Max Allan Collins — comics creator

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Known forMs. Tree

Issues credited157

Active1983–2024

Primary rolewriter

Born in Muscatine, Iowa on March 3, 1948, Max Allan Collins built one of the most varied careers in American crime fiction, moving fluidly between comics, prose novels, and screenplays. He is perhaps best recognized for two landmark comics works: *Ms. Tree*, the tough female private investigator series that ran across multiple titles including *Ms. Tree Quarterly*, and *Road to Perdition*, a graphic novel whose story of a Depression-era mob enforcer and his son was adapted into a widely praised film.

Collins spent many years writing the *Dick Tracy* newspaper strip and extended his engagement with the character through both collected editions and original novels. His catalog credits also include *Batman*, *Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger*, and *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Bad Rap*, reflecting a consistent attraction to crime-driven narratives. On the prose side, he created the recurring figures of hitman Quarry, thief Nolan, and private investigator Nate Heller, the last of whom earned the Private Eye Writers of America's Hammer Award in 2012 for its contribution to the genre. Collins also received the organization's Shamus Award three times and its Life Achievement Eye Award in 2006.

In 2017, the Mystery Writers of America honored him with the Grand Master designation — the organization's highest recognition — cementing a legacy built over four decades of crime storytelling across nearly every medium the genre offers.

Full bibliography · 44 series

Ms. Tree (1983) · 33

#4 #5 #7 #9 #10 #14 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #29 #30 #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #43 #45 #46 #47 #48 #49 #50 #1 #2 #3

Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger (1995) · 15

#2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #2 #7 #8 #9 #10

Batman (1940) · 9

#403 #408 #409 #411 #412 #13 #14 #15 #31

Ms. Tree Quarterly (1990) · 8

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8

The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy (2006) · 7

#2 #5 #14 #26 #27 #28 #29

Road to Perdition (1998) · 6

#[1]#[nn]#[nn]#2 #2 #[1]

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Bad Rap (2003) · 6

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #[nn]

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2003) · 5

#1 #2 #3 #5 #4

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Demon House (2004) · 5

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (2018) · 5

#1 #2 #3 #4 #[nn]

CSI: NY - Bloody Murder (2005) · 4

#1 #2 #3 #4

Quarry's War (2017) · 4

#1 #2 #3 #4

Ms. Tree's Thrilling Detective Adventures (1983) · 3

#1 #2 #3

The Files of Ms. Tree (1984) · 3

#1 #2 #3

Batman Taschenbuch (1978) · 3

#38 #39 #41

Agent X9 (1976) · 3

#12/1991 #10/1994 #4/2008

Dick Tracy Crimebuster (1999) · 3

#1 #2 #4

On the Road to Perdition (2003) · 3

#2 #1 #3

Action Comics Weekly (1988) · 2

#601 #603

The Dick Tracy Casebook (1990) · 2

#[nn]#[nn]

Ms. Tree Special (1992) · 2

#9 #10

Dick Tracy: The Collins Casefiles (2004) · 2

#2 #3

Return to Perdition (2011) · 2

#[nn]#[nn]

The Complete Dick Tracy (2023) · 2

#3 #6

Ms. Tree 3-D (1985) · 1

Dick Tracy: Tracy's Wartime Memories (1986) · 1

#[nn]

Ms. Tree Summer Special (1986) · 1

Dick Tracy: America's Most Famous Detective (1987) · 1

#[nn]

Thrilling Adventure Strips (1986) · 1

#10

Batman Annual (1961) · 1

#11

Ms. Tree's 1950's Three-Dimensional Crime (1987) · 1

Wild Dog (1987) · 1

Johnny Dynamite (1994) · 1

Batman: Scar of the Bat (1996) · 1

#[nn]

Seriemagasinet (1997) · 1

#6/1998

Spirit Jam (1998) · 1

#[nn]

Wild Times: Grifter (1999) · 1

Usagi Yojimbo (1997) · 1

#13

Batman: Child of Dreams (2003) · 1

#[nn]

Free Comic Book Day [IDW Publishing] (2004) · 1

#[nn]

Modesty Blaise (2004) · 1

#[6]

Spike: Asylum (2006) · 1

Batman: Second Chances (2015) · 1

#[nn]

Månadens äventyr (1985) · 1

#1/1988

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