(Leonard Pine’s birthday was actually yesterday, April 28. We regret the error and extend our apologies to Mr. Pine)

Vietnam vet, sometimes private investigator, sometimes bouncer, and all around bad ass, Leonard Pine is a gay, politically conservative black man from LaBorde, TX. Alongside his “brother” Hap Collins, who is straight, white. and liberal, Pine challenges the seedier and more unpleasant elements of East Texas. The, at times, bumbling duo has fought the Klan, the Dixie Mafia, murders, kidnappers, and all sorts of other notorious hombres.

Pine has zero tolerance for racist or anti-gay slurs and will challenge the offenders with strong fists and a barbed tongue. His aggressive nature has led to many encounters with the law, most notably regarding his repeated torching of neighborhood crackhouses.

His adventures, alongside Collins, have been chronicled in the popular Hap and Leonard series by Joe R. Lansdale. The latest volume, OF MICE AND MINESTRONE, is currently available via the Tachyon site (alongside other Hap and Leonard books) and in all finer bookshops on May 24. The pair’s life was also the basis for the TV series, Hap and Leonard, which is currently available on Netflix.

All of us at Tachyon wish a happy birthday to Leonard, our favorite cantankerous moral enforcer. May your day be filled with vanilla cookies and Dr. Pepper.