Friday, January 4, 2008
The Hardy Boys Casefiles (1987–1998)
| The Hardy Boys Casefiles, a series aimed at older readers, was published by Archway Paperbacks (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) between 1987 and 1998. Casefiles was a drastic change from the established Hardy Boys world. Some of their major features: Iola Morton is killed by a terrorist car bomb in the first volume. She remained alive in the concurrent Hardy Boys digest stories, thereby creating two Hardy Boys universes. The books become more grisly. Frank and Joe use firearms and investigate murders. The glamourous aspects of international intrigue are played up. Frank and Joe take a more serious interest in girls. The boys embrace high-tech gadgetry, and Frank becomes a computer whiz. Chapters no longer have titles, and there are no illustrations. The boys collaborate with The Gray Man, who represents a cloak-and-dagger crime fighting unit. Frank and Joe occasionally curse (mildly). The next book is introduced at the end of the book with a 2 paragraph summary. The list of Casefiles is below: 1. Dead on Target 2. Evil, Inc. 3. Cult of Crime 4. The Lazarus Plot 5. Edge of Destruction 6. The Crowning Terror 7. Deathgame 8. See No Evil 9. The Genius Thieves 10. Hostages of Hate 11. Brother against Brother 12. Perfect Getaway 13. The Borgia Dagger 14. Too Many Traitors 15. Blood Relations 16. Line of Fire 17. The Number File 18. A Killing in the Market 19. Nightmare in Angel City 20. Witness to Murder 21. Street Spies 22. Double Exposure 23. Disaster for Hire 24. Scene of the Crime 25. The Borderline Case 26. Trouble in the Pipeline 27. Nowhere to Run 28. Countdown to Terror 29. Thick as Thieves 30. The Deadliest Dare 31. Without a Trace 32. Blood Money 33. Collision Course 34. Final Cut 35. The Dead Season 36. Running on Empty 37. Danger Zone 38. Diplomatic Deceit 39. Flesh and Blood 40. Fright Wave 41. Highway Robbery 42. The Last Laugh 43. Strategic Moves 44. Castle Fear 45. In Self-Defense 46. Foul Play 47. Flight Into Danger 48. Rock 'n' Revenge 49. Dirty Deeds 50. Power Play 51. Choke Hold 52. Uncivil War 53. Web of Horror 54. Deep Trouble 55. Beyond the Law 56. Height of Danger 57. Terror on Track 58. Spiked! 59. Open Season 60. Deadfall 61. Grave Danger 62. Final Gambit 63. Cold Sweat 64. Endangered Species 65. No Mercy 66. The Phoenix Equation 67. Lethal Cargo 68. Rough Riding 69. Mayhem in Motion 70. Rigged for Revenge 71. Real Horror 72. Screamers 73. Bad Rap 74. Road Pirates 75. No Way Out 76. Tagged for Terror 77. Survival Run 78. The Pacific Conspiracy 79. Danger Unlimited 80. Dead of Night 81. Sheer Terror 82. Poisoned Paradise 83. Toxic Revenge 84. False Alarm 85. Winner Take All 86. Virtual Villainy 87. Dead Man in Deadwood 88. Inferno of Fear 89. Darkness Falls 90. Deadly Engagement 91. Hot Wheels 92. Sabotage at Sea 93. Mission: Mayhem 94. A Taste for Terror 95. Illegal Procedure 96. Against All Odds 97. Pure Evil 98. Murder by Magic 99. Frame-up 100. True Thriller 101. Peak Of Danger 102. Wrong Side of the Law 103. Campaign of Crime 104. Wild Wheels 105. Law of the Jungle 106. Shock Jock 107. Fast Break 108. Blown Away 109. Moment Of Truth 110. Bad Chemistry 111. Competitive Edge 112. Cliff-Hanger 113. Sky High 114. Clean Sweep 115. Cave Trap 116. Acting Up 117. Blood Sport 118. The Last Leap 119. The Emperor's Shield 120. Survival of the Fittest 121. Absolute Zero 122. River Rats 123. High Wire Act 124. The Viking's Revenge 125. Stress Point 126. Fire in the Sky 127. Dead in the Water |
Casefiles #1 Dead on Target
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The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories ("Digests") (1979–2005)
