Eliot Ness « Friends/Family/Fans of Max Allan Collins

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.

Tags: Barbara Allan, Batman, Black Hats, Comics, Crusin', Eliot Ness, Interviews, Merch, Ms. Tree, Quarry, Scar of the Bat, Seduction of the Innocent
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | 2 Comments »

Net Not A Drag

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

You will note above that a Crusin’ live show is in Muscatine is coming up on St. Patrick’s Day. If you are in Eastern Iowa, check it out. We have a Riverside Casino gig coming up in April – stay tuned.

More nice stuff turning up on the net about M.A.C. projects new and old….

Janet Rudolph of Mystery Readers International kindly asked me to do a guest blog last week about the collaborative process (now all three of us have written such pieces – Barb, Matt and me). In case you missed it, now’s your chance.

Mel Odom, a gifted scribe his own self, has posted a nice YOU CAN’T STOP ME review. This appeared lots of places, but we’re linking you to Mel’s entertaining Bookhound site.

Out of the blue, a really nice review of my DVD, ELIOT NESS: AN UNTOUCHABLE LIFE (), has turned up form Cold Fusion Video Reviews. Lots of pics and apt praise for the great Michael Cornelison.

There is a Ten Classic Private Eyes thread at Tony Isabella’s message board. Tony, by the way, is another great guy. Nate Heller and Ms. Tree come up several times, and I even responded a couple of times. Worth looking at.

My pal Chris Mills has posted a lovely tribute to Mickey Spillane.

One of the pleasures of being a writer in the internet age is receiving e-mails from (as Mickey would put it) “satisfied customers.” Here’s a recent one:

Hi Max:

Just a few moments ago I finished THE WAR OF THE WORLDS MURDER and, smile still on my face, I thought I’d drop you a note of appreciation. As with everything of yours that I’ve read I enjoyed it tremendously. The craftsmanship required to produce such little gems as your “disaster” novels shows through on every page. I also must say that as much as I enjoy the novels themselves I find your Acknowledgements a special added pleasure. You write so vividly and set the literary stage so lavishly that I invariably find myself hunting up further information on the times and characters about which you write and I often find myself checking out your source material.

I, like you am a bit of a history and media buff and have been an admirer of both Welles and Gibson for some time. So during my reading of War of the World Murder my interest in them was reawakened and I poked around some of my books and some internet sites about them and was again impressed with the depth of your research. In so doing I found a (very tenuous) connection between myself and Gibson. I read that he spent the last years of his life in a very small upstate NY community of Eddyville. When I was a child I spent every summer in Rosendale, NY, the town right next door to Eddyville. My parents live there today. From the descriptions that I read it sounds like Gibson’s house was a bit like Forry Akerman’s Akermansion, only writ small. I was unable to find any pics of the house on the internet but last week I went to see my parents and made sure to travel Creek Locks Road in Eddyville looking for a house that matched the description I’d read. Eddyville is quite small and I was able to narrow it down to only two possibilities. Even here in my fully adult years I was able to get a bit of a thrill knowing that the man who created (for all intents and purposes) The Shadow lived in one of those two houses, so close to where I’d spent so much of my childhood. It isn’t a big thing, but it is a nice thing and I owe that small satisfaction to you for having made Gibson and his his fictionalized involvement with the War of The Worlds broadcast so real for me.

Please keep doing what you do.

Thanks.

Yours,

Ed Smith

Here’s my response:

Hi Ed —

thanks for your lovely e-mail.

I’m very proud of my historical stuff, and it pleases me that readers are seeking the books out years later. A book you may not know about that is in a way the capstone to the disaster series is RED SKY IN MORNING by Patrick Culhane. That’s actually me. It’s based on my father’s very interesting experiences in the Navy during WW 2.

You should probably seek out, if you haven’t already, the two books I did recently about the history of comics: A KILLING IN COMICS and STRIP FOR MURDER. They did not do well, so there probably won’t be any more of ’em, but you will like them, I think.

I have gone on many adventures like the one you describe. There’s something about connecting to childhood enthusiasms as an adult that’s very special. These are the things that resonated through our lives and, for better or worse, made us who we are.

Best,

Max

I have essentially shut down my Facebook “Friends” page, which I was completely incompetent in handling, and – at Nate’s insistence and with his help – have set up a Fan page. If you are reading this, and are on Facebook, please sign up. I comment on many of the posts and post there fairly frequently. I just (with bandmate Chuck Bunn’s help) put up a whole series of pics about the history of the Daybreakers and Crusin’ – even if you’ve never heard my band, you may get a kick out of these.

Now I am headed back to work on my draft of ANTIQUES KNOCK-OFF by Barbara Allan.

M.A.C.

Tags: A Killing In Comics, An Untouchable Life, Antiques Knock-Off, Appearances, Crusin', Eliot Ness, Nathan Heller, Red Sky in Morning, Reviews, Strip for Murder, Trash 'n' Treasures, You Can't Stop Me
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | Comments Off on Net Not A Drag

Crusin’ Update

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Crusin' at Warehouse Four
Crusin’ at Warehouse Four, 1970’s
L to R: Ric Steed, M.A.C., Bruce Peters, Paul Thomas

This will be a brief update, because this week Nate and I have put our time into getting a long overdue revised update on my band Crusin’. Anyone interested in me and my work should find this of interest — lots of photos and a detailed history of the group’s 35 year history (41 year history, counting the Daybreakers, the band Crusin’ evolved into).

A very interesting write-up on Johnny Craig’s early EC crime work touches upon my introductions to the collected EC CRIME SUSPENSTORIES and even discusses ROAD TO PERDITION in that context. Any article that extols Ralph Meeker’s Mike Hammer is jake by me.

And my old pal Christopher Mills has posted a great LAST LULLABY review at his DVD Late Show site.

Chris has also re-posted a terrific ELIOT NESS: AN UNTOUCHABLE LIFE review from a while back.

Brian Drake, who is a lively writer with great taste (i.e., he likes my stuff), wonders if I’m one person or not. I get this all the time — “When do you sleep?” and so on.

I have said any number of times that I am very lazy by nature, but that no one sends money to my house if I don’t work. Being called prolific gets you credit for hard work but is the most left-handed of writing compliments. Some years (like 2009) I have very little out — the only original novel was QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE. This year is heavier, with ANTIQUES BIZARRE, YOU CAN’T STOP ME and THE BIG BANG just around the corner. But do note that in the case of those three projects that I am working with talented collaborators (Barbara Collins, Matthew Clemens, and, well, Mickey Spillane) and I am not carrying the entire workload.

Speaking of collaborators, never forget Terry Beatty — and also hitting the net this week is a very nice overview of our MS. TREE feature.

A blog called UNSQUARE DANCE gives a nice write-up to the Hard Case Crime joint reprint of BAIT MONEY and BLOOD MONEY (as TWO FOR THE MONEY).

See you next Tuesday.

M.A.C.

Tags: Bait Money, Blood Money, Crusin', Eliot Ness, Ms. Tree, Nolan, Quarry, Road to Perdition, The Last Lullaby, Two for the Money
Posted in Message from M.A.C. | 3 Comments »