Hard Case Crime

08/11/2024

Return to the GUN HONEY comic book universe next Wednesday with the launch of HEAT SEEKER: COMBUSTION, in which Dahlia Racers is hired to use her talent for deception and narrow escapes to help a scientist's daughter disappear from Venice, Italy -- but the stakes are higher than even she can imagine. Issue #1 features a cover by fan-favorite artist David Nakayama (making his Hard Case Crime debut!), as well as variant covers by artists like Tula Lotay and Nuno Pereira and cosplay models Grace McClung and Marisa Roper. Available from your favorite local comic book store or online bookseller...

03/11/2024

QUARRY'S RETURN arrives in bookstores next Tuesday. I can't think of a better way to distract yourself after casting your vote on Election Day than reading about your favorite hired killer showing he's still got what it takes to protect the few people he actually cares about.

Quarry's Return: Quarry

13/10/2024

In stores now, a new edition of Donald Westlake's "Richard Stark" novel LEMONS NEVER LIE, which I gather may be part of the inspiration for Shane Black's upcoming movie PLAY DIRTY. The new edition is the book's first ever in the larger "trade" paperback format and features new cover art by the wonderful Paul Mann, so it finally matches the rest of Hard Case Crime's recent Westlake editions. Find it at a store near you or at https://shorturl.at/sVEfK (and if you'd like another upcoming-film-related new Westlake edition, check out THE ACTOR, the first ever trade paperback printing of the book originally titled MEMORY: https://shorturl.at/AzQ1p -- it says it's coming in November, but it looks like printing and shipping delays will hold it off until January).

05/09/2024

A big announcement just ran on AP: Sam Spade will return in January 2026 in THE RETURN OF THE MALTESE FALCON! The brand new Hard Case Crime novel will be written by Max Allan Collins, famous for ROAD TO PERDITION/MIKE HAMMER/DICK TRACY.

The story of one of the great fictional sleuths, Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, will be continued by prize-winning crime writer Max Allan Collins.

29/08/2024

Excited to report that, with just 24 hours to go, THRILLING ADVENTURE YARNS has squeaked over its minimum by $17, meaning the book is going to happen! There are still some cool extras to unlock, though, and rewards for bidders -- check it out:

Our fourth volume of fiction done in the style of the great pulp magazines of yesteryear!

24/08/2024

Publishers Weekly says QUARRY'S RETURN (coming Nov. 5) is "Highly satisfying...better than ever...exhilarating and unexpected." You can pre-order at https://shorturl.at/eYwQ0

11/08/2024

We rarely talk about books that aren't been published by Hard Case Crime, but thought any fan of pulp fiction would get a kick out of this upcoming anthology, now up on Kickstarter: https://shorturl.at/kV8h4 THRILLING ADVENTURE YARNS, edited by Bob Greenberger, will feature a wide range of pulp genres, from science-fiction and sword-and-sorcery to "two-fisted" and adventure. It will also feature crime -- including a new story by Hard Case Crime founder Charles Ardai. Check it out!

Our fourth volume of fiction done in the style of the great pulp magazines of yesteryear!

25/07/2024

Check out the thoughtful review/discussion of GUN HONEY (vis a vis Greg Rucka's QUEEN & COUNTRY) posted at World Comic Book Review:

Gun Honey Writer: Charles Ardai Artist: Ang Hor Kheng  Titan Comics, 2024 Queen & Country Writer: Greg Rucka Artists: Steve Rolston, Brian Hurrt, Leandro Fernandez, Jason Shawn Alexander, Carla Speed McNeil, Mike Hawthorne, Mike Norton, Chris Samnee Oni Press, 2001-2007 This is a comparative review...

21/06/2024

17 years after MONEY SHOT, brings Angel Dare back in THE GET OFF, and just revealed the Paul Mann cover and the first chapter. This book is *amazing*. Heart-wrenching, painful, suspenseful, beautiful. Coming February 2025.

