Sunday, February 10, 2008

MS. TREE IN RETURNS IN NOVEL FORM

One of my all-time favorite crime noir comic book series has turned into a novel. Here's my review from Scoop:

In the pages of Eclipse Magazine, the serialized first comic book adventures of Ms. Tree, private investigator Michael Tree, began appearing in 1981. It's been a long road since then, taking the tough-as-nails leading lady through Aardvark-Vanaheim, Renegade Press, First Comics, and DC Comics, movie options and more. During that time the character's co-creator and author Max Allan Collins (Road To Perdition) has sold more than his fair share of novels, but none about one of his favorite creations.
Cut from the same cloth as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Spillane and Collins were close friends, Ms. Tree is the tough guy's tough girl. She is sharp, insightful, hard-nosed, somewhat caustic, and when called for, very deadly. This novel is a bit of a different take on her first two serialized stories ("I, For an Eye" and "Death Do Us Part"), but is mostly a new tale centering on how she became who she is now and what happened those negative elements who got in her way.
It's a synchopated tale of good gal vs. bad people and we're just along for the ride. Mike Hammer fans will find a resonating character that while clearly steeped in Spillane's mindset definitely has her own personality and style. Fans of the comics will definitely want to check this one out, as will crime fans in general. It's from Hard Case Crime and carries a $6.99 cover price.

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