Changes: The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers

Revision as of 20:56, 1 September 2019

This article is written
from the Real World
point of view

For the continuity, see Undercover Brothers continuity.

The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers is the novel series, which replaced the long-running Hardy Boys Digest series in April 2005. It was published by Simon & Schuster's Aladdin Paperbacks imprint and all the books in the series are written under the Franklin W. Dixon pen name. The last book was released in January 2012, making this he shortest run of a main Hardy Boys series.

Publication history

Following the success of their then-new Nancy Drew Girl Detective series, that quickly became a New York Times Best-selling series, after replacing the Nancy Drew Digests in 2004, Simon & Schuster launched The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers series in April 2005. The start of the Undercover Brothers marked the end of The Hardy Boys series, a series that was originally published way back in 1927, and had reached 190 volumes by the time it was discontinued (having been published by both Grosset & Dunlap and various Simon & Schuster imprints).

Like the Girl Detective series, the first book in Undercover Brothers series was sold at a very low introductory price, of only $1.99 (the first book in the Girl Detective was at least only $0.99) in both Canada and the US.

Trilogies

"All new mystery trilogies from the Hardy Boys, Undercover Brothers!"

— SimonandSchuster.com

Starting in 2008, with book #22 Deprivation House, a new three part miniseries format replaced the original Undercover Brothers format. Prior to this the books were stand alone stories, with little or even no plot lines continuing from book to book. Now, each book features a self-contained story, but will build toward a bigger mystery that won't conclude until the third installment in its respective trilogy.^[1]

Fans began to suspect that the first Undercover Brothers trilogy might be in the works, when the titles of books 22-24 (Deprivation House, House Arrest, and Murder House) were released on the Internet, because of the word "house" in being present in all three titles.^[2] In early January 2008 the trilogy was confirmed, and the name of the trilogy was revealed when Simon & Schuster released the cover art for Deprivation House, with "book one in The Murder House Trilogy" printed at the top.

When the title of Undercover Brothers #26 was revealed to be Missing Double (later retitled Double Down) in May 2008, after the title of #25 had already been revealed as Double Trouble, it became clear that a second trilogy would be published directly following the conclusion of The Murder House Trilogy. The name of the second title trilogy was revealed on SimonSays.com, later that month as Double Danger Trilogy.

In early July 2008 it was made known that yet another trilogy would be published, entitled Galaxy X, starting in May 2009 with book one of the same name,^[3] and it finally became clear that the new mini-series format would be permanently replacing the past one.

In the comics world these trilogies would not technically be considered trilogies or mini series, but instead three part story arcs, because they are within the regular series (the first one being books 22-24 and the second consisting of books 25-27) rather than independent series.^[4]

Future

"I believe this Undercover Brothers paperback is going to be one of the last ones, March 2010 is the kill date for the series."

— Paul Mular, refering to Private Killer^[5]

"It's not ending actually and they have titles planned through 2012."

— News group member "Jenn"^[6]

The future of Undercover Brothers series became very uncertain starting in 2009.

On May 15, 2009, the co-writer of The Hardy Boys reference book Hardy and Hardy Investigations, Paul Mular claimed on an Internet news group that the Undercover Brothers would likely end in 2010. Mular reported that he got his information from an unnamed Simon & Schuster sales-rep, who also told him that a new series would be begin in April 2010, reportable entitled The Hardy Boys Secret Files. This new series includes books with titles such as Trouble at the Arcade and The Missing Mitt.^[5]

Than just over two months later, on June 17, another member of the same news group, posted conflicting information. She too, claimed to have been in contact with Simon & Schuster, but claimed the series would last until, at least, 2012. This account later proved to be true, as the last book was published in January 2012.

One thing both members did agree on was the new Secret Files series, due out in 2010.^[6]

In September 2011 it was announced that the series had been cancelled and the last book would be "Movie Mayhem", with one final Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew crossover coming in the summer of 2012.

