WARHAMMER ~ THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIN & LORENZO!

WARHAMMER ~ THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIN & LORENZO!

By Robert Earl, The Adventures of Florin & Lorenzo is the latest omnibus from the world of Warhammer. Set for publication in February 2009, this is another very pulpish entry in what has become an ever expanding series.

When a life of debt and debauchery catches up with him, Bretonnian nobleman Florin d’Artaud is forced to flee his homeland and turn to a life of adventure. Accompanied by his manservant Lorenzo, Florin travels to the wildest reaches of the Old World, battling all manner of strange foes. From the steamy jungles of Lustria to the icy wastes of the Ogre Kingdoms, will our heroes ever find enough gold and glory to let them return home?Contains the novels The Burning Shore, Wild Kingdoms, Savage City and the short story Haute Cuisine.

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

TITAN'S JAMES BOND: OMNIBUS VOL. 1!

TITAN'S JAMES BOND: OMNIBUS VOL. 1!

CB.NET HAS NEWS ON TITAN BOOKS' JAMES BOND RELEASES ~

The James Bond releases from Titan Books keep on coming.

In addition to their newest collection of 007 comic strips, The Girl Machine, scheduled to hit shelves in June 2009, next year will also see volume one of a collection simply titled James Bond: Omnibus.

While there is currently no descriptive blurb for this collection available and the stories are yet to be announced, the credits to writers Henry Gammidge and Jim Lawrence (and naturally, Ian Fleming) and artists John McLusky and Yaroslav Horak indicate many different Bond adventures are included.

FOR MORE CLICK HERE

ALISTAIR MACLEAN COVER GALLERY!

ALISTAIR MACLEAN COVER GALLERY!

STEVE HOLLAND HAS POSTED A FANTASTIC RETROSPECT ON THE WORKS (AND VARIOUS SPIN-OFFS) OF ALISTAIR MACLEAN, ARGUABLY THE GREATEST HIGH ADVENTURE AUTHOR OF ALL TIME, ALONG WITH THE COVERS FROM MANY OF HIS NOVELS ~

Alistair MacLean was one of the finest thriller writers Britain has ever produced. Critics over the years have said that his talents were in creating gripping situations rather than any particular writing ability: his style of storytelling was fairly straightforward, setting up a series of situations which would climax with a revelation, somewhat akin to the crime novels of the golden age. MacLean himself was modest about his writing talents and insisted that he was a storyteller rather than a novelist. His talent was to grab you with the opening paragraphs and never lessen the grip until the last page.

Alistair Stuart MacLean was born in Glasgow on 28 April 1922, the third of four children born to the Reverend Alistair MacLean, a Church of Scotland minister, and Mary Lamont MacLean, a singer. Alistair grew up in Daviot, near Inverness, speaking Gaelic in the family home until he was 15. He was educated at the local primary school and, following his father's death and a move back to Glasgow, obtained a bursary to Hillhead High School. He left school in 1939 and took a job with a shipping firm before enlisting in the Royal Navy in 1941.

His experiences as a torpedo operator aboard HMS Royalist, an escort ship for convoys taking supplies to Russia, were later vividly recreated in his first novel, H.M.S. Ulysses. The Royalist also served in the Mediterranean and the Aegean, taking part, in September 1944, in the bombardment of Nazi-occupied Greek islands—the setting for The Guns of Navarone—and subsequently in the Far East, taking part in the liberation of Singapore. This latter provided background for South by Java Head.

Released from the Navy in 1946, he began studying English at Glasgow University, supporting himself with work in a post office and sweeping streets. He obtained a second-class honours degree and graduated with an M.A. in 1950. By then he had met his future wife, a nurse called Gisela Heinrichsen, who moved to Glasgow and worked at Mearnskirk Hospital while MacLean studied to be a teacher. They married in July 1953 by which time MacLean was teaching English, history and geography at the all-boys Gallowflat Secondary School in Rutherglen.

He began writing in his spare time and his first story appeared in Blackwood's Magazine in 1954. Another story, "The Dileas", a tale of a dramatic rescue off the West Highland coast, won a £100 prize in a competition run by the Glasgow Herald. The story had a great emotional impact on the wife of Ian Chapman, then working at the Glasgow offices of Collins, who decided to track down the author. He invited MacLean to write a novel and, although reluctant at first, the birth of his son (Lachlan, named after his late elder brother who had died some years earlier from cancer) persuaded him to begin H.M.S. Ulysses in September 1954. Published a year later, it sold a quarter of a million copies within six months.

