new this month
10: The Great Pumpkin Smash – 09/19
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover
Illustrated by Santy Gutierrez
Detective brothers Frank and Joe investigate a crime of smashin’ in the tenth book in the interactive Hardy Boys Clue Book series.
Frank, Joe, and their best friend Chet are attending Bayport Zoo’s annual Halloween carnival. Frank and Joe have a routine planned for Scaryoke, and Chet has entered the pumpkin pie-eating contest-he even brought his own whipped cream!
After their performance, Frank and Joe go to check out the painted pumpkins on display. But when the brothers enter the tent, they see their Scaryoke song wasn’t the only smash hit at the carnival. The floor is littered with bits of pulverized pumpkins! What’s worse, the organizer says that unless the culprits are caught by the end of the day, this will be the last Boo at the Zoo.forever!
Can Frank and Joe find out what happened before it’s too late? Or is this pumpkin crime unpatchable?
coming soon
19: Dungeons & Detectives – 10/19
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover – Kindle – Audio CD
Brother detectives Frank and Joe search a hidden castle for clues to help them find a missing comic book in the nineteenth book in the thrilling Hardy Boys Adventures series.
Frank and Joe have been hanging out at Sir Robert’s Comic Kingdom, the local comic and gaming shop, and got the exclusive invite to this year’s Halloween costume ball at Bayport’s one and only castle. Sir Robert plans to use the big event to unveil his most prized possession, a super rare comic that is rumored to contain a map to buried treasure.
Sir Robert agrees to show his store regulars-who now include Frank and Joe-a sneak preview of the comic before the party. But when he goes to unlock the fireproof casing, he finds the book is gone.
It will take all of Frank and Joe’s recently acquired LARPing skills to solve this case. Anything can happen in a castle full of dungeons and deception. Can the Hardy boys keep up?
Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Missing Adults – For Sale
Hardcover Graphic Novel – November 2019
by Scott Bryan Wilson (Author), Bob Solanovicz (Artist)
Eating candy nonstop and watching TV all day sounds great . . . until you actually do it, as the kids of Bayport High find out when all the adults vanish, and the world’s greatest (high school) detectives–the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew!–have to team up to solve the mystery! Whether it’s going under cover, sneaking out at night, chasing weird buses, or following a strange smell, they know it’ll take all their wits and smarts to get their parents and teachers back . . . that is, if Joe and Frank don’t kill each other first. Oh, and there’s also the matter of the skeleton that can walk. And a major feud with a rival high school. And a koala-in-a-diaper costume. And lawlessness in the hallways. And an unrequited crush . . .
Written by Scott Bryan Wilson (Batman Annual, Star Trek: Waypoint) and drawn by Bob Solanovicz (Mister Meow), NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS: THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING ADULTS! is a high-octane, nonstop comedic romp full of action, excitement, mystery, and friendship. And mayhem. Lots of mayhem.
20: Return to Black Bear Mountain – 02/20
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover – Kindle – Audio CD
Brother detectives Frank and Joe face the dangers of Black Bear Mountain once again in the twentieth book in the thrilling Hardy Boys Adventures series.
Frank and Joe are back on Black Bear Mountain, the scene of a previous wilderness adventure and mind-bending mystery. This time, the brothers are checking in on Dr. K, a friend they made during their first trip. Dr. K is a fan of living off the grid, but he’s been MIA long enough to cause worry in the small mountain town. And so the teenage detectives Black Bear Mountain relied on before have been called in to help once again.
It’s not a good start to the investigation when Frank and Joe’s ATV is put out of commission by a falling tree. Then their camp, including their radio – their only way to contact the outside world – is destroyed by wildlife searching for food. And when they finally reach Dr. K’s research station, they find his cabin has been cleaned out and abandoned – the only current resident is an angry skunk.
Frank and Joe may have been better prepared for their second Black Bear Mountain adventure, but they’re not having any more luck this time around. In fact, they’ve been downright unlucky. Is someone trying to sabotage their mission? And if they are, how can the brothers stop this invisible foe?
11: Bug-Napped – 04/20
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover
Illustrated by Santy Gutierrez
Detective brothers Frank and Joe search for a very special beetle in the eleventh book in the interactive Hardy Boys Clue Book series.
Frank and Joe are taking care of their friend’s super cool pet stag beetle named Izumi for the weekend. Not only is this bug fun to watch, but he is also supposed to bring you luck!
