 Ellery picks the wrong man to mess with when he becomes irate with a comic-book editor who had dictated a series of books depicting Ellery as a two-fisted brawling sleuth. The following night, as the editor is working alone in his office, a custodian hears three gunshots. The editor is found slumped over a panel he was reworking, and with a blue pencil he has crossed through Ellery s dialog balloon. If that wasn t incriminating enough, Simon Brimmer finds the murder weapon, a revolver, in Ellery s fish tank, where the water has long since washed off all prints. Ellery must clear himself in a big hurry before he goes to trial.