This article is written from the Real World point of view |
The Hardy Boys Casefiles is a series, aimed at older readers, it was published by Archway Paperbacks (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) between 1987 and 1998. The Casefiles were a drastic change from the then current Hardy Boys world. Some of the major changes follow:
- Iola Morton is killed by a terrorist car bomb in the first volume. Oddly enough, she remained alive in the concurrent Hardy Boys digest stories, thereby creating two different Hardy Boys universes.
- The books become more grisly. Frank and Joe use firearms and are now fighting far more dangerous criminals, traveling undercover throughout the country and around the globe.
- The glamorous 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.
- At times the boys work with The Gray Man, who represents a cloak-and-dagger crime fighting organization, the Network.
- In general, there is much more action and violence in this series than in the Digest or Original series.
Characters
The Casefiles also introduced some new characters that never appeared in any other series before.
- Vanessa Bender, Joe Hardy's girlfriend after Iola’s death, she lives on an old farm with her mother. She first appears in book 69.
- The Gray Man
- Samuel Peterson, Fenton Hardy’s former partner on the New York Police Force, Sam is now the chief of the force. He appears in two volumes, starting in book 5.
Writers and artists
Many writers (under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon) and illustrators worked on the Casefiles series; here is a list of some of them:
Authors:
- Larry Mike Garmon (books 27, 36, 39, 43, 46, and 126)
- Ron Goulart (23, 30, and 44)
- Steven Grant (3, 6, 14, 19, 29, and 62)
Some of these authors are unverified but probable.
Cover Art:
- Morgan Kane (books 1-2)
- Brian Kotsky (3-104)
- John Youssi (122-127)
- Photographs of the stars of the 1995 Hardy Boys TV show, Colin Gray and Paul Popowich graced the covers of books 105-121.
List of titles
1987
- 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
1988
- 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
1989
- 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
1990
- 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
1991
- 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
1992
- 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
1993
- 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
1994
- 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
1995
- 95. Illegal Procedure
- 96. Against All Odds
- 97. Pure Evil
- 98. Murder by Magic
- 99. Frme-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
1996
- 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
1997
- 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
1998
- 127. Dead in the Water
- Collector's Edition 1 (May 1998)
- Contains #38 Diplomatic Deceit, #39 Flesh and Blood, #40 Fright Wave
- Collector's Edition 2 (September 1998)
- Contains #48 Rock 'N' Revenge, #51 Choke Hold, #52 Uncivil War
1999
- Collector's Edition 3 (January 1999)
- Contains #55 Beyond The Law, #58 Spiked!, #59 Open Season
Unpublished Casefiles
- 128. Title Unknown
- 129. Explosive Force
- 130. The Crisscross Crime (released in June 1998 as Digest #150)
Other Casefiles Stories
- Many people consider Revenge of the Desert Phantom and The Skyfire Puzzle (from the Digest series) to be early Casefiles because the writing style used in those books would become the style used in the Casefiles series.
- In June 1998, Simon & Schuster released Digest #150 The Crisscross Crime. This title was originally going to be a Casefiles, possibly 130, however, it was rewritten and edited to fit into the Digest continuity.
- Training for Trouble was published as part of the Digest series. However, it is possible that it was originally to be part of the Casefiles series, due the tone and writing style.
- When Simon & Schuster scrapped the Casefiles series, plans had already been made for volumes 131-134.