MacLean was catapulted into the ranks of best-sellers: serial rights were sold to Picture Post, an American edition appeared in 1956, and movie rights were sold for £30,000, although no movie was ever made. With the success of his second novel, The Guns of Navarone, MacLean gave up teaching to write full-time, moving his family to Switzerland to escape British taxes ahead of the publication of South by Java Head. Collins almost rejected the novel and had sent Ian Chapman to Switzerland to demand major changes but Chapman arrived to find a telegram awaiting him: the movie rights to the manuscript had sold and Collins would publish it unchanged.

The majority of MacLean's future novels would be adventure-thrillers: The Last Frontier concerned a British agent sent behind the Iron Curtain; Night Without End a murder-mystery set in the Arctic as a small group survive a plane crash and make a grueling journey to safety; Fear is the Key is a story of vengence set on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Although financially successful, MacLean was stung by criticism of his writing and set out to publish future books under a pen-name to prove that his writing alone would sell books, not his name. As Ian Stuart, The Dark Crusader and The Satan Bug appeared to poor sales and he returned to his own name for the publication of The Golden Rendezvous and Ice Station Zebra, the latter considered one of his best.

MacLean delivered the latter novel with the intention that it would be his last. He returned to England, buying Jamaica Inn (made famous in the novel by Daphne du Maurier) and two other hotels. The venture proved a financial disaster and MacLean moved back to Switzerland and began writing When Eight Bells Toll. Approached by an American film producer, MacLean then began work on an original screenplay which he turned into another best-selling novel, Where Eagles Dare.

TO READ THE COMPLETE POST AND CHECK OUT THE COVERS (YOU REALLY SHOULD) CLICK HERE

DAMES, DOLLS, & GUN MOLLS!

DAMES, DOLLS, & GUN MOLLS!

In the course of his long and illustrious career, renowned illustrator/painter Robert A. Maguire created gorgeous cover images for more than a thousand books and worked for virtually every mainstream publisher in the U.S. Best known for his incomparably sexy "femme fatale" images for pulp paperbacks in the 1950s and 1960s, Maguire built a long and legendary career showcasing character portraits that were iconic and beautiful, painting subjects that felt simultaneously real and sensually compelling. Now, art historian and living pinup legend Jim Silke casts his curatorial eye toward Maguire's long and fascinating career in his first art collection/artist biography, Dames, Dolls, and Gun Molls. With a keen eye for criticism and his trademark style and wit, Silke explores the legacy of an artist whose work is known by millions the world over.

Presenting the lush, sensuous "good-girl" art of acclaimed artist R. Maguire!

Publication Date: May 29, 2009
Format: FC, TPB, 96 pages, 9" x 12"
Price: $24.95
ISBN-10: 1-59582-272-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-272-7

A TIP OF THE FEDORA TO BILL CRIDER

BLOOD BOWL: KILLER CONTRACT!

BLOOD BOWL: KILLER CONTRACT!

Welcome to the hyper-violent hilarity of Blood Bowl, the mini-series that puts the fantasy (as in elves, dwarfs, orcs, and ogres) back into football! Blood Bowl novelist Matt Forbeck brings his trademark twisted blend of humor and action to the first-ever Blood Bowl comic book, featuring the now-legendary Bad Bay Hackers in a grudge match against the ever-evil Orcland Raiders! Join the Hackers as they begin their brutal march to their next championship game, filled with spiked balls, corrupt refs, and giant-sized barrels of Bugman's XXXXXX!

THE GRAPHIC NOVEL PUYTTING FANTASY (AS IN ELVES, DWARFS, ORCS, AND THE UNDEAD) BACK INTO FOOTBALL!

As the Bad Bay Hackes strive to retain their dtatus as the Blood Bowl champions, they already figure every other Blood Bowl team in the world is gunning for them. But what they don’t expect is a traitor from within their own ranks!

Blood Bowl novelist Matt Forbeck and artist Lads Helloven bring the Hackers’ latest slapstick tale of hyperviolent athleticism to blood-spattered life in their first-ever illustrated adventure. Hold on to your helmets! This one’s going to leave a mark!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

EARTHA KITT, R.I.P.

