OF THE NUMEROUS songs written about "Stag" Lee Shelton, there is one fact that is not contested in any of them: Shelton shot Billy Lyons at a bar in St. Louis in 1895.

Now here's where the facts get dicey. Some songs claim Lyons was shot because of a Stetson hat. Some allege that Lyons was a crooked gambler — and you know what happens when people get cheated out of money.

Derek McCulloch, author of the graphic novel "Stagger Lee," has dived headfirst into the legend of Shelton, looking for truth from the exploits of a man whose life has been chronicled by myriad musicians, ranging from Mississippi John Hurt to Bob Dylan to Nick Cave. Samuel L. Jackson even takes a stab at Shelton in the film "Black Snake Moan."

After all the research, McCulloch — who will be signing the graphic novel along with artist Shepherd Hendrix at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, Md., on Wednesday — has found what he believes is the real reason for the killing: politics and alcohol.

"From everything that I've read, I go with the political interpretation that they were men representing pretty bitterly opposed political organizations, and they had some sort of argument of a political nature — eyewitnesses said so." McCulloch said. "It escalated to the point of killing."

McCulloch first remembers hearing the Stagger Lee tale when he was 8 years old from Lloyd Price's song version, but it wasn't until he read Greil Marcus' essay collection "Mystery Train" that Lee really started to percolate in his mind. "When I read that it was a true story, it really interested me," McCulloch said. "I didn't know that much — I don't think I even knew the lyrics to the song at that point."

McCulloch was taken by the idea of all the different versions of the song and how there was a sort of mythology springing up about Shelton while he was still alive. He started to read all he could about Shelton.

The book spends a considerable amount of time exploring the possible scenarios in the various songs and mines facts from the interpretations, but it is also part court procedural and it offers a glimpse into African-American life in the Midwest during the turn of the century.

When it came to writing the book, however, there was still a dearth of facts, which places the book strictly in the historical fiction section on the bookshelf. "It kind of makes it easier to write fiction, actually, when there is little known about [the subject]," McCulloch said.

» Big Planet Comics, 4908 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda, Md., Wed. 2-4 p.m., free; 301-654-6856.

Illustration and photo courtesy Image Comics

Posted by Scott Rosenberg at 11:16 PM on March 27, 2007
Tagged in Bethesda , Books , Entertainment