Max Allan Collins | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Max Allan Collins early in his career (1982) | |
| Born | (1948-03-03)March 3, 1948 (age 77) Muscatine, Iowa, U.S. |
| Pen name | Barbara Allan, Patrick Culhane |
| Genre | Mystery in the following media:novels,screenplays,comic books,comic strips,short stories, andhistorical fiction. |
| Notable works | Road to Perdition,Ms. Tree,Quarry series,Nolan series,Nathan Heller series |
| Notable awards | Inkpot Award 1982 Shamus Award 1984 and 1992 |
| Spouse | Barbara Collins |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | |
| maxallancollins | |
Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an Americanmystery writer, noted for his graphic literature, screenplays and comics. His best known work includes theMs. Tree andRoad to Perdition comics (the latter being the basis for an acclaimedfilm of the same name), and his long-running literary series characters such as steely hitman Quarry, hardened thief Nolan, andantiheroic private investigator Nate Heller.[citation needed] He wrote theDick Tracy newspaper strip for many years and has produced numerous novels featuring the character as well.[citation needed]
Collins has written novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations andhistorical fiction. He wrote the graphic novelRoad to Perdition (which was developed into afilm in 2002), created the comic book private eyeMs. Tree,[1] and took over writing theDick Tracy comic strip from creatorChester Gould.[2] Collins briefly wrote theBatman comic book in 1987 and crafted a new origin for theJason Todd character.[3] Collins and artistTerry Beatty createdWild Dog at DC that same year in a self-titled limited series. The character later appeared as a feature in theAction Comics Weekly anthology.[4] As of 2016, Wild Dog became a recurring character in theArrow television series and is portrayed by actorRick Gonzalez.[5]
Another Collins contribution to the Batman franchise was scripting the English-language translation ofBatman: Child of Dreams in 2003.[6] He wrote books to expand on theDark Angel TV series. He has writtenbooks andcomics based on the TV series franchiseCSI. In 2006 he wroteBuried Deep (also released as "Bones Buried Deep"), based on the TV seriesBones.[7]
He has written two sequel novels toRoad to Perdition:Road to Purgatory andRoad to Paradise. He wrote three more graphic novels starring the characters fromRoad to Perdition. These graphic novels, called collectivelyOn the Road to Perdition, form the basis of the film.[8]
He co-founded the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers withLee Goldberg.[9] The IAMTW is an organization for writers of tie-ins and novelizations.[10] The IAMTW is the parent organisation of theScribe Awards which has been won 6 times by Collins, either writing alone or in collaboration, and seen him elected Grandmaster of the organisation in 2021.[11]
Collins studied in theIowa Writers' Workshop at theUniversity of Iowa.[12]
Collins is a fan of the mystery writerMickey Spillane from childhood and later became close friends with him.[citation needed] The two collaborated on a comic book series in the 1990s calledMike Danger.[13] Upon Spillane's death in 2006, Collins was entrusted to finish various uncompleted works by Spillane includingDead Street,The Big Showdown, and an ongoing series ofMike Hammer novel completions, beginning withThe Goliath Bone in 2008. To date, Collins has completed fifteen Spillane Hammer novels, with the most recent beingBaby, It's Murder (2025) - The Final Mike Hammer Novel, published in 2025.
In 2021, he and Canadian actor/writerDave Thomas teamed to write the sci-fi mystery novelThe Many Lives of Jimmy Leighton.[14]
In addition to his work as a writer, Collins has written and directed four movies:Mommy,Mommy 2: Mommy's Day,Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market, andEliot Ness: An Untouchable Life (based on his Edgar Award–nominated play).[7] All four were produced independently on location in Collins' hometown ofMuscatine, Iowa. The first three are available on DVD—separately or in theBlack Box set—fromTroma Team Video, and the Ness film is distributed by VCI Entertainment. The DVD release ofReal Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market being notable for being one of the first films to take advantage of the multi-angle feature on DVD players, thus giving viewers the opportunity to watch the story unfold from different viewpoints.
Collins has written and performed music with his rock band, Crusin'.[15]
Collins is aDemocrat, describing his political views thus: "I think of myself as slightlyleft of center, but my father thought of himself as slightlyright of center, when he was slightly right ofGenghis Khan. So who knows? I do know that I veerleft when theright is getting out of hand, which they frequently do."[16]
Collins and his wife, Barbara, have a son, Nathan.[7]
In 2008, the band he started in 1966 in Muscatine, Iowa—the Daybreakers—was inducted into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.[17][18] Ten years later, in 2018, Collins was again inducted into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band Cruisin'.[19][18]
Collins received anInkpot Award in 1982.[20] He won theShamus Award in 1984 and 1992.[21]
This series features a formerU.S. Marinesniper turned professionalassassin after returning from theVietnam War in 1973. The books are narrated in first person by Quarry (a code name). He maintains his own code of honor, and rationalizes his crimes by taking contracts to kill people who he believes brought about their own demise and will eventually be murdered by one enemy or another (e.g., corrupt politicians, mobsters, exploitative businessmen, drug traffickers). Quarry becomes a hit man following his legal exoneration for killing a man who was sleeping with his wife, an act which attracts the interested of a man known as Broker who schedules and organizes assassinations. After being betrayed by Broker, Quarry steals a batch of classified documents and shifts his focus to offering his services to those who are targeted for assassination.
