Ms. Tree is a comic book series named for its lead character, co-created by writer Max Allan Collins and artist Terry Beatty.[1] Her name is a paronomasia, or play on words, of the term "Mystery". In addition to the comics, the character has also appeared in short stories and a novel by Collins.
Fictional character biography
The title character is Michael Tree, a female private detective who takes over her husband's investigation business when he is murdered. In her first case, she captures the murderer and discovers his link to the Muerta organized crime family.
Ms. Tree's dead husband was named Michael Tree, the joke being that after the marriage they had the same name. The female main character's real first name actually is Michael; when friends want to irritate her they deliberately mispronounce it as "Michelle". Series creator/writer Max Allan Collins makes no secret of the fact that Ms. Tree was inspired by Velda, Mike Hammer's secretary, a stacked, gun carrying, six-foot tall brunette and Mike's lover, who was almost as tough as he was. The basic premise of Ms. Tree was, "What if Velda and Mike Hammer eventually got married, and on their honeymoon he was murdered?"
Throughout the series, in addition to isolated cases that often touch on social issues of the day, Ms. Tree's vendetta against the Muerta family is a major plot thread. Her methods often include deadly violence, which she uses with little hesitation. In contrast to genre conventions, she faces serious consequences throughout the series for these violent actions including arrest, imprisonment, commitment to a mental hospital, and involuntary medication.