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n 1952 Ziff-Davis (the latter later becoming publisher of EQMM)
which was producing comic books then, chose to issue an Ellery Queen book in conjunction with the Dumont television serie. The four stories where drawn by two artists one of the signed with 'R.Kay'. Some of the stories broke with the usual format by being just action-crime adventures instead of whodunits. Although topped of by great Norman Saunders painted covers, the book lasted just two issues (Spring and Summer of 1952), becoming more obscure than the Superior title that had preceded it. And although Ellery appeared in a several forms on television from 1954 through at least 1959, comics publishers avoided making the mistakes of their predecessors.

Ellery's next appearance in comics was brought about by the same company that introduced him. Dell Publishing gave us "Ellery Queen (Detective)" for three issues of their Four Color series (1165, 1243, and 1289), dating 3-5/61, 11/61-1/62 and 4/62. This rendition of Ellery was somewhat modernized for the 60's but still carried the same basic plot concepts as earlier comics versions. Artwork was done by the late Mike Sekowsky and his Ellery differs from the rest by wearing glasses. 

Despite all this Ellery again disappeared from the comics scene. Or did he? He actually did return in a spoof, in a comic called "New Inferior 5" (Nr.7 March-April 1968) the five 'heroes' encounter "Allergy Queen" the sleuth for a criminal mastermind. Right before his great revelation Allergy is reduced to dust...

Until 1976 when Marty Pasko wrote the script for a 12 page Batmanstory called "A Clue Before Dying" (Detective Comics No. 459 - May 1976) It involved the work of artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Batman tries to find the man who killed mystery writer Elliot Quinn, and who may be the same man who killed an architect in Quinn’s home years ago. On the cover one can clearly make out Alfred Pennyworth, the police, Batman unmasking, and Elliot Quinn’s corpse. Not only an homage to Queen but in the story also "a" Lt. Dannay appeared!

It was also Mike W.Barr who provided the story for "...The Player on the Other Side!" a Batman story which appeared in the Batman Special N°1 (DC Comics) in 1984. Artwork was by Michael Golden and Mike DeCarlo. A little salute to Ellery Queen. A really good story that deals with something that happened on the night that Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. A quote from the original book is included. (See panel) which Batman strangely enough attributes to Aldous Huxley! Writer Mike W. Barr even elaborates in an additional piece on the origins of the story. According to Barr the quote also is used in the original Queen book "The Player on The Other Side" and comes from an Aldous Huxley essay. Actually the quote is from Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) a British biologist and defender of the theories of Darwin. Barr was right the quote is included in the EQ book, but the only reference to the author is made as "Huxley". As it turns out Thomas Henry Huxley is "the player on the other side" not Aldous Huxley. In "A Liberal Education and Where to Find It" (1868) the actual (slighty larger) quote is even more intriguing:
"Yet it is a very plain and elementary truth, that the life, the fortune, and the happiness of every one of us, and, more or less, of those who are connected with us, do depend upon our knowing something of the rules of a game infinitely more difficult and complicated than chess. It is a game which has been played for untold ages, every man and woman of us being one of the two players in a game of his or her own.  The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature.  The player on the other side is hidden from us.  We know that his play is always fair, just, and patient.  But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.  To the man who plays well, the highest stakes are paid, with that sort of overflowing generosity with which the strong shows delight in strength.  And one who plays ill is checkmated--without haste, but without remorse."
 

In 1978 a Japanese publisher bought the comic book rights to one of the Queen short story collections. In 1995 Kadokawa Shoten published 2 volumes of  "The Adventures of Ellery Queen" or "Ellery Queen no bouken", a Japanese manga by JET. It included several shortstories: The Adventure of the Two-Headed Dog, The Adventure of the Bearded Lady, The Adventure of the African Traveler and The Adventure of the Seven Black Cats.

In February of 1990 Maze Agency (#9) surprised us with a mature full color comic celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Ellery Queen. It's a innovative publication with good girl art! It ran in small quantities and is getting scarce. Cover & interior art by Adam Hughes. Much more than a continuation of a serie it's a tribute. The series itself centered around two characters, Jennifer Mays, the owner and top investigator of the Maze Agency, and her friend Gabriel Webb. Like Ellery Queen, Gabe is a mystery writer who is close to a detective and ends up getting involved in the investigations. Unlike Queen, Gabe writes for the "True Crime"-style tabloid magazines, and the detective he works with is his lady friend Jennifer, who is quite unlike Ellery's father. Over time we've gotten to see the relationship grow between the two characters and learn more about them and their pasts. Issue #9 ran the story of "The English Channeler Mystery - A problem of deduction" (Gabriel Webb, Jennifer Mays & Ellery Queen app). Barr clearly used the same murder method as found in Ellery Queen's "House of Darkness".  As you can see on the cover there even was 'Lesbian' referance on cover & story = "Killer spree of the Lesbian Biker Nuns" by Gabriel Webb! Which is "somewhat" shocking for the regular Queen-fan.
Again the surprise came from far and away. In 2001 the Chinese ShiWen Team published a comic named after and based on 'Calamity Town' .No artists are mentioned it only stated "EQ Comic Team" as artists. This  illustrates the great affinity people in Eastern countries still have for the Queen legacy.

 ( partially based on Mike W.Barr's 'Challenge to the Artist'
and Ron Goulart's 'The Comic Book Adventures of Ellery Queen'-
"The Comic Book Adventures")