Cinemax created aTV adaptation ofQuarry. Written by Michael D. Fuller and Graham Gordy based loosely on the book series, the project centers on a Marine marksman who, upon returning home from Vietnam in 1972, finds himself shunned by those he loves and demonized by the public. The disillusioned vet is quickly recruited into a network of contract killers and corruption spanning the Mississippi River.[22][23] The show was cancelled in May 2017 after the first season.[24]
This series features a professional thief, similar to and apparently inspired byRichard Stark's "Parker" character, who operates in the Midwest.
The Mallory series is about a mystery writer in Iowa who solves crimes.
Collins' longest running series and arguably his best known work is his Nathan Heller series. Heller is a Chicago private investigator who gets involved in famous crimes and meets famous people from the 1930s to the 1960s, includingOrson Welles,Frank Nitti, andSally Rand. The first novel in this historical fiction series,True Detective, won the 1984Shamus Award for Best P.I. Hardcover from thePrivate Eye Writers of America. Collins won his second Shamus in 1992 for the Heller novelStolen Away,[21] an account of theLindbergh kidnapping. His 1999 novelFlying Blind sees Heller investigate the disappearance ofAmelia Earhart, along the way becoming romantically involved with her. With the release ofChicago Confidential, Collins moved the action into the 1950s.Target Lancer, about an alleged attempt to assassinateJohn F. Kennedy in Chicago just weeks before theactual assassination in Dallas, was published in November 2012.
In 2024,Robert Meyer Burnett and Mike Bawden released a ten-episoderadio dramaTrue Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak based on the series' first novelTrue Detective.[25]Michael Rosenbaum voiced Heller, with a supporting cast includingAdam Arkin,Barry Bostwick,Jeffrey Combs,C. Thomas Howell,Patton Oswalt,Katee Sackhoff,William Sadler,Bill Smitrovich,Anthony LaPaglia andDavid Strathairn.
This series of novels is about real lifeUntouchableEliot Ness's career as Director of Public Safety in Cleveland. Ness is regularly featured in the Heller series as the private eye's "best friend/police contact," similar to the roles played by DA's Investigator Bernie Ohls inRaymond Chandler's novels and short stories featringPhilip Marlowe, or NYPD Homicide Captain Pat Chambers inMickey Spillane'sMike Hammer series.
Collins has also collaborated with historian A. Brad Schwartz on two non-fiction books about Ness.
| Title | Author | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Road to Perdition | Max Allan Collins withRichard Piers Rayner | June 1998 |
| Road to Perdition Movie tie-in novel | Max Allan Collins | June 2002 |
| On the Road to Perdition Book 1: Oasis | Max Allan Collins withJosé Luis García-López andJosef Rubinstein | May 2003 |
| On the Road to Perdition Book 2: Sanctuary | Max Allan Collins with José Luis García-López andSteve Lieber | December 2003 |
| On the Road to Perdition Book 3: Detour | Max Allan Collins with José Luis García-López and Steve Lieber | July 2004 |
| Road to Perdition: On the Road (*) | Max Allan Collins with José Luis García-López and Josef Rubinstein/Steve Lieber | December 2004 |
| Road to Purgatory | Max Allan Collins | December 2004 |
| Road to Paradise | Max Allan Collins | December 2005 |
| Return to Perdition | Max Allan Collins | August 2011[26] |
| Road to Perdition: The New Expanded Edition (Novel) | Max Allan Collins | November 2016[27] |
(*) Note:Road to Perdition: On the Road, is a single-volume collection ofOn the Road to Perdition Books 1–3.
| Title | Author | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Double Dealer | Max Allan Collins | November 2001 |
| Sin City | Max Allan Collins | October 2002 |
| Cold Burn | Max Allan Collins | April 2003 |
| Body of Evidence | Max Allan Collins | November 2003 |
| Grave Matters | Max Allan Collins | October 2004 |
| Binding Ties | Max Allan Collins | April 2005 |
| Killing Game | Max Allan Collins | November 2005 |
| Snake Eyes | Max Allan Collins | September 2006 |
| Mortal Wounds * | Max Allan Collins | October 2006 |
| Title | Author | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Getaway | Max Allan Collins | August 1, 2003 |
| Heat Wave | Max Allan Collins | July 5, 2004 |
| Exotic Racing Bombers of Death | Max Allan Collins | June 19, 2003 |
| Title | Author | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Jump Cut | Max Allan Collins | November 6, 2007 |
| Killer Profile | Max Allan Collins | May 6, 2008 |
| Finishing School | Max Allan Collins | November 4, 2008 |
A mystery series set in and around the American comic book industry during the tail end of theGolden Age of Comic Books
Collins teamed with artist Terry Beatty to introduce Ms. Tree in the first issue ofEclipse Magazine (May, 1981).
Jason Todd's origin had been a virtual carbon copy of Dick Grayson's. However, with the clean slate offered byCrisis on Infinite Earths, writer Max Allan Collins decided to make the characters more different.
{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Wild Dog was introduced at the beginning ofArrow Season 5.
Crusin's lead singer and keyboardist Max Allan Collins is better known to fans as a prolific author of novels, short stories and comic books.
