Posts Tagged ‘Comics’

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Quarry New Year!

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

This has been a significant year for Quarry. Though his series on Cinemax ran only one season, it was well-received, even acclaimed, and a very good, interesting take on an origin story for the character.

I am very pleased with the Quarry comic book (actually serialized graphic novel), Quarry’s War, the second issue of which is out this week with two variant covers. I have a new artist, Edu Menna, who I think does a fine job. In fact, I would rate this single issue among the best comic books ever to bear my name.

Here’s a preview of both covers and the first few pages.

Additionally, for those of you who are into audio books, Stefan Rudnicki does a great job narrating Quarry’s Climax. His voice is gruffly rich and quietly wry. He really “gets” Quarry, and as publisher of Skyboat Media, he’s one of the great friends of this series. Get it here (or directly from Audible).

Quarry also makes an appearance in Otto Penzler’s The Big Book of Rogues and Villains. Here’s a review.

This has been a year of incredible highs and a few lows. Quarry on Cinemax was a real treat, and I am particularly proud and humbled (well, not that humble) to be a Mystery Writers of America “Grand Master.” My wife Barb assures me that even though 2017 is over, I am still a Grand Master. She also doesn’t seem terribly impressed about it….

Thanks for all your support – buying the books, cheering me on in my medical adventures, writing comments here…all appreciated.

Finally, Bill Crider – we love you!

M.A.C.

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Hey Kids! Comics!

Tuesday, November 28th, 2017

The first of the four-issue serialization of Quarry’s War, the character’s first graphic novel appearance, goes on sale November 29. There are three alternate covers, designed to fleece you, er, give you an opportunity to choose the one you like best.

This link will take you to all of the covers plus a five-page preview.

The four issues will be collected as a trade paperback, though I don’t know when – sometime next year. To some degree, this project happened because of the TV show, and since Cinemax did not take Quarry past the first season, I can’t be sure there will be another graphic novel.

What this did provide me with was an opportunity to explore Quarry’s back story more thoroughly and do something about his Vietnam experiences. The first three issues are evenly divided between Vietnam and a post-Vietnam assignment from the Broker. The fourth issue kind of pulls both story lines together.

The graphic novel was, in part, a response to the Cinemax series with its Vietnam emphasis. But mostly the visual format of comics made it the perfect place to show what Quarry’s life was like overseas, as well as explore his beginnings from boot camp to the Broker first knocking on his door.

Also, his restrained response to the guy who’d been cheating with Quarry’s Joni.

* * *

I am two chapters in on Do No Harm and, while it’s a pleasure to be with Nate Heller again, brother is it hard. I kidded myself thinking this would be an “easy” Heller. The case is complex and I have a time-hopping structure that may make me (but I hope not you) dizzy.

I managed to get a little work done over Thanksgiving and the long weekend. But with Nathan, Abby and two-year-old Sam visiting, that wasn’t always easy – also, I was busy falling off my stay-away-from-sugar-and-starch diet, eating the equivalent of an entire pecan pie over a three-day period. In my defense, Barb makes the best pecan pie anywhere. Ask Nate.

Also, I am embarrassed to report that there is sad news for the rest of you: none of you have children or grandchildren as cute and smart as Sam Collins. My apologies.

* * *

A very nice Big Showdown review by that fine writer James Reasoner can be found here. Mr. Reasoner has forgotten more about writing westerns than I will ever know, so this one felt especially good.

And speaking of the late/great Quarry TV series, this blog concludes with a look at the episode I wrote.

Full confession: my work on the Quarry series was stretched out over two episodes (the next one after the one reviewed here). The other writer and I were each assigned a solo writing credit for one episode for reasons I’m not entirely clear on. I also wrote (and was paid for) an episode for season two, which of course was never filmed.

M.A.C.