Outside the United States

Casefiles reprints

Toxic Revenge UB UK cover — Cover for the reprinted version of *Toxic Revenge*

In 2006, Simon & Schuster reprinted four (seemingly random) Hardy Boys Casefiles books in the UK, as part of the Undercover Brothers series. Two other Casefiles were scheduled for a November 2006 release, but were canceled for unknown reasons.^[7]

Toxic Revenge (Casefiles #83) (March 2006)

Choke Hold (Casefiles #51)

Darkness Falls (Casefiles #89) (July 2006)

Cave Trap (Casefiles #115)

Canceled titles:

Lethal Cargo (Casefiles #67) (November 2006)

Line of Fire (Casefiles #16)

In Italy

Thrill Ride Italy cover — The cover of *Giostra da brivido* known as *Thrill Ride* in the US

The Undercover Brothers is also published in Italy by a publishing company named Mondadori, as Hardy Boys - Due fratelli in incognito. It is translated by Igor Longo.^[8]

Sfida estrema (2006)

Attentato nel deserto

Agguato sulla spiaggia (2007)

Giostra da brivido

French editions

Extreme Danger French — Cover of *Danger extrême*

French language editions of The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers were be published in Canada^[9] and France by Bayard Jeunesse. The first two were published in February 2009.^[10] The series is entitled Frank et Joe, agents très spéciaux in French, which roughly translates to "Frank and Joe, Very Special Agents". In Canada, as of 2018, only A Bout De Course has seen release.

1. Danger extrême

2. A bout de course

3. Le grand plongeon

4. Attraction mortelle

Narrative style

This series also uses the same writing style as the Girl Detective series, utilizing first person narrative for the first time in Hardy Boys history, with Frank and Joe alternate chapters. The reader is told who is narrating the chapter by a heading at the top of the first page of the chapter, that ether says "Frank" or "Joe".

The first chapter was narrated by Joe for the first 12 books, until #13 The Mummy's Curse, when Frank narrated the opening chapter for the first time, since then Frank or Joe have narrated chapter one. In some books Frank or Joe will interrupt the other's chapter, to tell his side of the story, for example if Joe is making fun of Frank, Frank will take over narrative, to defend himself. This technique was first used by the ghost writer of book #2 Running on Fumes, in this book Joe interrupts a few of Frank's chapters.

List of titles

2005

1. Extreme Danger

2. Running on Fumes

3. Boardwalk Bust

4. Thrill Ride

5. Rocky Road

6. Burned

7. Operation: Survival

Spy Set (Boxed set #1-4)

2006

8. Top Ten Ways to Die

9. Martial Law

10. Blown Away

11. Hurricane Joe

12. Trouble in Paradise

13. The Mummy's Curse

2007

14. Hazed

15. Death and Diamonds

16. Bayport Buccaneers

17. Murder at the Mall

18. Pushed

19. Foul Play

2008

20. Feeding Frenzy

21. Comic Con Artist

22. Deprivation House

23. House Arrest

24. Murder House

25. Double Trouble

2009

26. Double Down

27. Double Deception

28. Galaxy X

29. X-plosion

30. The X-Factor

31. Killer Mission

2010

32. Private Killer

33. Killer Connections

34. Children of the Lost

35. The Lost Brother

2011

36. Forever Lost

37. Movie Menace

38. Movie Mission

39. Movie Mayhem

Unpublished Undercover Brothers Stories

40. The Case of the MyFace Kidnapper (w.t.)

Super Mysteries

Main article: The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers Super Mystery

1. Wanted (2006)

2. Kidnapped at the Casino (2007)

3. Haunted (2008)

References

↑ SimonandSchuster.com
↑ Mr. Pizza's Forum
↑ Bookmanager
↑ O'Neil, Dennis; The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics (2001)
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Mular, Paul (2009)
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 News group member Jenn.
↑ HardyBoys-UK.com
↑ www.ragazzi.mondadori.it
↑ It appears, that as of June 2009, only ''a bout de course'', has made a brief release appearance on Canadian bookstore shelves, having been shipped around April 7, 2009, and going out of print within 2 weeks of shipping. So far there has been no word on when volume 1 will be released in Canada, if ever.
↑ Book one and two at chapters.indigo.ca

External links

[1] SimonandSchuster.com

[2] Mr. Pizza's Forum

[3] Bookmanager

[4] O'Neil, Dennis; The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics (2001)

[yahoo-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Mular, Paul (2009)

[yahoo2-6] 6.0 ^6.1 News group member Jenn.

[7] HardyBoys-UK.com

[8] www.ragazzi.mondadori.it

[9] It appears, that as of June 2009, only ''a bout de course'', has made a brief release appearance on Canadian bookstore shelves, having been shipped around April 7, 2009, and going out of print within 2 weeks of shipping. So far there has been no word on when volume 1 will be released in Canada, if ever.

