The Ballad of Rory Hawkins

A tale of murder, motorcycle gangs, Charlie Manson, and the man who starred as Marshal Hondo Bradley. After three years away, Rory Hawkins, a novelist, Korean War veteran, and ex-member of the MONGRELS motorcycle gang is back in Los Angeles to conduct research for his next novel. As part of his interview with George Clayton, an actor who played Marshal Hondo Bradley in the 1950s TV show Outlaw Pass, the two visit the Spahn movie ranch where Charles Manson and members of his "family" are secretly plotting a series of high profile celebrity murders. Unbeknownst to Hawkins and Clayton, Manson has a hit list, and Clayton's visit to the ranch has moved him to the top of it.

Though this graphic novel is fiction many of the characters are real, and the story is rooted in historical fact, specifically Manson's desire to target celebrities for violence and his infamous residence at the Spahn movie ranch. Also, this book takes place during a very specific historical timeline (Saturday, August 2 - Monday, August 11, 1969), and the events are intertwined with the Sharon Tate and LaBianca family murders that took place during those terrifying days. The book creators have meticulously researched the Manson murders and the book narrative has been developed in a way so that the events in the story can be historically plausible and a resolution is reached without contradicting the historical record that is known today.