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Ms. Tree (Hard Case Crime) #4
Ms. Tree, Vol. 4: Deadline
The next incredible instalment in the case books of Ms Tree, private detective, from famed Hard Case Crime author Max Allan Collins!
From the minds of author Max Allan Collins and artist Terry Beatty, comes the fourth collection of 5 classic Ms Tree stories. Join Michael Tree, the 6ft, 9mm carrying private detective on her thrilling adventures. No case is too small, no violence too extreme, just as long as it gets the job done.
Fans of hard-boiled detective and crime fiction will get a thrill from these tales!
Featuring the stories:
"Deadline"
"Skin Deep"
"Runaway"
"Runaway II"
"Death, Danger and Diamonds"
Collects Ms. Tree<>/i> #10-17 and The Files of Ms. Tree
From the minds of author Max Allan Collins and artist Terry Beatty, comes the fourth collection of 5 classic Ms Tree stories. Join Michael Tree, the 6ft, 9mm carrying private detective on her thrilling adventures. No case is too small, no violence too extreme, just as long as it gets the job done.
Fans of hard-boiled detective and crime fiction will get a thrill from these tales!
Featuring the stories:
"Deadline"
"Skin Deep"
"Runaway"
"Runaway II"
"Death, Danger and Diamonds"
Collects Ms. Tree<>/i> #10-17 and The Files of Ms. Tree
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2022
About the author
Max Allan Collins
823 books1,360 followersReceived the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 29, 2022
Great hard-boiled noir with a take-no-gruff female private eye. This is when the comic moved to Aardvark-Vanaheim (Ms. Tree changed companies something like 5 times). They couldn't afford to print the book in full color so the book is printed in duotone which is one other color and gray, mostly reds. It works VERY well. I actually prefer it to the full color stories.
Deadline
Ms. Michael Tree gets involved in the Singles Slasher case when one of the people killed was about to turn states evidence against the Muerta mob that wants Michael dead. These stories get dark. This one involves gang rape.
Skin Deep
Ms. Tree takes on a case as a favor to Lt. Valer. His sister has just been crowned All-American Miss and an old boyfriend is blackmailing her to sell nude pictures he took of her. You may think it's derivative of what actually happened to Vanessa Williams but it actually builds off of that and talks about what will happen if nude pictures turn up for a 2nd black woman pageant winner.
Runaway
Ms. Tree's stepson Mike runs away from home and gets himself kidnapped by a serial murderer. Not as good as the first two stories. Probably because there's much more mothering and less PI work involved.
Runaways II
Ms. Tree is hired to investigate a porn star's death by her father. She gets further involved in the world when she meets another actress that needs a bodyguard.
Death, Danger and Diamonds
Ms. Tree helps out another P.I. on the trail of two con men who don't mind murdering their victims in addition to robbing them.
Deadline
Ms. Michael Tree gets involved in the Singles Slasher case when one of the people killed was about to turn states evidence against the Muerta mob that wants Michael dead. These stories get dark. This one involves gang rape.
Skin Deep
Ms. Tree takes on a case as a favor to Lt. Valer. His sister has just been crowned All-American Miss and an old boyfriend is blackmailing her to sell nude pictures he took of her. You may think it's derivative of what actually happened to Vanessa Williams but it actually builds off of that and talks about what will happen if nude pictures turn up for a 2nd black woman pageant winner.
Runaway
Ms. Tree's stepson Mike runs away from home and gets himself kidnapped by a serial murderer. Not as good as the first two stories. Probably because there's much more mothering and less PI work involved.
Runaways II
Ms. Tree is hired to investigate a porn star's death by her father. She gets further involved in the world when she meets another actress that needs a bodyguard.
Death, Danger and Diamonds
Ms. Tree helps out another P.I. on the trail of two con men who don't mind murdering their victims in addition to robbing them.
November 25, 2024
More Ms. Tree.
