Gift Of Death

Ms. Tree Quarterly

by Terry Beatty (Illustrator), Max Allan Collins (Writer)

Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty bring their female private eye, Ms. Tree, to DC, the fourth publisher to print her adventures. Although never a top seller, Ms. Tree maintained a consistent fan base despite the merry-go-round of publishers.

Aside from covers by artists like Mike Grell, Denis Cowan, and Bill Sienkiewicz, Ms. Tree at DC was essentially unchanged from previous incarnations and the increased page count allowed Collins to tell an entire story rather than a single chapter, so individual issues could stand alone. The quarterly schedule lasted for ten issues; the last two altered to 56 pages (down from 80) with no backup stories and retitled as Ms. Tree Special.

George Haberberger

80 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Terry is the artist of the Sunday episodes of King Feature's classic comic strip, The Phantom. His first strip appeared on 1/29/12, written by Tony DePaul and colored by Tom Smith.
With writer, Max Allan Collins, Terry co-created the long-running private eye comic book series, Ms. Tree. Collaborations with Collins also include Mike Mist, Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger and Johnny Dynamite. Collins and Beatty recently created Return to Perdition, a graphic novel sequel to Road to Perdition, for DC's Vertigo Crime line.
For over a decade, Beatty was the primary inker of DC Comics' "animated-style" Batman comics, including a four-year stint inking Chris Jones' pencils on The Batman Strikes. He ended his run as "Bat-inker" with several issues of the current cartoon-based title, Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
Beatty's cover paintings appear regularly on Scary Monsters magazine, as well as its spin-off Monster Memories annual. His illustrations have appeared on covers for Berkeley Books and Hard Case Crime. His drawings and sculptures have been featured in various gallery shows.
Born and raised in Iowa, Terry, along with wife Erika and son Kirby, recently moved to the the Kansas City area after living for nearly a decade in Minneapolis. They are currently awaiting the arrival of Kirby's baby sister. Terry has a daughter, Elizabeth, from a previous marriage, who has presented him with two wonderful grandsons, Dawson and Tristin.

Reviews

[Pranay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the art by Terry Beatty. Definitely the highlight of this comic magazine.

This has 3 stories, the first one featuring Ms. Tree is the most entertaining.


It's fun to experience the 90's comics in this way.

[London Heady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Electrifying.

My first journey into the character of Ms. Tree, and what a thrill ride. Smart and sharp, I love the way the characters interact and I love the way the dialogue is written. Tree is unhinged and smart, a lethal combo, and I was absolutely enamored by the main story.

When it ended and the two backups began, I was worried, but both the Midnight story and The Batman prose were excellent. The Batman one was so good it kind of made me wish I just had a bunch of Batman prose to read.

So wonderful. Can't wait to dive into more.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A product of its era. This is an interesting time capsule of an anthology series only posible in the period it was published. I am not fond of prose stories of Batman, but Grell's illustrations are solid. Collins and Beatty's work on the main story are comendable, and the page count of this book gives it the feel of an european bd publication. The "Midnight" story is also a look of the excesses of the decade and the view of the Wall Street new milliomares and his "exentricities".