· They called me a femme fatale in the media, back when that Jesse Black fiasco went down. Most people have no idea what it really means. Most people think it means badass with t**s, but that’s not…

19/06/2024

Congrats (and thanks) to Booktenders in WV, one of the wonderful indie bookstores who took part in our 20th anniversary celebration. They really pulled out all the stops, transforming their front window into a Hard Case Crime cover and more! Find them at https://www.booktenderswv.com/

08/05/2024

The new GUN HONEY series — GUN HONEY: COLLISION COURSE — hits comic stores next Wednesday! From Borneo to Japan to Mongolia to France to…? Follow Joanna Tan on a deadly trail of action, double-crosses and thrills.

01/05/2024

Hitting bookstores one week from today: INTO THE NIGHT, the final novel by REAR WINDOW author Cornell Woolrich, completed by modern master Lawrence Block, with a new, never-before-seen ending. It will chill your blood and break your heart. Available from your favorite local bookseller or shorturl.at/ehnUV

30/04/2024

To celebrate Hard Case Crime's 20th anniversary, we teamed up with 20 indie booksellers across America (all of North America, since one is in Ontario!), who have put Hard Case Crime displays like the ones you see here (from the Mysterious Bookshop in NYC, The Lahaska Bookshop in PA, and Bookpeople in TX). We can't thank them enough! And we encourage any fans of ours in driving distance to visit these participating stores (which might also still have some of our cool promotional bookmarks to give out, though please don't be mad if they've run out -- we only printed a limited quantity!):

Bookstore of Nevemore, Canton, OH
Georgian Bay Books, Ontario
Skylight Books, Los Angeles, CA
Mysterious Bookshop, New York, NY
Once Upon a Crime, Minneapolis, MN
Newtonville Books, Newton, MA
Lemuria Books, Jackson, MS
Booktenders, Barboursville, WV
Make Believe Books, Armonk, NY
Poe And Company, Milton, GA
Vroman’s, Pasadena, CA
Concord Bookshop, Concord, MA
Rainy Day Books, Fairway, KS
Off the Beaten Path, Steamboat Springs, CO
Maxima Book Center, Lexington, MA
The Lahaska Bookshop, Lahaska, PA
Bookpeople, Austin, TX
Square Books, Oxford, MS
Open Book Bookstore, Elkins Park, PA

Is that only 19? It sure is. The 20th is a kind of fun surprise -- more on that soon...

11/03/2024

To celebrate tomorrow's publication of DEATH COMES TOO LATE, the good folks at Shepherd.com asked me for a list of 5 great hardboiled/noir reads, and I came up with this: https://shepherd.com/best-books/hardboiled-crime-novels-that-will-move-you-to-tear

Charles Ardai shares the 5 best books on hardboiled crime novels that will move you to tears. Have you read Eight Million Ways to Die?

26/02/2024

In other news, the first HEAT SEEKER adventure, complete in graphic novel form for the first time, hits stores tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb 27). Don't miss the chance to meet the wily Dahlia Racers who will help you disappear if you are marked for death. Her new client? Gun Honey Joanna Tan...

You can order a copy (print or ebook, U.S. or UK) here:

Titan Comics is a bold new publishing initiative from Titan Publishing, offering readers the best new stories from new and established comics creators, and offering those creators a great deal to bring their stories to a worldwide audience.

26/02/2024

We just got word that LOWDOWN ROAD, already nominated for the Edgar Award, has also been nominated for the Barry Award! We're so happy for the author (Scott Von Doviak) and for the book's success. If you haven't read it yet, this'd be a great excuse to pick it up...

15/02/2024

Another artist whose work I adore and whom it is a privilege to bring into the GUN HONEY fold: the brilliant Jasmin Darnell. She drew two versions of her cover for Issue #1, one with bra and panties and one without. Would Facebook complain if I posted both? Probably. You can see the other one on Twitter if you want to.

14/02/2024

Joanna Tan returns to comic book stores for an all-new GUN HONEY adventure -- GUN HONEY: COLLISION COURSE -- on May 15. We open in the jungles of Borneo and from there head to Yokohama, where we get on the trail of a legendary gangster; but Joanna's not the only one trying to track him down, and when the hunters meet, the collision will be explosive. Issue 1 cover artists include Adam Hughes, Derrick Chew, and Sean Phillips (as well as returning cover model Tabitha Lyons for beautiful photo covers!).