EARTHA KITT, R.I.P.

Eartha Kitt, who purred and pounced her way across Broadway stages, recording studios and movie and television screens in a show-business career that lasted more than six decades, died on Thursday. She was 81 and lived in Connecticut.

The cause was colon cancer, said her longtime publicist, Andrew Freedman.

Kitt, who began performing as a dancer in New York in the late '40s, went on to achieve success and acclaim in a variety of mediums long before other entertainment multitaskers like Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler. With her curvaceous frame and unabashed vocal come-ons, she was also, along with Lena Horne, among the first widely known African-American sex symbols. Orson Welles famously proclaimed her "the most exciting woman alive" in the early '50s, apparently just after that excitement prompted him to bite her onstage during a performance of "Time Runs," an adaptation of "Faust" in which Kitt played Helen of Troy.

From practically the beginning of her career, as critics gushed over Kitt, they also began to describe her in every feline term imaginable: her voice "purred" or "was like catnip"; she was a "sex kitten" who "slinked" or was "on the prowl" across the stage, sometimes "flashing her claws." Her career has often been said to have had "nine lives." Appropriately enough, she was tapped to play Catwoman in the 1960s TV series "Batman," taking over the role from the leggier, lynxlike Julie Newmar and bringing to it a more feral, compact energy.

Yet for all the camp appeal and sexually charged hauteur of Kitt's cabaret act, she also played serious roles, appearing in the films "The Mark of the Hawk" with Sidney Poitier (1957) and "Anna Lucasta" (1959) with Sammy Davis Jr. She made numerous television appearances, including a guest spot on "I Spy" in 1965, which brought her her first Emmy nomination.

FOR HER FULL OBITUARY CLICK HERE

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

BEST WISHES TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED BISH'S BEAT THIS YEAR WITH COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS!

MAY 2009 BE FULL OF SUNSHINE AND LOVE, NOIR AND BRASS KNUCKLES, PULPS AND HEROES!

"CHEERS!"
BISH

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CAT'S MEOW!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!

COCKTAIL NATION 55 – A VERY TIKI CHRISTMAS!

COCKTAIL NATION 55 – A VERY TIKI CHRISTMAS!

Koop Kooper brings in the final Cocktail Nation show for 2008 with a special christmas show to get you in the mood. There’s special guests and special drink recepies from the Tiki Bar & Lounge in Richmond, Australia, and a special Christmas vist from Dr. Tiki from Tiki Bar TV.

www.cocktailnation.podmatic.com

Patsy Raye - Beatnick's Wish

Mambo Zombies - Silver Bells

Billy May - Do You Believe In Santa Claus

Dean Martin - Winter Wonderland

Jackie Gleason - I'll Be Home For Christmas

Johnny Mercer - Jingle Bells

Lena Horne - Jingle All The Way

Martin Denny - Exotic Night

Wayne Newton - Let It Snow,Let It Snow

Capitol Studio Orchestra - Cha Cha all the Way

George Shearing - Snowfall Cha Cha

Jimmy McGriff - Santa Claus Is Comin To Town

Julie London - I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

Tony Rochelle Larson - Bear Rug

TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

DOGS AT CHRISTMAS!

JOHN ERIC BOOTH ~ NEW SWINGING CD!

ULTIMATE SPY CHRISTMAS GIFT!

ULTIMATE SPY CHRISTMAS GIFT!

HERE IT IS, WHAT EVERY WOULD BE SPY WANTS TO FIND UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE ~

SPY ACADEMY!

If you've ever fancied yourself as the next James Bond then the Spy Academy experience is for you!

You'll learn the essential skills required to conduct a secret agent operation during an action packed 3 hours at the Spy Headquarters. You'll be shown how to use specialist spy equipment, covert cameras and UHF radios, bugs and listening devices, and lock picking gadgets.