This one included the story of young Mike running away from home and ending up in the hands of a sexual predator/child killer that was referenced in a previous volume. That one really plays on your fears as a parent but the fact that our heroine gleefully shoots the guy at the end of the story gives you a little revenge therapy.
She's still battling with the memory of what happened to her husband and getting frustrated that the cops aren't doing enough to take down the crime family that had him killed.
According to the foreword, due to the series changing publishers, they couldn't afford to have them in full color, but everything still looks great anyway.
Michael moves through these stories with so much confidence and so few fucks given that I can't help but hope that when I grow up I turn out like her.
Recommended.
This one included the story of young Mike running away from home and ending up in the hands of a sexual predator/child killer that was referenced in a previous volume. That one really plays on your fears as a parent but the fact that our heroine gleefully shoots the guy at the end of the story gives you a little revenge therapy.
She's still battling with the memory of what happened to her husband and getting frustrated that the cops aren't doing enough to take down the crime family that had him killed.
According to the foreword, due to the series changing publishers, they couldn't afford to have them in full color, but everything still looks great anyway.
Michael moves through these stories with so much confidence and so few fucks given that I can't help but hope that when I grow up I turn out like her.
Recommended.
January 12, 2024
And the hits keep on coming! this time it's Ms. Tree on the trail of swinging singles serial killers, tacky beauty pageants, child exploitation and the sleazy world of 1980s videotape pornography. Any similarity to the famous scandalous cases of Traci Lords and Vanessa Williams completely coincidental, I'm sure...
Ms. Michael Tree in action.
I'm loving how these old comics walk the line between Reagan-era sensationalism and being ahead of their time, a new volume has come out recently and I can't wait to dive in!
Ms. Michael Tree in action.
I'm loving how these old comics walk the line between Reagan-era sensationalism and being ahead of their time, a new volume has come out recently and I can't wait to dive in!
December 30, 2022
Ms. Tree Vol. 4 Deadline collects issues 10-17 and The Files of Ms. Tree Volume 3 originally released by Aardvark-Vanaheim. These comics are written Max Allan Collins with art by Terry Beatty and have been republished by Titan Comic’s imprint Hard Case Crime.
Ms. Tree gets dark and dirty with a series of cases including a a blackmail case to release nude photographs of a beauty pageant winner, investigating a series of murders tied back to a high school gang rape, her stepson being kidnapped by a serial killer and child rapist, and investigating the murder of an underage pornstar.
These stories really pushed the envelope for their era and would still be classified as pretty edgy today. It really impresses me how progressive the ideas this book put out during the early 1980s. These stories were incredibly ahead of their time.
These issues were released by a different publisher than the issues collected in the 3rd volume. Due to Aardvark-Vanaheim not having the budget of other comic publishers, these issues were printed in a format called duo tone. Duo tone is black and white with one shade of color being used throughout the issue to highlight objects. At first it was kind of jarring after reading other issues in the series that were full color, but it added a unique look to these issues.
Ms. Tree gets dark and dirty with a series of cases including a a blackmail case to release nude photographs of a beauty pageant winner, investigating a series of murders tied back to a high school gang rape, her stepson being kidnapped by a serial killer and child rapist, and investigating the murder of an underage pornstar.
These stories really pushed the envelope for their era and would still be classified as pretty edgy today. It really impresses me how progressive the ideas this book put out during the early 1980s. These stories were incredibly ahead of their time.
These issues were released by a different publisher than the issues collected in the 3rd volume. Due to Aardvark-Vanaheim not having the budget of other comic publishers, these issues were printed in a format called duo tone. Duo tone is black and white with one shade of color being used throughout the issue to highlight objects. At first it was kind of jarring after reading other issues in the series that were full color, but it added a unique look to these issues.
July 21, 2023
I've been enjoying this hard boiled crime series, in the graphic novel series, featuring hard nosed PI Ms. Tree. Ms. Tree, Vol. 4: Deadline by Max Allan Collins is the 4th in the series. While it wasn't my favorite, it was still an entertaining action - packed series of episodes 10 - 17.
