In late 1927, Burns published "Tombstone, An Iliad of the Southwest," a mesmerizing tale "of blood and thunder," that christened Earp as the "Lion of Tombstone". "Strong, bold, forceful, picturesque was the fighter of the old frontier. Something epic in him, fashioned in Homeric mold. In his way, a hero." It included a good deal about Wyatt as well, much to Wyatt and Josie's displeasure. Readers and reviewers found they had a difficult time discerning between "fact and fiction". The book was the first to popularize its subject for a mass reading audience. Burns treated Earp as a mythical figure, a "larger-than-life hero whose many portrayals in film, television, and books often render fidelity to truth the first casualty".