me In Tokyo (character Burns Bannion)

2)   Kill Me In Shimbashi (character Burns Bannion)

3)   Kill Me In Yokohama (character Burns Bannion)

4)   Kill Me In Shinjuku (character Burns Bannion)

5)   Kill Me In Yoshwara (character Burns Bannion)

6)   Kill Me In Atami (character Burns Bannion)

7)   Kill Me On The Ginza (character Burns Bannion)

8)   Kill Me In Yokosuku (character Burns Bannion)

9)   Kill Me In Roppongi (character Burns Bannion)

10)                   Hang Me In Hong Kong (character Rick Shaw)

Kill Me In Tokyo

Kill Me In Tokyo by Earl Norman (Norman Thompson) from 1958. This novel kicked off the Burns Bannion series, though the karate champ didn't catch on until the 1960s. Only nine thrill-packed stories were published by Berkley, followed by Erle Editions in Japan. After nine stories set in Japan, Norman changed the locale to Hong Kong, and published a final novel, Hang Me In Hong Kong, featuring a new character named Rick Shaw.

I have the complete Burns Bannion series, but lacking the 10^th, featuring Rick Shaw. I hope this Blog will bring other fans together. If anyone has the Rick Shaw story, I would love to read it, even a photocopy or pdf. I have Links posted to Yahoo Groups for discussion, or leave your comments here.

Although I do have thousands of comic books and paperbacks for trade, I don’t have any duplicates of the Earl Norman books. If anyone has access to duplicates, you might let other fans know. I will be glad to pass the word.