The collection finds Ms. Tree in a number of situations, finding lost children, fighting pornographers, serial killers and killers in Hawaii. Ms. Tree leads with a gun usually. She is often at odds with the cops although in one case she helps her favorite cop when his sister is being black mailed for some photos she had taken when she was younger.
The artwork is usually pretty good but I did find some of the drawings Ms. Tree not so good... Not so good??? Well, you know what I mean. All in all, it's well written, well drawn, interesting series. Now to find out if there is a Vol 5. I have ordered some other Hard Case graphics just to see if they are as entertaining. (3.5 stars)
The collection finds Ms. Tree in a number of situations, finding lost children, fighting pornographers, serial killers and killers in Hawaii. Ms. Tree leads with a gun usually. She is often at odds with the cops although in one case she helps her favorite cop when his sister is being black mailed for some photos she had taken when she was younger.
The artwork is usually pretty good but I did find some of the drawings Ms. Tree not so good... Not so good??? Well, you know what I mean. All in all, it's well written, well drawn, interesting series. Now to find out if there is a Vol 5. I have ordered some other Hard Case graphics just to see if they are as entertaining. (3.5 stars)
August 19, 2024
This, by my count, if not the book’s spine or indicia, is Ms. Tree Volume 4, and funnily enough it’s probably a great jumping on point because it’s the batch of stories that will give you the most potent dose of Michael Tree in all of her Swift Justice glory. This, people, is the legendary Ms. Tree. Collins and Beatty are producing untouchable work at this point and there’s not many comic books like it, before or since: clear, concise, bold storytelling and fearless characterizations.
The stories here are top notch. We have a really good serial killer murder mystery, a “ripped from the (then) headlines” Vanessa Williams-Playboy story, and a Tree vs. pedophile story that is enraging but ultimately very stand-up-and-cheerable.
My one pet peeve from the other volumes is here, too: the sad lack of reader letters. Especially with this volume featuring the creative team’s cost-cutting experiments with color. I think the single coloring works. It better enhances the artwork than full color or black and white could. Red, blue, and brown are used very judiciously.
Deadline collects Ms. Tree #10-17 (not! see below). At this rate, we’re looking at another 4 volumes to reach #50, and hopefully another one for the one-shots, limited series, guest appearances, and extras. Hopefully they come out sooner than one a year.
Big thanks to everyone responsible for finally returning Ms. Tree to the bookstores where she belongs, and double big thanks to fellow readers who know a goody thing when they see her.
SWAK,
Nobody Special
SECOND THOUGHTS AFTER A RE-READ
(TL;DR Fuck Hard Case Crime and Max Collins himself, presumably, for the spoileriffic mapping of these books!!! Great comics, nonetheless, but DEAR GOD there better be a pair of OVERSIZED HARDCOVERS after all this pussyfooting: with chronological mapping, with covers where they belong, no shitty modern recoloring, plus all the Mike Mist stuff, all the extras, all the letters, etc, etc. Ms. Tree would be mailing bullets, I know, but I’m content pissing into the winds of GR. Plus, she was paying 1980s postage rates. And I’ll always have my floppies.)
All right, I’ve bitched and moaned in every review about how Hard Case Crime fucked up the reading order of Ms. Tree. Hang ‘em! Whoever made those decisions, hang ‘em high! Because it’s worse than I thought. They allegedly wanted to publish these volumes so haphazardly to attract new readers and put the “best” stuff out first (I know they haven’t done the latter, at least.) But their reading order is confusing. This volume not only covers Ms. Tree #10-17, it also includes #32-34. And there’s a huge spoiler in the latter storyline. It’s a sequel, and a good one, to a storyline from #16-17 but that’s not reason enough to screw up the reading order. Part of the charm of Ms. Tree is the long form storytelling of Collins and Beatty. Instead of publishing from #1-100 (let’s pretend Tree was always one volume just for shits, giggles and sanity’s sake), they’ve published #80-100, #1-25 and #44, #26-43 and #71-79, then #45-70. Which is BS. The most annoying part is that since the covers aren’t placed before each story you have no way of knowing this. Unless you read the back matter first and notice the jump in gap cover gallery. Or read this review. The foreword and the indica and the back cover tell you nothing. That’s not the kind of mystery your readers are after, sirs.