The first night with Izumi, Joe learns that stag beetles like to hiss and chirp.a lot. So, Joe decides to leave Izumi on the front stoop so he can get some sleep. But when Joe goes to get Izumi the next morning, he discovers that his lucky friend isn’t so lucky after all. Because Izumi has gone missing! Izumi’s cage is gone so the boys know he didn’t escape on his own. Did Aki’s pet get bug-napped?
Can the brothers find this special bug before the weekend is over? It’s up to Frank and Joe-and you-to solve the mystery of the missing beetle!
Midnight is Coming! The Hardy Boys Return!
The HerInteractive Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem game will officially release on November 19th, 2019.
Returning to help Nancy on another case, the Hardy Boys hone in on unexplained occurrences and aide in the hunt for the arsonist of the Hathorne House. With Frank’s practical sensibilities and Joe’s unbridled enthusiasm, they make an excellent team in search of the truth. The Hardy Boys will provide great insights and vital information regarding the investigation. You, as Nancy Drew, can depend on Frank and Joe’s assistance to shed light on the motivations of suspects and those that might be influenced by Salem’s dark past.
Super Saturday Club
This poster was sold through the “Super Saturday Club.” It started the year that the Hardy Boys cartoon premiered and was a big deal. It was advertised on television and in comic books. Anyone could join for 50 cents and for that you got a pin, membership card, stick-on, pennant, stamps, stamp album card, iron-on emblem, a poster, and a handbook/newsletter. The “Super Saturday Club” logo had the ABC-TV logo alongside of it. There were big plans for the club. The stamps were supposed to help you get club premiums every month. The premiums and how you got them were supposed to announced on ABC twice every Saturday morning.I joined the club and so did my brothers. I don’t remember all of the details behind this poster. It may or may not have been one of the club premiums announced on television. What I do remember is that I mail ordered them through the Super Saturday Club. I still have the mailing tube that it came in. This Hardy Boys poster was one of a set of three posters. The other two in the set were for “Hot Wheels” and “Skyhawks,” two other cartoons on ABC the same year. I still have those posters too.
The club seemed really great and my brothers and I were really excited about it. But for some reason, the club was disbanded and every member was refunded his 50 cents. To this day, I don’t know why. I also don’t know if any other Hardy Boys products were sold through the club. There could be!Also, the club newsletter has two pages on each cartoon (one page is a picture and the other page is text). But the picture of the Hardy Boys looks NOTHING like the cartoon characters. I remember this was a big disappointment to me when I was a kid. All of the cartoon characters from each show are also pictured in the club stamps and on the poster. But these drawings only vaguely resemble the cartoon characters from each show.
It would be interesting if you could find anyone else who joined that club. Maybe they could tell us if there were any more Hardy Boys products. As I said before, the club was heavily advertised. Practically every comic book at the time had a four page advertisement that promoted all of the cartoons to air on ABC that season and the “Super Saturday Club.”
I wonder how scarce this poster is and how much it would be worth.
Book of the Month: The Phantom Freighter
26: The Phantom Freighter – Collectible Editions For Sale
Cover Art & Edition Information
Original: 1947 Amy McFarlane (216 pages)
Outline: Harriet Adams
Revised: 1970 Priscilla Baker-Carr (181 pages) – For Sale
Outline: None – Baker-Carr edited the original manuscript.
Revision: Altered
Art: 1947 Russell Tandy
Art: 1970 Rudy Nappi
Notes: A letter from Leslie McFarlane to the Syndicate indicated his wife Amy was taking over some of his work. In his autobiography McFarlane claimed authorship of this story. In a letter to the Syndicate dated 5/12/46 he stated the “book is well underway” and expected to finish it by mid-June. On 7/29/46 Amy McFarlane wrote to Harriet Adams that “Three chapters of the book remain to be written, so I hope to mail the rest of the manuscript by Wednesday. Was interupted in the middle of the job by a dental operation that meant the loss of 22 teeth at one fell swoop. At any rate you should have it by the end of the week.” Based on this information, it’s probable Amy finished the story that her husband started.
Andrew Svenson edited and did rewriting of the Baker-Carr (revised) manuscript.
The Hardy Boys break up a smuggling ring which uses the mysterious, disappearing “Phantom Freighter”.
Description of current edition: When eccentric Thaddeus McClintock invites Frank and Joe Hardy to accompany him on a sea voyage, the teenage investigators become entangled in a web of mystery. Who is trying to block the three from securing reservation on freighter ships that carry passengers? The determined efforts of Frank and Joe lead to a hazardous game of wits with a ring of slippery smugglers and to a dramatic confrontation on the high seas. Here is an exciting, action-filled mystery that will keep the reader on edge with suspense.
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