Play at being Bond for a day, with instruction from ex-surveillance operatives

Unarmed combat, surveillance techniques and weapons training

Evasive driving techniques - J turns, handbrake turns and anti-ambush drills

Shoot at targets from a moving car at a 'drive in' pistol range

Buffet lunch is included

Experience the glamorous world of international espionage by indulging the fantasy with this great day playing at secret agents. After a full briefing learn some of the skills employed by secret agents all over the world, head to the firing ranges and learn how to shoot automatic pistols and sniper rifles. Then move onto axe throwing (for goodness' sake don't try this at home), unarmed combat and covert surveillance, using cameras and bugs. Then try evasive driving - including J turns, handbrake turns and anti-ambush drills. Finish off at the 'drive in' pistol range, firing at targets from a moving vehicle, before screeching to a halt, jumping out of the car for more shooting and then speeding off. Throughout the day you'll be supervised by instructors who have first-hand experience of carrying out surveillance operations. Please be aware that no live ammunition or weapons are used in any of the activities, in order to fully comply with current legislation.

Location: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

FOR MORE CLICK HERE

A TIP OF THE FEDORA TO DEBORAH LIPP

BONDING WITH BBC AMERICA!

BONDING WITH BBC AMERICA!

COMMANDERBOND.NET GIVES US THE SCOOP ON THE UPCOMING BBC AMERICA BOND MARATHON ~

BBC America will be hosting five weeks of James Bond films this upcoming January. Tune in every Sunday to catch one of Sean Connery’s first four 007 films—Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger and Thunderball—starting this upcoming Sunday, 28 December.

Plus, Sunday, 25 January will be a Licence to Thrill All-Day Bondathon. It’s all-day action on BBC America with a day-long marathon of James Bond movies, including Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball, and special back-to-back airings of Goldfinger at 8/7c and 10:30/9:30c. From Istanbul to the Bahamas, Fort Knox to Venice, don’t miss a second of the adventure as Sean Connery’s Bond travels the world on a mission for Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE CLICK HERE

THE COMMANDER BOND NET PODCAST!

THE COMMANDER BOND NET PODCAST!

JINGLE BELLS!

THE CBN FESTIVE PODCAST 2008 IS HERE!
DOWN YOUR CHIMNEY. IN YOUR EARS.

Ding Dong Merrily on High indeed, the CBn Podcast is back!

After last month’s prize-fest, the CBn Festive Podcast is a more sedate affair. Think of it as the For Your Eyes Only after the Moonraker; the Casino Royale after the Die Another Day; the Lazenby after the Connery.

We see the close of Ian Fleming’s centenary year, and what a busy year it’s been! A certain film was released back in October, and this month, I update you on how well that film (Quantum of Solace) is doing at the box office (thanks mainly to Devin Zydel) and rant a bit too much about a certain rapper. I wax lyrical about Bond books and generally make the whole thing a very festive affair thanks to a half-arsedly festive theme song.

I also read out quite a few of your electronic mails. Thanks for those. Keep ‘em coming!

Until 2009 intrepid Bond fan, have a safe, merry and Bondian Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

TO DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST CLICK HERE

MORE CAT'S MEOW!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

AGATHA CHRISTIE NEWSLETTER!

AGATHA CHRISTIE NEWSLETTER!

We hope this monthly newsletter will inform you, entertain you and tax your brain - just a little. Most of all though, we hope it will make using the website a more rewarding experience.

The new Agatha Christie website was launched in September. We do hope you have taken the opportunity to enjoy the new site. As you use the site you might find that things change between visits. This is because we're still working on the website, trying different things to see what works best. We are making a lot of these changes thanks to the feedback we've received from you so please continue to let us know what you want. We can't promise to implement everything but we will consider all points made.
Give us your feedback

SEASON'S GREETINGS

The obvious choice for this month has to be Hercule Poirot's Christmas but why not also try Murder on the Orient Express
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, have a lovely break.

DID YOU KNOW?

Christie had many battles with publishers over the years about book covers. She said of Murder on the Links, "Apart from being in ugly colours, it was badly drawn, and represented, as far as she could make out, a man in pyjamas on a golf links, dying of an epileptic fit. Since the man who had been murdered had been fully dressed and stabbed with a dagger, I objected."

We think she might have liked this new cover!

CHRISTIE COMPETITION

This Christmas Alibi, the new crime drama channel, presents the wonderfully festive '12 Days of Christie'. From 22nd December through to the 2nd January Alibi will be screening twelve of the Joan Hickson Miss Marple mysteries for you to enjoy over a mince pie or two every day at 5pm.