Que sera, sera. At least this might be one of my favorite chunks of Ms. Tree. It’s the most distilled, I’d say. Like a good novel or tv show, the juiciest meat is in the middle. The beginning is the setup; the end is the climax (or the interminable “cancel it already” mess.) This is Tree after she’s up and running, before the consequences of her vigilantism, and before the “next generation” stuff, although that is hastily spoiled here (we learn what happened to her first nemesis and aren’t even properly introduced to the next one…. So dumb! Max, how could you? I wonder if Tree ever meant anything to you. Sniff. For shame. Shame, I say! Now you say 3 Our Fathers, 10 Hail Marys, and tell us a new Tree story already for crying out loud.)
OBLIGATORY NEAL ADAMS BASHING
I’m curious what these issues would look like in full color. But I’d only want that curiosity satisfied if they mimicked the tech of the time. God knows we don’t need another Batman by Neal Adams. Take that, Adams. You suck now!
MS TREE 3-D
Without any fanfare Ms. Tree 3D is included in this volume. It’s not in 3D, though. Fair enough. And it’s not in the indica (but, hell, neither are issues #32-34.) It’s another fun team-up with Mike Mist.
DEADLY BELOVED, A MS. TREE NOVEL?!
The back cover promises “a sneak peek at the first novel to star the iconic heroine, Deadly Beloved.” WHAT THE FUCK??? Am I taking crazy pills?! That book literally came out in 2007, yet the blurb reads like it’s forthcoming. (And like Ms. Tree’s nickname is Deadly Beloved.) I honestly think it’s a miracle we’re getting Ms. Tree published at all! Out of order, shrunk, bare bones, but clearly Hard Case Crime is doing the best they can… I guess. Maybe we’re lucky the pages are published right-side up!
EXTRA! EXTRA! MY ORIGINAL GR DEADLY BELOVED REVIEW
3 Stars
Huge Ms. Tree fan! In comic or graphic novel form. This book just didn't do it for me. I was so pumped to read it, but it was a let down. Hopefully Ms. Tree has a more successful return in comics or another medium (like a cable TV show.)
SECOND THOUGHTS ON THE NOVEL
I kind of want to read it again. I know I was disappointed with it mainly because novel-Tree is from a parallel universe; she isn’t the same Tree I knew and loved. Maybe it reads better knowing that ahead of time. Poor Michael just hasn’t fared well in the 21st century.
The stories here are top notch. We have a really good serial killer murder mystery, a “ripped from the (then) headlines” Vanessa Williams-Playboy story, and a Tree vs. pedophile story that is enraging but ultimately very stand-up-and-cheerable.
My one pet peeve from the other volumes is here, too: the sad lack of reader letters. Especially with this volume featuring the creative team’s cost-cutting experiments with color. I think the single coloring works. It better enhances the artwork than full color or black and white could. Red, blue, and brown are used very judiciously.
Deadline collects Ms. Tree #10-17 (not! see below). At this rate, we’re looking at another 4 volumes to reach #50, and hopefully another one for the one-shots, limited series, guest appearances, and extras. Hopefully they come out sooner than one a year.
Big thanks to everyone responsible for finally returning Ms. Tree to the bookstores where she belongs, and double big thanks to fellow readers who know a goody thing when they see her.