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Fate of the Union Approaches

Tuesday, October 27th, 2015
Fate of the Union

FATE OF THE UNION, the second Reeder and Rogers political thriller, will be published November 10. But I have ten advance copies available to the first ten readers who ask for one, on the condition that they post a review at Amazon and/or elsewhere. (If you are a blogger and have a regular review column, let me know and I’ll see that you get a copy from Thomas & Mercer.) The only other condition is that this is for USA residents only – postage overseas and even to Canada has gotten prohibitive.

Request a copy by e-mailing me at . Be sure to include your snail-mail address!

Some of you may not have read the first Reeder and Rogers novel, SUPREME JUSTICE, but if you like anything of mine, you’ll likely enjoy this series. SUPREME JUSTICE, ironically not read by as many of my regular readers as other titles of recent years, is among my bestselling books ever – nearly 300,000 copies are out there. The majority of those readers have come to SUPREME JUSTICE on Kindle.

As I’ve mentioned here before, Matthew Clemens gets cover billing this time, though truth be told he deserved it last time, as well (and on the previous Thomas & Mercer thriller, WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER). I’ve made no secret about the fact that Matt has worked with me on almost two dozen novels, mostly TV tie-ins (CSI, BONES, DARK ANGEL, CRIMINAL MINDS). For the record, I’ve done all the movie novelizations (dreaded term) myself.

Since I’ve moved away from doing tie-in work, I took Matt along for the Amazon thrillers because our collaboration is a comfortable and I think outstanding one. We did two thrillers at Kensington – where Matt shared co-author billing – that have done very well, building sales over the years, particularly on Kindle, due to the success of the Thomas & Mercer-pubbed thrillers. Those books are YOU CAN’T STOP ME and NO ONE WILL HEAR YOU. We also have written many short stories together – almost always with Matt sharing byline – and gathered some of them into a book called MY LOLITA COMPLEX (2006), which has become something of a high-ticket item, though the title story is available from Amazon on Kindle for a mere pittance.

Back to FATE OF THE UNION. Joe Reeder is an ex-Secret Service agent who has his roots in my IN THE LINE OF FIRE novelization and BOMBSHELL by Barb and me (now available under our shared “Barbara Allan” byline), both of which starred tough Secret Service agents. He is partnered with a young FBI agent, Patti Rogers, who is not his love interest. The books are tough and violent, and have been somewhat controversial.
Though I thought I was hitting the ball right down the center in SUPREME JUSTICE, some conservative readers (I should say “readers,” since some seemed to be posting bad reviews at Amazon without actually reading the book) disliked the novel, apparently because Joe Reeder is a Democrat. The book deals with the assassinations of Supreme Court Justices by a bad guy who wants to reconfigure the court into a more leftist manner – how that makes the book anti-conservative is bewildering to me.

Despite the efforts of some politically motivated “readers,” SUPREME JUSTICE has a four-star rating at Amazon, and an astonishing 3440 reviews (last time I checked).

FATE OF THE UNION deals with a multi-millionaire (perhaps billionaire) who decides to run for the presidency; there is an assassination attempt in the midst a string of what appear to be serial killings. The theme is the destructiveness of extremism, no matter what the politics behind it.

This past week Matt was interviewed by a Crimespree reviewer and he deals very effectively and frankly with how our collaboration works. Read it here.

While we’re at it, here’s a fun piece about how and why I quit as writer of the BATMAN comic book.

The same folks revealed why the DICK TRACY novelization doesn’t reveal the bad guy’s identity until the 6th printing.

Finally, here is a really nice article – smart and lengthy – about MS. TREE and her place in the history of crime comics.

M.A.C.

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Rock ‘N’ Roll Happened

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

This coming weekend – Dec. 3 and 4 – Crusin’ will be at Jumer’s casino from 8 to midnight off I-280 near Rock Island. Getting to play casinos is a big deal for us, because it’s “real” show biz. We have an excellent version of our long-running band right now, so we hope those of you in this part of the world will stop by for some genuine garage-band rock.

