Ms. Tree Volume 4: Deadline

Titan Comics; $24.99

Originally released by Eclipse, Ms. Tree has an interesting history; Eclipse, First Comics (in a crossover mini-series with E-Man’s Michael Mauser), Aardvark-Vanaheim, Renegade, and DC all published the character in a variety of titles and formats. None of them were smash hits, but there was definitely a devoted audience for the six-foot tall, intimidating title character, Michael Tree.

Cut from the same cloth as Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Ms. Tree’s adventures were a steady stream of intriguing plots swathed in copious amounts of violence and death. This latest collection in Titan’s archival series includes the serialized stories “Deadline,” “Skin Deep,” “Runaway,” “Runaway II,” and “Death, Danger and Diamonds.”

For the most part, the issues collected in this edition were produced in that often-forgotten middle ground between color and black and white; they’re single-color comics, meaning the black and white art is augmented by a single color for highlights and dramatic effect. It frequently worked well for artist Terry Beatty and writer Max Allan Collins, though the straight black and white stories toward the end of the volume are sharp, too. 

– J.C. Vaughn