SWAK,
Nobody Special
SECOND THOUGHTS AFTER A RE-READ
(TL;DR Fuck Hard Case Crime and Max Collins himself, presumably, for the spoileriffic mapping of these books!!! Great comics, nonetheless, but DEAR GOD there better be a pair of OVERSIZED HARDCOVERS after all this pussyfooting: with chronological mapping, with covers where they belong, no shitty modern recoloring, plus all the Mike Mist stuff, all the extras, all the letters, etc, etc. Ms. Tree would be mailing bullets, I know, but I’m content pissing into the winds of GR. Plus, she was paying 1980s postage rates. And I’ll always have my floppies.)
All right, I’ve bitched and moaned in every review about how Hard Case Crime fucked up the reading order of Ms. Tree. Hang ‘em! Whoever made those decisions, hang ‘em high! Because it’s worse than I thought. They allegedly wanted to publish these volumes so haphazardly to attract new readers and put the “best” stuff out first (I know they haven’t done the latter, at least.) But their reading order is confusing. This volume not only covers Ms. Tree #10-17, it also includes #32-34. And there’s a huge spoiler in the latter storyline. It’s a sequel, and a good one, to a storyline from #16-17 but that’s not reason enough to screw up the reading order. Part of the charm of Ms. Tree is the long form storytelling of Collins and Beatty. Instead of publishing from #1-100 (let’s pretend Tree was always one volume just for shits, giggles and sanity’s sake), they’ve published #80-100, #1-25 and #44, #26-43 and #71-79, then #45-70. Which is BS. The most annoying part is that since the covers aren’t placed before each story you have no way of knowing this. Unless you read the back matter first and notice the jump in gap cover gallery. Or read this review. The foreword and the indica and the back cover tell you nothing. That’s not the kind of mystery your readers are after, sirs.
Que sera, sera. At least this might be one of my favorite chunks of Ms. Tree. It’s the most distilled, I’d say. Like a good novel or tv show, the juiciest meat is in the middle. The beginning is the setup; the end is the climax (or the interminable “cancel it already” mess.) This is Tree after she’s up and running, before the consequences of her vigilantism, and before the “next generation” stuff, although that is hastily spoiled here (we learn what happened to her first nemesis and aren’t even properly introduced to the next one…. So dumb! Max, how could you? I wonder if Tree ever meant anything to you. Sniff. For shame. Shame, I say! Now you say 3 Our Fathers, 10 Hail Marys, and tell us a new Tree story already for crying out loud.)
OBLIGATORY NEAL ADAMS BASHING
I’m curious what these issues would look like in full color. But I’d only want that curiosity satisfied if they mimicked the tech of the time. God knows we don’t need another Batman by Neal Adams. Take that, Adams. You suck now!
MS TREE 3-D
Without any fanfare Ms. Tree 3D is included in this volume. It’s not in 3D, though. Fair enough. And it’s not in the indica (but, hell, neither are issues #32-34.) It’s another fun team-up with Mike Mist.
DEADLY BELOVED, A MS. TREE NOVEL?!
The back cover promises “a sneak peek at the first novel to star the iconic heroine, Deadly Beloved.” WHAT THE FUCK??? Am I taking crazy pills?! That book literally came out in 2007, yet the blurb reads like it’s forthcoming. (And like Ms. Tree’s nickname is Deadly Beloved.) I honestly think it’s a miracle we’re getting Ms. Tree published at all! Out of order, shrunk, bare bones, but clearly Hard Case Crime is doing the best they can… I guess. Maybe we’re lucky the pages are published right-side up!
EXTRA! EXTRA! MY ORIGINAL GR DEADLY BELOVED REVIEW
3 Stars
Huge Ms. Tree fan! In comic or graphic novel form. This book just didn't do it for me. I was so pumped to read it, but it was a let down. Hopefully Ms. Tree has a more successful return in comics or another medium (like a cable TV show.)
SECOND THOUGHTS ON THE NOVEL
I kind of want to read it again. I know I was disappointed with it mainly because novel-Tree is from a parallel universe; she isn’t the same Tree I knew and loved. Maybe it reads better knowing that ahead of time. Poor Michael just hasn’t fared well in the 21st century.
May 30, 2024
Graphic hardboiled crime stories that tackle difficult topics such as exploitation of underage runaways, incest, revenge porn and more.
