Joe Zanca Created by James N. Frey  Presenting the palooka as
P.I.  JOE ZANCA is a former heavyweight contender, formerly
known as "Zank the Tank." He works for 'The Agency" in San
Francisco and lives in a little one-bedroom walkup near Broadway
and Polk. His pipedream is to run a training camp somewhere in
the High Sierra. His Sicilian heritage and penchant for
motorcycles provide the requisite aura, and his favorite reading
material (The World Book Encyclopedia) provides the mentality.
Zanca's creator, James N.Frey himself, once described Joe as
"rather crude, not too bright, an ex-boxer who (speaks) in
grunts."  Gee, I wonder if Stallone would like to do a P.I.
flick?  His debut in The Long Way to Die was good enough to be
nominated for an Edgar Award. Frey is now a creative writing
teacher who has taught all over the US and in Europe, and is the
author of several How-to books on writing including the
wonderfully named How to Write a Damn Good Novel. Which in turn
spawned How to Write a Damn Good Novel II,