| This now-discontinued series of paperbacks started in 1979 as a continuation of the hardcover books, hence the volume numbers start as #59 and ended in 2005 with volume 190. Volumes 59 through 85 were also released in hardcover with a dustjacket. In 2005, Grossett & Dunlap released hardcover versions of volumes 59 through 66. These volumes were in the blue glossy flashlight cover format, similar to the original 58 covers. The artwork on these books was from the original Wanderer paperback covers, although severely cropped to fit the covers. To date, there is no news about plans for further Grossett & Dunlap hardcover versions. 59. Night of the Werewolf 60. Mystery of the Samurai Sword 61. The Pentagon Spy 62. The Apeman's Secret 63. The Mummy Case 64. Mystery of Smugglers Cove 65. The Stone Idol 66. The Vanishing Thieves 67. The Outlaw's Silver 68. Submarine Caper (retitled Deadly Chase) 69. The Four-Headed Dragon 70. The Infinity Clue 71. Track of the Zombie 72. The Voodoo Plot 73. The Billion Dollar Ransom 74. Tic-Tac-Terror 75. Trapped At Sea 76. Game Plan for Disaster 77. The Crimson Flame 78. Cave-In (retitled Cave-In!) 79. Sky Sabotage 80. The Roaring River Mystery 81. The Demon's Den 82. The Blackwing Puzzle (last book with internal illustrations) 83. The Swamp Monster 84. Revenge of the Desert Phantom 85. The Skyfire Puzzle 86. The Mystery of the Silver Star 87. Program For Destruction 88. Tricky Business 89. The Sky Blue Frame 90. Danger on the Diamond 91. Shield Of Fear 92. The Shadow Killers 93. The Serpent's Tooth Mystery 94. Breakdown in Axeblade 95. Danger on the Air 96. Wipeout 97. Cast of Criminals 98. Spark of Suspicion 99. Dungeon of Doom 100. The Secret of the Island Treasure 101. The Money Hunt 102. Terminal Shock 103. The Million-Dollar Nightmare 104. Tricks of the Trade 105. The Smoke Screen Mystery 106. Attack Of The Video Villains 107. Panic on Gull Island 108. Fear on Wheels 109. The Prime-Time Crime 110. The Secret of Sigma Seven 111. Three-Ring Terror 112. The Demolition Mission 113. Radical Moves 114. The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals 115. Sabotage at Sports City 116. Rock 'N' Roll Renegades 117. The Baseball Card Conspiracy 118. Danger in the Fourth Dimension 119. Trouble at Coyote Canyon 120. The Case of the Cosmic Kidnapping 121. The Mystery in the Old Mine 122. Carnival of Crime 123. The Robot's Revenge 124. Mystery With a Dangerous Beat 125. Mystery on Makatunk Island 126. Racing to Disaster 127. Reel Thrills 128. Day of the Dinosaur 129. The Treasure at Dolphin Bay 130. Sidetracked To Danger 131. Crusade of the Flaming Sword 132. Maximum Challenge 133. Crime in the Kennel 134. Cross-Country Crime 135. The Hypersonic Secret 136. The Cold Cash Caper 137. High-Speed Showdown 138. The Alaskan Adventure 139. The Search for the Snow Leopard 140. Slam Dunk Sabotage 141. The Desert Thieves 142. Lost in Gator Swamp 143. The Giant Rat of Sumatra 144. The Secret of Skeleton Reef 145. Terror at High Tide 146. The Mark of the Blue Tattoo 147. Trial and Terror 148. The Ice-Cold Case 149. The Chase for the Mystery Twister 150. The Crisscross Crime 151. The Rocky Road to Revenge 152. Danger in the Extreme 153. Eye On Crime 154. The Caribbean Cruise Caper 155. The Hunt for the Four Brothers 156. A Will To Survive 157. The Lure Of The Italian Treasure 158. The London Deception 159. Daredevils 160. A Game Called Chaos 161. Training For Trouble 162. The End Of The Trail 163. The Spy That Never Lies 164. Skin & Bones 165. Crime In The Cards 166. Past And Present Danger 167. Trouble Times Two 168. The Castle Conundrum 169. Ghost Of A Chance 170. Kickoff To Danger 171. The Test Case 172. Trouble in Warp Space 173. Speed Times Five 174. Hide and Sneak 175. Trick-or-Trouble 176. In Plane Sight 177. The Case of the Psychic's Vision 178. The Mystery of the Black Rhino 179. Passport to Danger 180. Typhoon Island 181. Double Jeopardy 182. The Secret Of The Soldier's Gold 183. Warehouse Rumble 184. The Dangerous Transmission 185. Wreck and Roll 186. Hidden Mountain 187. No Way Out 188. Farming Fear 189. One False Step 190. Motocross Madness |
Digest #163 The Spy That Never Lies
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The first 58 stories