April 9, 2023
Ms. Tree is the first and longest running female private eye in comics. Max Allan Collins' stories are a unique blend of 1950's hardboiled action mixed with 1980's social issues. Tree is modeled on Velda from the Mickey Spillane novels. This is the fourth of six trade paperbacks from Hard Case Crime that will collect the entire Ms. Tree run of comics, minus two crossovers.
Terry Beatty's art is clean and just a shade retro. During this run of issues, he cut costs by simplifying the color scheme to just shades of red (or blue in some issues), which gives the comic a distinct visual flair.
Ms. Tree: Deadline collects five story arcs:
"Deadline" (1984) -- Ms. Tree #10-13. A female serial killer is terrorizing the city, but her latest murder might have really been the work of the Muerta mob to eliminate a stoolie. A fun story featuring shock journalists, a transvestite hit man, and a 25-year old rape case.
"Skin Deep" (1984) -- Ms. Tree #14-15. Lt. Rafe Valer's sister wins a beauty contest but she is blackmailed by an old boyfriend over some nude photos. Then the boyfriend turns up dead… This story is inspired by the Vanessa Williams scandal, but it has not aged well. The killer confesses in the last chapter for no reason. Plus, the idea of selling still shots to a men's magazine seems almost quaint in this anything-and-everything-goes social media age.
"Runaway" (1985) -- Ms. Tree #16-17. 12-year old Mike Jr. runs away and falls into the hands of a child predator. Tree scours the country to find her son, and then she deals with the pedophile with extreme prejudice. The trauma of this event is explored years later in "Skeleton in the Closet" (1990, Ms. Quarterly #3).
"Runaway II" (1986) -- Ms. Tree #32-34. Ms. Tree is hired to protect an adult film actress who started doing porn at the age of sixteen. This three-issue sequel arc is based on the life of Traci Lords. The story explores the social and legal issues of pornography during that time -- free speech vs. obscenity laws, exploitation vs. female liberation, the financial influence of organized crime vs. start-up entrepreneurs. Of course, people did not imagine in the 1980's that internet porn would once day create markets for do-it-yourself home production studios and large-scale global sex trafficking rings.
[During the original comic run, the two "Runaway" arcs were separated by 13 issues, but it makes sense to include them side by side in this volume. The second story features recurring characters from both "Skin Deep" and "Runaway". There is also a historical resonance to placing them together. In 1984, nude photos of both Vanessa Williams and Traci Lords ended up in the same issue of a prominent men's magazine. When it became known two years later that Lords was underage, that magazine instantly became illegal to own, even though it had been legally sold and legally purchased by millions of customers. It remains illegal to own today.]
"Death, Danger and Diamonds" (1985) -- Ms. Tree 3-D #1. Another Mist-Tree crossover. The two detectives jet off to Hawaii on the trail of two small-time con men who murdered Mike Mist's ex-girlfriend.
Also included is the first chapter of the Ms. Tree prose novel Deadly Beloved.
Terry Beatty's art is clean and just a shade retro. During this run of issues, he cut costs by simplifying the color scheme to just shades of red (or blue in some issues), which gives the comic a distinct visual flair.
Ms. Tree: Deadline collects five story arcs:
"Deadline" (1984) -- Ms. Tree #10-13. A female serial killer is terrorizing the city, but her latest murder might have really been the work of the Muerta mob to eliminate a stoolie. A fun story featuring shock journalists, a transvestite hit man, and a 25-year old rape case.
"Skin Deep" (1984) -- Ms. Tree #14-15. Lt. Rafe Valer's sister wins a beauty contest but she is blackmailed by an old boyfriend over some nude photos. Then the boyfriend turns up dead… This story is inspired by the Vanessa Williams scandal, but it has not aged well. The killer confesses in the last chapter for no reason. Plus, the idea of selling still shots to a men's magazine seems almost quaint in this anything-and-everything-goes social media age.
