Deadliest Man Alive!: The Strange Saga of Count Dante and the Black Dragon Fighting Society

by T.L. Roy

Promoter, showman, Karate master, and self-proclaimed "Deadliest Man Alive", John Keehan (a.k.a. "Count Dante") was many things. Famous for his over-the-top advertisements selling his martial arts manual "World's Deadliest Fighting Secrets" through comic books in the late '60s and early '70s, there was much more to Keehan than just a self-hyped comic book image. Rumored to have been involved with the Chicago Mafia, he claimed to have been in both the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army, to have traveled and fought "death matches" in Asia, and to have been a master of nearly all the known fighting arts. He was also involved in the notorious "Dragon Wars" in Chicago which ended in the death of his best friend, and was the first martial arts tournament promoter to sponsor "no-holds-barred" mixed martial arts matches in the U.S. Now, after years of searching to find the truth behind the legend of Count Dante, this volume brings together the known facts and the reminiscences of some who knew this dark and fascinating figure from the early days of the martial arts in America.

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2010