updateAn article about Hard Case Crime indicates that I was wrong: much of the line-up to date was classic books with their original covers, and the new books are just starting to ship now.
?Hard Case Crime is dedicated to reviving the vigor and excitement, the suspense and thrills ? the sheer entertainment ? of the golden age of paperback crime novels, both by bringing back into print the best work of the pulp era and by introducing readers to new work by some of today?s most powerful writers and artists.? And they?re off to a hell of a start; they already have thirteen books in print and another seven coming down the pipe.
In other words, new books with old-fashioned covers. It?s a gimmick, but one I whole-heartedly approve of. One of the biggest hurdles that the literature industry faces is convincing readers to give new authors a try (how many people do you know that only read, say, King, Rowling and Grafton?), so creating a highly visible and stylized imprint isn?t a bad idea at all. Or a new one ? this is how the dime paperbacks were marketed in the first place. Remember those odd ?other Black Box Thrillers you will enjoy?? pages in pre-1980 paperbacks? There?s even an (annoyingly non-perforated) subscription card in the middle of the book?get two Hard Case Crime books per month, half price.
The only author in the Hard Case Crime line-up that I recognize is Stephen King (how long did that retirement last, two months?). The book is set apart from the others by the fact that it?s the only one whose author name is more prominent than the book title. Otherwise, I think it?s a little weak compared to the other covers, the cover fits the theme but it?s just a little boring.
More impressive are Branded Woman and Home Is the Sailor, which combine similarly classic-looking painted covers with trippy bold palettes. Also noteworthy is Plunder of the Sun, which isn?t a new book at all ? it?s actually a forgotten classic from 1949. I have no idea what the original looks like, but the new edition would surely have pleased the author.
The only cover that falls flat is Dutch Uncle ? I haven?t spent a lot of time trying to spell out words with finely powdered coke, but I have a hunch that it doesn?t look anything like that. Even the perspective is messed up.
One other minor complaint: these books use cheap, old-fashioned paper (which is very cool), but have slick, glossy covers. It would have been nice if the covers were matte or some sort of textured paper. Books like these would actually benefit from a little age, wear and tear.
Hi—
Our art director just told me about your site—thanks so much for the attention your directing our way and for your enthusiasm for what we’re doing. Just to correct a couple of (minor) errors, though:
1) None of our books feature old cover art. Every cover painting and every cover design is brand new, even when it’s appearing on a book that is a reprint of an old title. So, for example, BRANDED WOMAN was originally published in 1952—but the cover of our edition was painted for us by Glen Orbik in 2005.
2) It is not true that our initial books were all reprints of old work and that we only began publishing new novels later. Of our first six titles, three were reprints and three were brand new; in fact, the three that were new all got nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award or the Shamus Award or both, and we won one of each. (Obviously, reprints of old books are not eligible for ‘Best of the Year’ awards.)
But as I say, these are minor points; and we’re really delighted that you’re enjoying our work.
Best regards,
Charles————-
Charles Ardai
Editor, Hard Case Crime
Hey, if you want to see what the original cover for PLUNDER OF THE SUN looks like (and the UK edition and the 1951 Dell paperback reprint), click here: http://www.david-dodge.com/novels/pots.html
An interesting note about the Hard Case Crime cover for Plunder: Robert McGinnis painted it; McGinnis also painted the cover for the 1959 Dell reprint of Dodge’s ANGEL’S RANSOM (1956). Dodge and McGinnis: together again.
update An article about Hard Case Crime indicates that I was wrong: much of the line-up to date was classic books with their original covers, and the new books are just starting to ship now.
?Hard Case Crime is dedicated to reviving the vigor and excitement, the suspense and thrills ? the sheer entertainment ? of the golden age of paperback crime novels, both by bringing back into print the best work of the pulp era and by introducing readers to new work by some of today?s most powerful writers and artists.? And they?re off to a hell of a start; they already have thirteen books in print and another seven coming down the pipe.
In other words, new books with old-fashioned covers. It?s a gimmick, but one I whole-heartedly approve of. One of the biggest hurdles that the literature industry faces is convincing readers to give new authors a try (how many people do you know that only read, say, King, Rowling and Grafton?), so creating a highly visible and stylized imprint isn?t a bad idea at all. Or a new one ? this is how the dime paperbacks were marketed in the first place. Remember those odd ?other Black Box Thrillers you will enjoy?? pages in pre-1980 paperbacks? There?s even an (annoyingly non-perforated) subscription card in the middle of the book?get two Hard Case Crime books per month, half price.
The only author in the Hard Case Crime line-up that I recognize is Stephen King (how long did that retirement last, two months?). The book is set apart from the others by the fact that it?s the only one whose author name is more prominent than the book title. Otherwise, I think it?s a little weak compared to the other covers, the cover fits the theme but it?s just a little boring.
More impressive are Branded Woman and Home Is the Sailor, which combine similarly classic-looking painted covers with trippy bold palettes. Also noteworthy is Plunder of the Sun, which isn?t a new book at all ? it?s actually a forgotten classic from 1949. I have no idea what the original looks like, but the new edition would surely have pleased the author.
The only cover that falls flat is Dutch Uncle ? I haven?t spent a lot of time trying to spell out words with finely powdered coke, but I have a hunch that it doesn?t look anything like that. Even the perspective is messed up.
One other minor complaint: these books use cheap, old-fashioned paper (which is very cool), but have slick, glossy covers. It would have been nice if the covers were matte or some sort of textured paper. Books like these would actually benefit from a little age, wear and tear.
— Eric Jacobsen, 2005-09-30 00:00:00
The thing that makes these look so good is the colours of the illustrations. Just gorgeous.
— Louise, 2006-09-30 01:11:00
Hi—
Our art director just told me about your site—thanks so much for the attention your directing our way and for your enthusiasm for what we’re doing. Just to correct a couple of (minor) errors, though:
1) None of our books feature old cover art. Every cover painting and every cover design is brand new, even when it’s appearing on a book that is a reprint of an old title. So, for example, BRANDED WOMAN was originally published in 1952—but the cover of our edition was painted for us by Glen Orbik in 2005.
2) It is not true that our initial books were all reprints of old work and that we only began publishing new novels later. Of our first six titles, three were reprints and three were brand new; in fact, the three that were new all got nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award or the Shamus Award or both, and we won one of each. (Obviously, reprints of old books are not eligible for ‘Best of the Year’ awards.)
But as I say, these are minor points; and we’re really delighted that you’re enjoying our work.
Best regards,
Charles————-
Charles Ardai
Editor, Hard Case Crime
— Charles Ardai, 2006-11-03 20:17:00
Apologies for the mortifying typo—of course I meant “you’re,” not “your”...
Best,
Charles
— Charles Ardai, 2006-11-03 20:18:00
Hey, if you want to see what the original cover for PLUNDER OF THE SUN looks like (and the UK edition and the 1951 Dell paperback reprint), click here: http://www.david-dodge.com/novels/pots.html
An interesting note about the Hard Case Crime cover for Plunder: Robert McGinnis painted it; McGinnis also painted the cover for the 1959 Dell reprint of Dodge’s ANGEL’S RANSOM (1956). Dodge and McGinnis: together again.
— Randal Brandt, 2006-12-07 22:15:00