Rock 'N' Roll Happened

Speaking of which, our new live CD, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened,” is now available. It feature half a dozen originals (including “Psychedelic Siren,” two Bruce Peters originals and one by Rob Gal, as well as our signature arrangement of “Summertime” and a rousing “Pussy Whipped”) plus classic covers, all recorded live at two outdoor festivals in August. The liner notes include a detailed history of the band and rare vintage photos. If you’ve ever heard (and enjoyed) us or the years, or just have a lingering morbid curiosity about the rock ‘n’ roll side of my creative life, you will not want to miss this.

Since “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” is a promo item, designed for bookers at venues who might consider hiring us, we can’t sell it…but I am setting aside thirty copies for this website. To get a CD, you order one of the following M.A.C. rarities and get a free copy. Here are your options:

Edit: All options sold out! We’re going to recheck stock and post again with what’s left!

Kisses of Death

A., “Kisses of Death,” a 90-minute cassette of me reading a Nate Heller novella with Barbara Collins as Marilyn Monroe. These rare cassettes were distributed as a promo item at the ABA in 1996. Includes FREE Crusin’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, $15 postpaid USA/Canada ($20 foreign).

Mike Myst

B. “Mike Mist Minute Mist-eries,” 1981 Eclipse black-and-white comic book collecting “Mist” strips from the Collins/Beatty self-syndicated “Comics Page.” Includes FREE Crusin’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, $15 postpaid USA/Canada ($20 foreign).

Ms. Tree Summer Music Special

C. “Ms. Tree Rock ‘n’ Roll Summer Special,” 1986, includes “Music to Murder By” Ms. Tree/Mike Mist crossover, plus my “Bobby Darin” comic bio/memoir, and in-depth article “The Daybreakers” with many rare photos. Includes FREE Crusin’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, $15 postpaid USA/Canada ($20 foreign).

Golden Age

D. Rare “The Golden Age” by Seduction of the Innocent (cassette); rare 1990 album featuring “The Truth Hurts.” Includes FREE Crusin’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, $15 postpaid USA/Canada ($20 foreign).

Crusin'

E. “Bullets” by Crusin’ (cassette); rare 1991 album featuring “Theme from Ms. Tree.” Includes FREE Crusin’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, $15 postpaid USA/Canada ($20 foreign).

SOTI Live'

F. “Seduction of the Innocent” Live CD signed by Collins, Christensen, Mumy and Leialoha. Includes FREE Crusin’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, $20 postpaid USA/Canada ($25 foreign).

G. The Complete Collection (THREE SETS AVAILABLE): “The Golden Age” by Seduction of the Innocent, CD; “Bullets” by Crusin’, CD; “Daybreakers aka Crusin’,” including “Psychedelic Siren,” rare demos and songs from Mommy and Mommy’s Day, signed by original Daybreakers, CD; signed “Seduction of the Innocent” Live CD. Includes FREE Crusin’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, $60 postpaid USA/Canada ($75 foreign).

As indicated, these are available in very limited quantities. An unsigned copy of the Seduction of the Innocent CD may be substituted for the free “Rock ‘n’ Roll Happened” CD, if you buy a second of the above options.

Edit: All options sold out! We’re going to recheck stock and post again with what’s left!

* * *

Here’s an interesting write-up from the University of Chicago Magazine website about my Batman/Eliot Ness graphic novel, SCAR OF THE BAT. Always fun when something from past years pops up for some praise.

This is a nice write-up about BLACK HATS. The posting has been edited after I commented about the original version, which off-handedly said I had a “boatload” of pennames. Which of course I don’t.

The terrific crime writer Tom Piccirilli is kind enough to mention the new Quarry reprints on his blog.

There’s an interview with me at the website of the Top Suspense Group. Lee Goldberg has joined our merry little band of e-book writers, which is very good news. Lee is co-founder (with me) of the International Association of Tie-in Writers. Interviews with him and Ed Gorman and our other talented members can be found at the same site.

And there’s a nice write-up about collaborations at Book Notes, which includes Barbara Allan.

Nate is back from Japan, and I have welcomed him home with this long and complicated update!

M.A.C.

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