Hap and Leonard are two fictional amateur investigators and adventurers created by American author Joe R. Lansdale. They are the main characters in a series of twelve novels, four

novellas A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

, and three collections of stories and excerpts. They are two very different men and the best of friends, and now work together as private investigators for Hap's girlfriend Brett Sawyer. Together they always wind up in a lot of trouble with various criminal types in the fictional town of LaBorde, in

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

and often find themselves attempting to solve various unpleasant and brutal crimes. Both men are well versed in the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

. The novels were adapted into a 2016–2018 TV series, produced by SundanceTV. The duo were partially inspired by The Hardman series by the late Ralph Dennis.

Characters

Hap Collins

Hap Collins is a white working class laborer who spent time in federal prison as a young man for refusing to be drafted into the military and serve in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. In his late forties, he is often haunted by the various unpleasant jobs he's held over the years such as working at an aluminum chair factory and working the East Texas rose fields. Hap tries his best to avoid violence. He often broods, sometimes sinking into bouts of depression, after resorting to violence in which he or someone else, even those who attack him, are injured. Hap sometimes allows his sense of compassion and respect for life to override his judgment, such as often allowing attackers who mean to kill him to live. Often lovesick, most of his relationships haven't worked out. He is currently with his on-again-off-again girlfriend Brett Sawyer. Some of his past has been taken from Mr. Lansdale's own past. The stories are told from Hap's narrative point of view. Not as quick to anger as Leonard, he often finds himself attempting to talk Leonard out of committing serious violence.

Leonard Pine

Leonard Pine is a gay, black Vietnam vet with serious anger issues. He was raised by his uncle who shunned him after learning he was gay. However, when his uncle passes away, he leaves his house and all his assets to Leonard. Leonard has zero tolerance for racist or anti-gay slurs. Although Hap dislikes guns, Leonard has no problem carrying or using them. Quick to anger, at times he cannot understand Hap's aversion to violence or killing if necessary, even when provoked. His relationships are also short and tempestuous. Leonard is the much more aggressive of the two and repeatedly burned down a local

crack house A drug house is a residence used in the illegal drug trade. Drug houses shelter drug users and provide a place for drug dealers to supply them. Drug houses can also be used as laboratories to synthesize (cook) drugs, or cache ingredients and p ...

that used to be his new next door neighbor. After living with Hap and Brett for a while, he recently moved into his own place. Much to Hap's dismay, Leonard has a habit of wearing ugly hats.

On the characters' ages

Though Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are Vietnam veterans, the years in which their subsequent adventures take place are unclear and inconsistent with linear time. According to Lansdale:

Television adaptation

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

duo Nick Damici and

Jim Mickle Jim Mickle (born 1979) is an American director and writer, known for such films as ''Mulberry Street (film), Mulberry Street'', ''Stake Land'', ''We Are What We Are (2013 film), We Are What We Are'' and ''Cold in July (film), Cold in July''. He ...

developed a Hap and Leonard crime and suspense TV series for SundanceTV. On November 10, 2014, Sundance

green-lit In the context of the film and television industries, to greenlight is to give permission to proceed with a project. It specifically refers to formally approving its production finance and committing to this financing, thereby allowing the projec ...

the series for six one-hour episodes, starring

James Purefoy James Brian Mark Purefoy (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He played Marcus Antonius in the HBO series ''Rome'', Nick Jenkins in '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series '' The Fo ...

as Hap and

Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame for his acclaimed portrayals of Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and List of Boardwalk Empire characters, Alb ...

as Leonard, which filmed in 2015 and premiered on March 2, 2016. SundanceTV renewed the series for a second six-episode season based on the second novel '' Mucho Mojo''. A third season inspired by '' The Two-Bear Mambo'' was also produced. On May 14, 2018, SundanceTV announced they had cancelled the series after three seasons.

List of works featuring Hap and Leonard

# '' Savage Season'' (1990) # '' Mucho Mojo'' (1994) # '' The Two-Bear Mambo'' (1995) # '' Bad Chili'' (1997) # '' Rumble Tumble'' (1998) # '' Veil's Visit: a Taste of Hap and Leonard'' (1999) (short stories and excerpts written with

Andrew Vachss Andrew Henry Vachss ( ; October 19, 1942 – November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths. Early life and career Vachss grew up in Manhattan on ...

) # '' Captains Outrageous'' (2001) # '' Vanilla Ride'' (2009) # '' Devil Red'' (2011) # '' Hyenas: a Hap and Leonard Novella'' (2011, novella) # '' Dead Aim'' (2013, novella) # ''Honky Tonk Samurai'' (2016) # ''Briar Patch Boogie'' (2016, novellette) # ''Hap and Leonard'' (2016, short story collection) # ''Hap and Leonard Ride Again'' (2016, short story collection) # ''Miracles Ain't What They Used to Be'' (2016, a collection of stories and essays) # ''Coco Butternut: A Hap and Leonard Novella'' (2017, novella) # ''Rusty Puppy'' (2017) # ''Cold Cotton'' (2017, novella) # ''Hoodoo Harry'' (2017, novella) # ''Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade'' (2017,

Mosaic novel A mosaic novel is a novel in which individual chapters or short stories share a common setting or set of characters with the aim of telling a linear story from beginning to end, with the individual chapters, however, refracting a plurality of viewp ...

) # ''Jackrabbit Smile'' (2018) # ''The Big Book of Hap and Leonard'' (2018, short story collection, ebook) # ''The Elephant of Surprise'' (2019) # ''Of Mice and Minestrone'' (2020, short story collection) #'' Born For Trouble: The Further Adventures of Hap and Leonard'' (2022, collection of 5 novellas.) # ''Sugar on the Bones'' (2024)

Graphic novels

A series of

graphic novels A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and ...

were published in 2017.