"Runaway" (1985) -- Ms. Tree #16-17. 12-year old Mike Jr. runs away and falls into the hands of a child predator. Tree scours the country to find her son, and then she deals with the pedophile with extreme prejudice. The trauma of this event is explored years later in "Skeleton in the Closet" (1990, Ms. Quarterly #3).
"Runaway II" (1986) -- Ms. Tree #32-34. Ms. Tree is hired to protect an adult film actress who started doing porn at the age of sixteen. This three-issue sequel arc is based on the life of Traci Lords. The story explores the social and legal issues of pornography during that time -- free speech vs. obscenity laws, exploitation vs. female liberation, the financial influence of organized crime vs. start-up entrepreneurs. Of course, people did not imagine in the 1980's that internet porn would once day create markets for do-it-yourself home production studios and large-scale global sex trafficking rings.
[During the original comic run, the two "Runaway" arcs were separated by 13 issues, but it makes sense to include them side by side in this volume. The second story features recurring characters from both "Skin Deep" and "Runaway". There is also a historical resonance to placing them together. In 1984, nude photos of both Vanessa Williams and Traci Lords ended up in the same issue of a prominent men's magazine. When it became known two years later that Lords was underage, that magazine instantly became illegal to own, even though it had been legally sold and legally purchased by millions of customers. It remains illegal to own today.]
"Death, Danger and Diamonds" (1985) -- Ms. Tree 3-D #1. Another Mist-Tree crossover. The two detectives jet off to Hawaii on the trail of two small-time con men who murdered Mike Mist's ex-girlfriend.
Also included is the first chapter of the Ms. Tree prose novel Deadly Beloved.
March 7, 2023
I really enjoy this series. I read the first three graphic novel compilations and am looking forward to reading the 5th one entitled Heroine Withdrawal whenever it is published.
Ms. Tree is basically a thinly veiled version of Mike Hammer's secretary, Velda. The idea behind the series was What if Mike Hammer (in the series called Mike Tree) and Velda (Ms. Tree) married, and then Mike was murdered on their honeymoon? Ms. Tree solves her husband's murder and takes over his detective agency.
Ms. Tree's maiden name was Friday. Another idea that is implied in the series but never directly stated is that she is the daughter of Sgt. Joe Friday from Dragnet. He wanted a son, so he named her Michael instead of Michelle.
Ms. Tree is basically a thinly veiled version of Mike Hammer's secretary, Velda. The idea behind the series was What if Mike Hammer (in the series called Mike Tree) and Velda (Ms. Tree) married, and then Mike was murdered on their honeymoon? Ms. Tree solves her husband's murder and takes over his detective agency.
Ms. Tree's maiden name was Friday. Another idea that is implied in the series but never directly stated is that she is the daughter of Sgt. Joe Friday from Dragnet. He wanted a son, so he named her Michael instead of Michelle.
August 1, 2026
For whatever reason, I felt this was the best of the series so far. They’re not in order, so I guess these were some of the older ones, but I enjoyed the hard boiled mystery vibe these ones gave off. I liked the minimal coloring in the illustrations too. Some of the subject matter is heavy and complex, but I didn’t mind.
March 20, 2023
I enjoyed this volume of Ms. Tree more than the preceding three volumes. I think that these stories were stronger than the other collections. I enjoyed the focus on the theme of this volume as well as Collins storytelling. I also think this was some of Terry Beatty's finest art.
May 3, 2023
Very solid storytelling. Although I loved Collins' Nate Heller novels, back in the '90s the Comics Journal was very critical of these graphic stories and not knowing any better, I passed on them until just a couple years ago. Can't wait for #5.
May 7, 2025
Review is for all 6 Hard case collected volumes read back to back.
Hardboiled sensibility and unflinching un-sentimentality combined with ripped-from-the-headlines tales long before Law and Order made the phrase a trope, MAC shows why he is a master in whatever format he chooses to work.
