The King of Sting

June 30, 2008
In Glazer's boisterous but strangely captivating debut, this average college drop-out from the Midwest introduces readers to his crew, a gang of young adults who get by-and get off-on stealing from unsavory characters by impersonating law enforcement. The story focuses on Glazer and his fearless sidekick, Woodbeck, over two years, as they travel the country outwitting both the crooks and the law, often at the same time. Would-be rough and tumble villains high on their own bravura, Woodbeck becomes more menacing and dangerous while Glazer continues to indulge his fantasy that their risky plots are more like Hollywood make-believe than organized crime. The tragic end-game, of course, brings Glazer crashing back to back to earth, but he pushes the Robin Hood narrative to a delusional degree. Though daring and difficult to look away from, Glazer is like a card shark showing us his crooked hand, then trying to convince us (and himself) that he was playing it straight all along. 16 pgs b&w photos