Along with travel specialists Kuoni, Alibi will be offering one lucky person the chance to win a fabulous 10 day trip to Egypt for two (see www.theperfectalibi.co.uk for Terms and Conditions) and 12 runners up will win a selection of classic Christie titles.

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning these great prizes is visit the Alibi website and answer a question.

Entrants must be over 18, be a UK resident and have a current valid British passport.

EXERCISING THE LITTLE GREY CELLS!

The answers to all these questions are somewhere on the website - you just have to find them! Correct answers will be given next month.
1. Who did Miss Felicity Lemon work for before she became Poirot's secretary?
2. What is the name of Ariadne Oliver's detective?
3. In which novel is Miss Marple asked, "Would you like to see a picture of a murderer?"

HAVE YOU TRIED...?

Playing Appointment with Death - it's free and waiting for you!

Play the game now

NOVEMBER ESSENTIAL

If you're searching for a special gift for a Christie fan look no further...

HARROD-EAGLES ~ GAME OVER!

HARROD-EAGLES ~ GAME OVER!

ACCORDING TO EURO CRIME (SEE BELOW REVIEW), SEVERN HOUSE HAS JUST PUBLISHED A NEW BILL SLIDER NOVEL BY CYNTHIA HARROD-EAGLES. THE SLIDER CAPERS ARE AMONG MY FAVORITE BRITISH POLICE PROCEDURALS.

Ex-BBC, ex-civil servant Ed Stonax is killed in his own flat, seemingly whilst interrupting a burglary. The victim's daughter has flown all the way from New York only to be confronted with the dead body of her father and DI Bill Slider is brought in to investigate. The murder looks like a simple burglary-homicide, but with the added complication of the victim's VIP status, DI Slider is under pressure to solve the crime and catch the perpetrator. The more the homicide team looks, however, the more suspect the burglary motive becomes - only the victim's wallet, watch and mobile phone appear to be missing.

Whilst working on the case, Bill is trying to get married and has other problems; his fiancee, Joanna, heavily pregnant is still working around the UK and he has become a target of death threats from a convicted criminal, one who has escaped and is at large. Juggling the case with these personal issues only serves to make his job harder, but also makes him a more vulnerable and therefore more likeable character.

FOR THE COMPLETE REVIEW CLICK HERE

NEW BBC (CONTEMPORARY) SHERLOCK HOLMES!

NEW BBC (CONTEMPORARY) SHERLOCK HOLMES!

According to Digital Spy, the BBC are to make a 1 hour Sherlock Holmes drama, set in modern day, with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and Martin Freeman as Holmes (and Rupert Graves will be in it!):

The BBC has announced Sherlock, a contemporary remake of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous literary creation.

Stuart A Life Backwards actor Benedict Cumberbatch will take on the role of Baker Street sleuth Sherlock Holmes, with The Office's Martin Freeman playing his loyal sidekick Doctor John Watson. Rupert Graves is also among the cast as Inspector Lestrade, while Professor Moriarty is expected to appear as the story's antagonist.

The 60-minute one-off was devised by Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis while travelling to Cardiff to work on Doctor Who.

"Everything that matters about Holmes and Watson is the same. Conan Doyle's original stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they're about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes - and frankly, the hell with the crinoline," said Moffat.

"Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures and that's what matters."

Gattis added: "The fact that Steven, myself and millions of others are still addicted to Conan Doyle's brilliant stories is testament to their indestructibility. They're as vital, lurid, thrilling and wonderful as they ever were.

"It's a dream come true to be making a new TV series and in Benedict and Martin we have the perfect Holmes and Watson for our time."

MADAM MIRAGE!

MADAM MIRAGE!

MAYBE YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER, BUT IN THIS CASE I'M GOING TO GO OUT ON A LIMB AND SAY THIS ONE IS UP MY ALLEY!

ASIDE FROM BEING HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE, MADAM MIRAGE IS ALSO AN EXPERT MARKSMAN WITH A PISTOL. MADAME MIRAGE SEEMINGLY HAS THE ABILITY TO TURN INTO MIST IN ORDER TO ESCAPE DANGEROUS SITUATIONS AND CAN IMPERSONATE ALMOST ANYONE, SO FAR PLAYING MEN AND WOMEN WITH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT APPEARANCES. IT IS UNKNOWN IF HER IMPERSONATING ABILITIES STEM FROM SIMPLE USE OF COSTUMES AND WIGS, SOME FORM OF HYPNOSIS, OR FROM THE ABILITY TO GENERATE REALISTIC ILLUSIONS, HOWEVER IT IS UNLIKELY THAT SHE USES THE FORMER AS SHE HAS BEEN SEEN MAKING SIMILAR TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN A MATTER OF MINUTES.