[10] Book one and two at chapters.indigo.ca

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 | publisher     =[[Aladdin Paperbacks]]
 | media_type    =Paperback<br> eBook
-| pub_dates     =[[2005]]-present
+| pub_dates     =[[2005]]-[[2012]]
 }}
-'''''The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers''''' is the novel series, which replaced the long-running ''[[The Hardy Boys (Digest series)|Hardy Boys Digest]]'' series in April [[2005]].  It is published by [[Simon & Schuster]]'s [[Aladdin Paperbacks]] imprint and all the books in the series are written under the [[Franklin W. Dixon]] pen name.
+'''''The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers''''' is the novel series, which replaced the long-running ''[[The Hardy Boys (Digest series)|Hardy Boys Digest]]'' series in April [[2005]]. It was published by [[Simon & Schuster]]'s [[Aladdin Paperbacks]] imprint and all the books in the series are written under the [[Franklin W. Dixon]] pen name.  The last book was released in January 2012, making this he shortest run of a main Hardy Boys series.
 ==Publication history==
-Following the success of their then-new ''Nancy Drew Girl Detective'' series, that quickly became a ''New York Times Best-selling series'', after replacing the ''Nancy Drew Digests'' in [[2004]], Simon & Schuster launched ''The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers'' series in April 2005. The start of the ''Undercover Brothers'' marked the end of ''The Hardy Boys ''series, a series that was originally published way back in [[1927]], and had reached 190 volumes by the time it was discontinued (having been published by both Grosset & Dunla and various Simon & Schuster imprints).
+Following the success of their then-new ''Nancy Drew Girl Detective'' series, that quickly became a ''New York Times Best-selling series'', after replacing the ''Nancy Drew Digests'' in [[2004]], Simon & Schuster launched ''The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers'' series in April 2005. The start of the ''Undercover Brothers'' marked the end of ''The Hardy Boys ''series, a series that was originally published way back in [[1927]], and had reached 190 volumes by the time it was discontinued (having been published by both Grosset & Dunlap and various Simon & Schuster imprints).
-Like the ''Girl Detective'' series, the first book in Undercover Brothers series was sold at a very low introductory price, of only $1.99 (the first book in the ''Girl Detective'' was at least only .99$) in both Canada and the US.
+Like the ''Girl Detective'' series, the first book in Undercover Brothers series was sold at a very low introductory price, of only $1.99 (the first book in the ''Girl Detective'' was at least only $0.99) in both Canada and the US.
 ===Trilogies===
 {{quote|All new mystery trilogies from the Hardy Boys, Undercover Brothers!|[http://series.simonandschuster.com/Hardy-Boys-All-New-Undercover-Brothers SimonandSchuster.com]}}
-Starting in [[2008]], with book #22 ''[[Deprivation House]]'', a new three part miniseries format replaced the original ''Undercover Brothers'' format. Prior to this the books were stand alone stories, with little or even no plot lines continuing from book to book. Now, each book features a self-contained story, but will build toward a bigger mystery that won't conclude until the third installment in it's respective trilogy.<ref>[http://books.simonandschuster.com/House-Arrest/Franklin-W-Dixon/Hardy-Boys-(All-New)-Undercover-Brothers/9781416979463 SimonandSchuster.com]</ref>
+Starting in [[2008]], with book #22 ''[[Deprivation House]]'', a new three part miniseries format replaced the original ''Undercover Brothers'' format. Prior to this the books were stand alone stories, with little or even no plot lines continuing from book to book. Now, each book features a self-contained story, but will build toward a bigger mystery that won't conclude until the third installment in its respective trilogy.<ref>[http://books.simonandschuster.com/House-Arrest/Franklin-W-Dixon/Hardy-Boys-(All-New)-Undercover-Brothers/9781416979463 SimonandSchuster.com]</ref>
 Fans began to suspect that [[The Murder House Trilogy|the first Undercover Brothers trilogy]] might be in the works, when the titles of books 22-24 (''Deprivation House'', ''[[House Arrest]]'', and ''[[Murder House]]'') were released on the Internet, because of the word "house" in being present in all three titles.<ref>[http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com/forums/index.php?topic=592.0 Mr. Pizza's Forum]</ref> In early January 2008 the trilogy was confirmed, and the name of the trilogy was revealed when Simon & Schuster released the cover art for ''Deprivation House'', with "book one in The Murder House Trilogy" printed at the top.