| The first 58 stories and the 38 revisions, along with the Detective Handbook and its revision, are considered by many collectors to form the Hardy Boys canon. #1 The Tower Treasure 2. The House on the Cliff 3. The Secret of the Old Mill 4. The Missing Chums 5. Hunting for Hidden Gold 6. The Shore Road Mystery 7. The Secret of the Caves 8. The Mystery of Cabin Island 9. The Great Airport Mystery 10. What Happened at Midnight 11. While the Clock Ticked 12. Footprints under the Window 13. The Mark on the Door 14. The Hidden Harbor Mystery 15. The Sinister Sign Post 16. A Figure in Hiding 17. The Secret Warning 18. The Twisted Claw 19. The Disappearing Floor 20. Mystery of the Flying Express 21. The Clue of the Broken Blade 22. The Flickering Torch Mystery 23. The Melted Coins 24. The Short-Wave Mystery 25. The Secret Panel 26. The Phantom Freighter 27. The Secret of Skull Mountain 28. The Sign of the Crooked Arrow 29. The Secret of the Lost Tunnel 30. The Wailing Siren Mystery 31. The Secret of Wildcat Swamp 32. The Crisscross Shadow 33. The Yellow Feather Mystery 34. The Hooded Hawk Mystery 35. The Clue in the Embers 36. The Secret of Pirates' Hill 37. The Ghost at Skeleton Rock 38. Mystery at Devil's Paw 39. The Mystery of the Chinese Junk 40. Mystery of the Desert Giant 41. The Clue of the Screeching Owl 42. The Viking Symbol Mystery 43. The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior 44. The Haunted Fort 45. The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge 46. The Secret Agent on Flight 101 47. Mystery of the Whale Tattoo 48. The Arctic Patrol Mystery 49. The Bombay Boomerang 50. Danger on Vampire Trail 51. The Masked Monkey 52. The Shattered Helmet 53. The Clue of the Hissing Serpent 54. The Mysterious Caravan 55. The Witchmaster's Key 56. The Jungle Pyramid 57. The Firebird Rocket 58. The Sting of the Scorpion |
#1 The Tower Treasure
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Story Background
| The Hardy Boys are brother amateur detectives, aspiring to follow in their famous father's footsteps. Frank Hardy is the elder of the two and has dark hair. Joe Hardy is the younger brother, and has blond hair and blue eyes. The stories are an unaging series, in which Frank and Joe are always 18 and 17 years of age, respectively. In the original series the brothers were a younger 16 and 15 years of age, but their ages were increased during the revision process that began in 1959. The series utilizes a "floating timeline", in which events always take place in the present day. The two boys live in the fictional city of Bayport (on Barmet Bay) with their famous father, Fenton Hardy, a private detective formerly with the New York Police Department, their mother Laura Hardy (erroneously called Mildred in The Flying Express), and their Aunt Gertrude, a character often used for comic relief. Frank's longtime platonic girlfriend is Callie Shaw, while Joe is often linked with Iola Morton, the sister of the duo's good friend Chet Morton, who is described as being a large boy who loves to eat, another comic relief character. Other friends who assist the brothers include Phil Cohen, Biff Hooper, Jerry Gilroy and Tony Prito. The Bayport Police Department is represented by Police Chief Ezra Collig (in Flying Express he is called Chief Finch), a close friend of the Hardys who constantly asks their assistance and advice in dealing with crime in Bayport. Detective Oscar Smuff is sometimes seen in cases as he comically blunders trying to solve a mystery. In the older stories, the Hardy Boys' cases often are linked to the confidential cases their detective father is currently working on. He sometimes asks them for help, while at other times they stumble upon villains and incidents that are connected to his cases. The Hardys have a motorboat named the Sleuth and a yellow convertible (In volumes 1–6, they use motorcycles, but this changes when Joe's is destroyed in The Shore Road Mystery). Mr. Hardy has an airplane, which is described in some books as being twin-engined, single-engined in others. Chet Morton has a jalopy called the Queen, which is at times described as being tomato red, other times being bright yellow (in The Shore Road Mystery it is green). Biff Hooper has a jalopy, Tony Prito has a motorboat called the Napoli and drives his father's pick-up truck. In 1987, a spin-off series, The Hardy Boys' Casefiles, targeted at older readers, was introduced. Consisting of 127 volumes, these stories were much darker in tone and featured plots involving bioterrorism and other kinds of terrorism, espionage, government conspiracies, cults, militia groups and organized crime. They also featured a level of violence unseen in previous Hardy Boys stories, a fact that became evident to readers in the opening pages of the first book in the series as long time supporting cast member Iola Morton was murdered by a bomb planted in the Hardys' car. |