THE CAT'S MEOW!

NEW RAT PACK MYSTERY!

NEW RAT PACK MYSTERY!

IF YOUR IN THE MARKET FOR A COOL LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS GIFT, DON'T FORGET ROBERT RANDISI'S LATEST (JUST PUBLISHED DECEMBER 9TH) RAT PACK MYSTERY, HEY THERE (YOU WITH THE GUN IN YOUR HAND) ~

From Publishers Weekly:

After rescuing Dean Martin in Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (2006) and Frank Sinatra in Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die (2007), Vegas pit boss Eddie Gianelli and New York gunman Jerry Epstein reunite to save Sammy Davis Jr. in Randisi's breezy third Rat Pack mystery, set in the gambling hubs of Nevada (Tahoe, Reno, Vegas) in 1961. Davis, anxious to recover an embarrassing photo stolen from his home, hires Eddie to handle the exchange.

When the transfer produces only a corpse, Eddie and Jerry end up in a lethal high stakes game with blackmailers, hit men, cops, federal agents and politicians—possibly including the newly installed president, JFK. Randisi shows both respect and affection for his historical characters as he highlights the antics of the Rat Park, who made the burgeoning gambling and entertainment empires of Nevada their playground.

No doubt the Rat Pack could have used a real Eddie G.

NEW YEAR'S EVE @ THE JAZZ BAKERY!

HAPPY HANUKKAH FROM THE CAT'S MEOW!

FEMME NOIR FOR CHRISTMAS!

FEMME NOIR FOR CHRISTMAS!

NEWS FROM BLOG BUDDY AND COMIC WRITER EXTRODINAIRE CHRIS MILLS ~

According to the Diamond Comics Distribution shipping list, the fourth and final issue of the first Femme Noir miniseries, The Dark City Diaries, will be in comic shops this Wednesday, December 24th... just in time for Christmas!

Written and pencilled – as usual – by myself and the incredible Joe Staton, this issue is inked by the talented Mark Stegbauer (who previously inked Issue #2) and introduces our new colorist, Michael Watkins. Michael's done such a good job that we've asked him to keep working with us, and he'll be applying his computerized hues to several upcoming Noir projects (see below).

As I recently posted in this very blog, while this is the final issue of the miniseries, it's not the last you'll be seeing of Femme Noir. In 2009, she'll be appearing in Ape Entertainment's Free Comic Book Day special, and a 48-page one-shot called Femme Noir: Supernatural Crime. We also have two paperback collections in the works, one of which will contain newly re-colored and re-mastered versions of the original FN webcomic strips.

The other, of course, is the trade paperback edition of the Dark City Diaries series for those who were unable to persuade their local shopkeepers to stock the comic books, or those who "waited for the trade" and a heftier volume for their bookshelves. I'm putting that weighty tome together now, and it's coming together great. Aside from the four installments of the Diaries mini, the book will include at least two more short FN bonus stories, a foreword by Shamus-Award winning crime writer Max Allan Collins, and an afterword by Kevin Burton Smith, of the Thrilling Detective website.

So... thanks to everyone who's been buying the series, and I hope you'll pick up #4 this week. And for those who are only just now discovering the series, hang around – there's a lot more Femme Noir on the way!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

THE PUNISHER: SIX HOURS TO KILL!

THE PUNISHER: SIX HOURS TO KILL!

HERES A PREVIEW OF THE VERY COOL COVER FOR PUNISHER: FRANK CASTLE #69, THE FOURTH ISSUE IN AUTHOR DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI'S (SEVERENCE PACKAGE) SIX ISSUE STORY ARC.

CRACKER: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION!

CRACKER: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION!

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BRITISH CRIME SERIES, CRACKER STARRING ROBBIE COLTRANE, WILL BE RELEASED IN THE USA BY ACORN MEDIA AS A COMPLETE COLLECTION IN MARCH 2009.