Hardboiled sensibility and unflinching un-sentimentality combined with ripped-from-the-headlines tales long before Law and Order made the phrase a trope, MAC shows why he is a master in whatever format he chooses to work.
October 18, 2022
Ms. Tree: volume four contains the stories; Deadline, Skin Deep, Runaway, Runaway II, and Death, Danger, and Diamonds.
November 11, 2025
This is so sick. Like a serialised newspaper comic but with a strong undercurrent of evil.
December 2, 2023
Hard Case Crime continues their spliced up reprints of Ms. Tree by continuing the earlier '80s stretch of the series that first begun in "The Cold Dish" collection (Vol. 3 in the Hard Case collected editions). This volume collects issues Ms. Tree #10-17 and The Files of Ms. Tree Volume 3 which were originally published by Aardvark-Vanaheim and Renegade Press. Three major stories are collected here - "Deadline", "Skin Deep" and "Runaways". The pacing is a bit choppy since Max Allan Collins followed a mix of short serial pulps and the comic strip approach that worked well for Chester Gould's Dick Tracy strips. The resulting effect isn't the smoothest reading experience, though the underlying stories are still fun, campy mysteries. I'm still partial to the Ms. Tree Quarterly stories published in the '90s, but this early '80s stuff is not without its charm.
Collins loves to use a bit of social commentary to spruce up the noir, and it generally works well. Envisioned as a bit of an edgier "Dick Tracy", Ms. Tree can often be abrasive and complicated, making for a bit of a twist on the male-written female protagonist. She's always the highlight of each story, standing out amongst the more caricatured cast that surrounds her. The dialogue in these stories can be a bit clunky and exposition heavy, and not all of it has necessarily aged well. "Deadline" was the strongest story of the bunch as it was the more unique mystery but also the best paced. The latter stories follow some threads from "Deadline", but the chopped up narrative makes them awkwardly paced and the underlying intrigue wasn't quite as strong.
Gone in this volume are the colors from the earlier stretch of Ms. Tree comics, since as I understand it, the switch in publishers prevented the use of more than one color. Terry Beatty does make the most of the spot reds to create a subdued atmosphere, and the later use of duotones do contribute to the noir aesthetic well. Beatty's artwork continues to be a nice modernization of Steve Ditko's style, which adds a lot to the clarity of the storytelling. The overall scans and reproductions here is solid, though there were a few pages where the artwork looks quite a bit hazy and difficult to decipher.
Collins loves to use a bit of social commentary to spruce up the noir, and it generally works well. Envisioned as a bit of an edgier "Dick Tracy", Ms. Tree can often be abrasive and complicated, making for a bit of a twist on the male-written female protagonist. She's always the highlight of each story, standing out amongst the more caricatured cast that surrounds her. The dialogue in these stories can be a bit clunky and exposition heavy, and not all of it has necessarily aged well. "Deadline" was the strongest story of the bunch as it was the more unique mystery but also the best paced. The latter stories follow some threads from "Deadline", but the chopped up narrative makes them awkwardly paced and the underlying intrigue wasn't quite as strong.
Gone in this volume are the colors from the earlier stretch of Ms. Tree comics, since as I understand it, the switch in publishers prevented the use of more than one color. Terry Beatty does make the most of the spot reds to create a subdued atmosphere, and the later use of duotones do contribute to the noir aesthetic well. Beatty's artwork continues to be a nice modernization of Steve Ditko's style, which adds a lot to the clarity of the storytelling. The overall scans and reproductions here is solid, though there were a few pages where the artwork looks quite a bit hazy and difficult to decipher.
December 12, 2024
Asesinatos que esconden una venganza, el chantaje a una reina de belleza y el drama de los adolescentes fugitivos. Dos casos que mueven brevemente a Michael Tree al extremo del murder mystery y un tercero más acorde a su línea, aunque todos muestran un final más abrupto del usual; gráficamente destaca la evolución de Terry Beatty, sobre todo al experimentar con el collage en la primera historia.
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