Ms. Tree Quarterly #2

Ms. Tree Quarterly, published by Renegade Press in the mid-1980s, was a spin-off of the long-running independent comic series Ms. Tree. Created by writer Max Allan Collins and artist Terry Beatty, the series was notable for its gritty, hard-boiled noir style, which stood in stark contrast to the superhero-dominated market of the era. The character, Michael Tree, a private investigator navigating a violent urban underworld, drew heavily from classic detective fiction traditions while establishing a distinct feminist voice in a traditionally male-led genre.

The second issue of the quarterly series continued the artistic partnership between Collins and Beatty, who sought to blend cinematic pacing with meticulous character-driven mysteries. The design reflected the pulp aesthetics of the 1940s updated for an eighties audience, focusing on moody, high-contrast black-and-white ink work. It was received by readers as a sophisticated example of independent comics, earning acclaim for its commitment to serialized storytelling and its refusal to rely on the standard tropes of the mainstream publishing houses.