HERE'S THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

The Cracker Complete Collection Box Set features all episodes from the critically acclaimed crime series, which follows Manchester criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Robbie Coltrane) as he attempts to crack complex cases. Sexist, provocative and almost devoid of social morals, Fitz is a man of many excesses. He's addicted to smoking, drinking, gambling, and he's neither a considerate nor faithful husband to his wife, Judith (Barbara Flynn). With his sharp intellect and ability to get inside the mind of criminals though, Fitz is a precious resource for the Manchester Police, who couldn't do without him--even though he isn't exactly the most liked person on the force. Starring alongside Coltrane is Kieran O'Brian (as Mark Fitzgerald, Fitz's surprisingly grounded son), Geraldine Somerville (as DS Jane Penhaligon, a colleague), Richard Coyle (as DI Walters, an ambitious young gun who has read all of Fitz's work), and Saleh Nisha Nayar (as DS Saffron, who also studied Fitz).

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS SERIES, MARCH WOULD BE THE PERFECT TIME TO CATCH UP WITH A PERFECT CRIME SERIES.

KILL NOW, PAY LATER!

KILL NOW, PAY LATER!

THANKS TO THE RAP SHEET FOR POINTING THE WAY TO THESE TWO GREAT MCGINNIS COVERS!

TO READ MORE AT JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVERS CLICK HERE

CAT'S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

CAT'S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

'Twas the night before Christmas

And all through the house

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a mouse.

'Cuzz the cat had pounced on him

And tore him apart -

Ate his mouse intestines

And chewed up his heart.

Kitty thought he heard sleighbells,

Which made him take pause -

He stopped daintily licking

The blood from his claws.

"Must be Santa," thought Kitty

(That quite clever cat)

'Cuz nobody else climbs down

The chimney like that.

Indeed it was ol' Santa

So jolly and fat

With a huge load of presents

And all for the cat!

"Wow, the best Christmas ever!"

Kitty thought with a purr,

Then he coughed up a hairball

And shed some more fur!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

GREEN HORNET UPDATE!

GREEN HORNET UPDATE!

HERE'S WHAT VARIETY HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE NEW GREEN HORNET FILM (A DISASTER IN THE MAKING IF YOU ASK ME) . . .

There's been another change in the "Hornet" nest: Stephen Chow has dropped out as director of "The Green Hornet" but will still play Kato in Columbia Pictures' latest bid to get the crimefighter to the bigscreen.

The studio and producer Neal Moritz are in the process of setting a new director to keep the picture on track to begin production by spring.

The character began on radio in the 1930s and is best known from the '60s TV version. But a bigscreen translation is having a long gestation, going through many incarnations, including as a proposed George Clooney vehicle.

TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

BEAT TO A PULP ~ HARD BITE!

BEAT TO A PULP ~ HARD BITE!

BEAT TO A PULP HAS POSTED THE SECOND STORY IN IT'S DEBUTE ISSUE ~ HARD BITE BY ANONYMOUS 9 . . .

ANONYMOUS-9 WROTE HER FIRST HARDBOILED SHORT STORY ONE YEAR AGO. SHE HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THUGLIT (ISSUE 21), YELLOW MAMA, TWIST OF NOIR, AND DZ ALLEN'S MUZZLE FLASH (NOW DEFUNCT). IT'S LONELY IN WITNESS PROTECTION.

HERE'S WHAT BEAT TO A PULP EDITOR DAVID CRANMER HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE NEW STORY . . .

I WOULD HATE TO BE CHALLENGED TO A HARDBOILED LAPTOP DUEL WITH ANONYMOUS-9 -- I'D LOSE. THIS LADY IS THE HARDEST OF THE HARD. SOMEHOW I ALWAYS PICTURE HER BACK IN THE 1930'S WRITING FOR BLACK MASK AND KNOCKING OUT INCREDIBLE PROSE FOR A PENNY A WORD. IF SHE HAD, WE WOULD BE READING HER COLLECTED WORKS TODAY. I RECEIVED A COUPLE EMAILS ON HOW I WAS GOING TO FOLLOW UP PATTI ABBOT'S STELLAR STORY THAT LAUNCHED OUR SITE. THE ANSWER IS BY TURNING 180 DEGREES AND SHOOTING THE AUDIENCE DOWN A LONG DARK ALLEY WHERE A-9 IS WAITING WITH HARD BITE.

TO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE

THE CAT'S MEOW!