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 In early July 2008 it was made known that yet another trilogy would be published, entitled ''[[Galaxy X Trilogy|Galaxy X]]'', starting in May 2009 with [[Galaxy X|book one]] of the same name,<ref>[http://bookmanager.ca/?opt=kw&q=h.ts&qs=Galaxy+X+Franklin+W+Dixon Bookmanager]</ref> and it finally became clear that the new mini-series format would be permanently replacing the past one.
-In the comics world these trilogies would not technically be considered trilogies or mini series, but instead three part story arcs, because they are within the regular series (the first one being books 22-24 and the second consisting of books 25-27) rather then independent series.<ref>O'Neil, Dennis; ''The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics'' (2001)</ref>
+In the comics world these trilogies would not technically be considered trilogies or mini series, but instead three part story arcs, because they are within the regular series (the first one being books 22-24 and the second consisting of books 25-27) rather than independent series.<ref>O'Neil, Dennis; ''The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics'' (2001)</ref>
 ===Future===
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 {{quote|It's not ending actually and they have titles planned through 2012.|News group member "Jenn"<ref name="yahoo2">[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HardyBoys/message/9999 News group member Jenn].</ref>}}
-The future of ''Undercover Brothers'' series is, currently, very uncertain.
+The future of ''Undercover Brothers'' series became very uncertain starting in 2009.
-On May 15, 2009, the co-writer of ''The Hardy Boys'' reference book ''[[Hardy and Hardy Investigations]]'', [[Paul Mular]] claimed on a Internet news group that the ''Undercover Brothers'' will likely end in [[2010]]. Mular reported that he got his information from an unnamed Simon & Schuster sales-rep, who also told him that a new series will be begin in April 2010, reportable entitled ''[[The Hardy Boys Secret Files]]''. This new series includes books with titles such as ''[[Trouble at the Arcade]]'' and ''[[The Missing Mitt]]''.<ref name="yahoo"/>
+On May 15, 2009, the co-writer of ''The Hardy Boys'' reference book ''[[Hardy and Hardy Investigations]]'', [[Paul Mular]] claimed on an Internet news group that the ''Undercover Brothers'' would likely end in [[2010]]. Mular reported that he got his information from an unnamed Simon & Schuster sales-rep, who also told him that a new series would be begin in April 2010, reportable entitled ''[[The Hardy Boys Secret Files]]''. This new series includes books with titles such as ''[[Trouble at the Arcade]]'' and ''[[The Missing Mitt]]''.<ref name="yahoo"/>
-Than just over two months later, on June 17, another member of the same news group, posted conflicting information. She too, claimed to have been in contact with Simon & Schuster, but accuording to her the series will last until, at least, 2012.
+Than just over two months later, on June 17, another member of the same news group, posted conflicting information. She too, claimed to have been in contact with Simon & Schuster, but claimed the series would last until, at least, 2012. This account later proved to be true, as the last book was published in January 2012.
 One thing both members did agree on was the new ''Secret Files'' series, due out in 2010.<ref name="yahoo2"/>
+In September 2011 it was announced that the series had been cancelled and the last book would be "Movie Mayhem", with one final Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew crossover coming in the summer of 2012.
 ==Outside the United States==
@@ Line 65: / Line 67: @@
 The ''Undercover Brothers'' is also published in Italy by a publishing company named Mondadori, as '''''Hardy Boys - Due fratelli in incognito'''''. It is translated by Igor Longo.<ref>[http://www.ragazzi.mondadori.it/ricerca/keyword/hardy%20boys www.ragazzi.mondadori.it]</ref>
 :''Sfida estrema'' (2006)
 :''Attentato nel deserto''
 :''Agguato sulla spiaggia'' (2007)
@@ Line 72: / Line 74: @@
 ===French editions===
 [[File:Extreme Danger French.jpg|thumb|160px|Cover of ''Danger extrême'']]
