Squeeze Me: Carl Hiaasen

I didn’t expect to find another recurring author after reading the two-dozen-plus Reacher novels by Lee Child.

But like my decision to read the Reacher books – about one a month for the past two and a half years – after watching the “Reacher” TV series instead of solely following the advice of friends to read them, I “discovered” Carl Hiaasen in a very similar way.

People had recommended Hiaasen’s irreverent Florida-based novels for years but I didn’t pick up one – “Razor Girl” – until watching “Bad Monkey” starring Vince Vaughn on Apple+. “Razor Girl” features the same main character as “Bad Monkey” (having just watched the series, I’ll save the book of the same title until later). But those seem to be the only two Hiaasen novels featuring detective-turned-health inspector Andrew Yancy.

Judging from Hiaasen’s “Squeeze Me,” that’s OK.

Andrew Yancy is not in “Squeeze Me” but Angie Armstrong, a wildlife-removal specialist, is.

And so is a character who is an unnamed President of the United States who has a sprawling, palatial Florida compound called Casa Bellicosa, loves to eat fast food, repeatedly says ridiculous things, spends time each day in a tanning bed that turns him an orange hue, has a Velcro device that keeps his hair attached to his scalp, has a wife from an Eastern European country (who is having an affair with her Secret Service agent), etc. … Hiaasen only refers to this novel’s President and First Lady by their Secret Service codenames but readers can draw their own conclusions.

Angie is called to discreetly remove a boa constrictor from a swanky Palm Beach venue during a charity ball. The call comes shortly after Kiki Pew Fitzsimmons, who rabidly supports the President with her rich pro-Pres friends, has disappeared from a recent charity ball. 

The situation leads to a national political story when the President wrongly accuses immigrants for Kiki Pew’s disappearance.

“Squeeze Me” is a hilarious page-turner with an underlying message about our recent/current/coming climate. The paperback has an epilogue that takes a look at the President’s life in exile on his Florida compound after losing the election. No word if future volumes will include an additional epilogue with the President being reelected to office. Maybe Hiaasen will write a sequel in the next four years … there should be plenty of material to inspire an irreverent satirist.

Superman: Williamson & Campbell

Some interesting things happening in recent issues of “Superman.”

The word “interesting” may be unexpected given the thousands of stories spun about Superman during the past 80-plus years. Is there anything really interesting, or new, to do with the Man of Steel?

Writer Joshua Williamson and artist Jamal Campbell seem to think so.

It is especially interesting since their formula uses so many familiar elements from Superman lore.

Lex Luthor is front and center in their current run in the “Superman” comics. But it’s Lex Luthor with a twist. Lex wants to work with Superman to help Metropolis and mankind. And given that Lex is in prison for past crimes, he sets Superman up as CEO of his enterprises giving Big Blue access to Luthor’s billions, technology and staff. Lex communicates with Superman through a transmitter set to a frequency that Superman can hear.

Not ready to trust his arch-enemy, Superman is reluctant to accept the offer but circumstances soon force his hand.

The alliance between Superman and Lex Luthor will eventually end either by Williamson and Campbell’s designs or by another creative team taking the reins of “Superman” with the characters reverting to past form.

But until then this run will hopefully continue being fun. Already Superman has traveled back in time to the Old West, faced some baddies with connections to Lex’s past, has Lex and Superman’s rivalry stretching back to their youths together in Smallville – which was a regular feature of their rocky relationship in comic books decades ago, etc.

It’s certainly been interesting. 

Superman, interesting … who would have thunk it?