-French language editions of ''The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers'' will be published in Canada<ref>It appears, that as of June 2009, only <nowiki>''</nowiki>a bout de course<nowiki>''</nowiki>, has made a brief release appearance on Canadian bookstore shelves, having been shipped around April 7, 2009, and going out of print within 2 weeks of shipping. So far there has been no word on when volume 1 will be released in Canada, if ever.</ref> and France by Bayard Jeunesse. The first two will be published in February [[2009]].<ref>[http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Frank-et-Joe-agents-très-Franklin-W-Dixon/9782747024822-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527Franklin+W.+Dixon%2527 Book one] and [http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Frank-et-Joe-agents-très-Franklin-W-Dixon/9782747024822-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527Franklin+W.+Dixon%2527 two] at [http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ chapters.indigo.ca]</ref> The series is entitled ''Frank et Joe, agents très spéciaux'' in French, which roughly translates to "Frank and Joe, Very Special Agents".
+French language editions of ''The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers'' were be published in Canada<ref>It appears, that as of June 2009, only <nowiki>''</nowiki>a bout de course<nowiki>''</nowiki>, has made a brief release appearance on Canadian bookstore shelves, having been shipped around April 7, 2009, and going out of print within 2 weeks of shipping. So far there has been no word on when volume 1 will be released in Canada, if ever.</ref> and France by Bayard Jeunesse. The first two were published in February [[2009]].<ref>[http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Frank-et-Joe-agents-très-Franklin-W-Dixon/9782747024822-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527Franklin+W.+Dixon%2527 Book one] and [http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Frank-et-Joe-agents-très-Franklin-W-Dixon/9782747024822-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527Franklin+W.+Dixon%2527 two] at [http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ chapters.indigo.ca]</ref> The series is entitled ''Frank et Joe, agents très spéciaux'' in French, which roughly translates to "Frank and Joe, Very Special Agents".  In Canada, as of 2018, only ''A Bout De Course'' has seen release.
 :1. ''Danger extrême''
@@ Line 82: / Line 84: @@
 This series also uses the same writing style as the ''Girl Detective series'', utilizing first person narrative for the first time in Hardy Boys history, with Frank and Joe alternate chapters. The reader is told who is narrating the chapter by a heading at the top of the first page of the chapter, that ether says "''Frank''" or "''Joe''".
 The first chapter was narrated by Joe for the first 12 books, until #13 ''[[The Mummy's Curse]]'', when Frank narrated the opening chapter for the first time, since then Frank or Joe have narrated chapter one. In some books Frank or Joe will interrupt the other's chapter, to tell his side of the story, for example if Joe is making fun of Frank, Frank will take over narrative, to defend himself. This technique was first used by the ghost writer of book #2 ''[[Running on Fumes]]'', in this book Joe interrupts a few of Frank's chapters.
 ==List of titles==
 ===2005===
 : 1. ''[[Extreme Danger]]''
 : 2. ''[[Running on Fumes]]''
 : 3. ''[[Boardwalk Bust]]''
 : 4. ''[[Thrill Ride]]''
 : 5. ''[[Rocky Road]]''
 : 6. ''[[Burned]]''
 : 7. ''[[Operation: Survival]]''
 : ''Spy Set'' (Boxed set #1-4)
 ===2006===
 : 8. ''[[Top Ten Ways to Die]]''
 : 9. ''[[Martial Law]]''
 : 10. ''[[Blown Away]]''
 : 11. ''[[Hurricane Joe]]''
 : 12. ''[[Trouble in Paradise]]''
 : 13. ''[[The Mummy's Curse]]''
 ===2007===
 : 14. ''[[Hazed]]''
 : 15. ''[[Death and Diamonds]]''
 : 16. ''[[Bayport Buccaneers]]''
 : 17. ''[[Murder at the Mall]]''
 : 18. ''[[Pushed]]''
 : 19. ''[[Foul Play (Undercover Brothers)|Foul Play]]''
 ===2008===
 : 20. ''[[Feeding Frenzy]]''
 : 21. ''[[Comic Con Artist]]''
 : 22. ''[[Deprivation House]]''
@@ Line 120: / Line 121: @@
 ===2009===
 : 26. ''[[Double Down]]''
 : 27. ''[[Double Deception]]''
 : 28. ''[[Galaxy X]]''
@@ Line 137: / Line 138: @@
 :37. ''[[Movie Menace]]''
 :38. ''[[Movie Mission]]''
+:39. ''[[Movie Mayhem]]''
+==Unpublished Undercover Brothers Stories==
+:40. ''[[The Case of the MyFace Kidnapper (w.t.)]]''
 ==Super Mysteries==
@@ Line 142: / Line 148: @@
 :1. ''[[Wanted]]'' (2006)
 :2. ''[[Kidnapped at the Casino]]'' (2007)
 :3. ''[[Haunted]]'' (2008)
 ==See also==
@@ Line 156: / Line 162: @@
 * [http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com/index.php?nav=atac The Hardy Boys Casefiles - Undercover Brothers]
 * [http://www.hardy-boys.com/undercoverbrothers Hardy-Boys.Com's Undercover Brothers Site]
-* [http://www.hardyboys.bobfinnan.com/hbpb.htm#ub Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page Undercover Brothers]
+* [http://www.hardyboys.us/hbpb.htm#ub Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page Undercover Brothers]
 [[Category:Undercover Brothers|*]]