Archive for December 2016

Haffner Press Newsletter – December 28, 2016 – Fredric Brown Updates!!

 In This Issue: December 28, 2016
• • FREDRIC BROWN UPDATE • •


We hope each of you and your families are having a happy and safe Holiday Season. Here at the Secret Moon Base, we are still working on making the best books we can of your favorite writers. This time ’round, we have updates on the long-gestating first two volumes of the FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY. So, getting to it . . .The first volume, MURDER DRAWS A CROWD was given to a printer in August 2015 and they alerted us on December 7th that finished copies were available for pick-up. As detailed in previous newsletters, the binding method used to make the cloth-covered case fit the page-block matched no book we’ve ever seen, let alone published. This binding method also forced the spine of the dustjacket to wrap onto the back of the book. When we were informed that the entire inventory was bound in this manner, we rejected the whole lot. Despite a lengthy dialogue, this printer refused to make any corrections let alone mount a reprinting. One a brighter note, bringing MURDER DRAWS A CROWD up to date for a different printer requires only minor changes (mostly updating copyright notices from 2015 to 2017).For the second volume, DEATH IN THE DARK, layout & design are complete, along with the introduction, proofreading, copyright notices, etc. Aside from a new cover image, the largest bit of work remaining involves the interior illustrations. These illustrations are taken from the original magazine publications (requiring more than four years of research and acquisition!) and every single one of them will undergo a painstaking (and back-breaking!) digital clean-up to present them in the best light. FYI, we’re still looking for a logo for the magazine The Michigan Well Driller.

Based on the beautiful job done by a different (and much more reliable) printer on our recent Henry Kuttner book, THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR: THE EARLY KUTTNER, VOLUME TWO, the plan is to send both MURDER DRAWS A CROWD and DEATH IN THE DARK to this superior vendor in 1st Quarter 2017. We’ll share more news and we have it, and thanks for hanging with us on these titles; we hope you feel the delay was worth the wait.Meanwhile, you can read one of Fredric Brown’s first-published stories, “Blood of the Dragon” (from

Variety Detective Magazine Feb. 39) HERE:


CHIEF OF POLICE Walworth smacked the top of his desk with his hand so hard that the impact sounded like a revolver shot. “I tell you, ‘Deadpan,’ we’ve got to get those counterfeiters soon, damn soon, or the commissioner will have me out on the sidewalk. And the newspapers are howling like banshees!”
     His ace detective and closest friend, seated across the desk from him, replied calmly, placatingly: “We’ve been doing everything we can, Phil. After all—”
“We know the stuff’s being made right in or near this very town. Whenever a green-goods dealer or pusher gets picked up anywhere in the state  [MORE]

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.Sample Story Spread

.Sample Story Spread

.Sample Appendix Spread
 MURDER DRAWS A CROWD:
FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY,
VOLUME ONE
Edited by Stephen Haffner
Introduction by Jack Seabrook
744-page smythe-sewnhardcoverORDER NOW:  $45.00 W/FREE SHIPPING*

CONTENTS:
“The Apprenticeship of Fredric Brown: 1936-1942”
The Moon for a Nickel, Detective Story Magazine Mar. 38
The Cheese on Stilts, Thrilling Detective Jan. 39
Blood of the Dragon, Variety Detective Magazine Feb. 39
There Are Bloodstains in the Alley, Detective Yarns Feb. 39
Murder at 10:15, Clues Detective Stories May 39
The Prehistoric Clue, Ten Detective Aces Jul. 40
Trouble in a Teacup, Detective Fiction Weekly Jul-13-1940
Murder Draws a Crowd, Detective Fiction Weekly Jul-27-1940
Footprints on the Ceiling, Ten Detective Aces Sep. 40
The Little Green Men, The Masked Detective Fall 1940
Town Wanted, Detective Fiction Weekly Sep-7-1940
Herbie Rides His Hunch, Detective Fiction Weekly Oct-19-1940
The Stranger from Trouble Valley, Western Short Stories Nov. 40
The Strange Sisters Strange, Det. Fic. Weekly Dec-28-1940
How Tagrid Got There, unpublished until 1986
Fugitive Imposter, Ten Detective Aces Jan. 41
The King Comes Home, Thrilling Detective Jan. 41
Big-Top Doom, Ten Detective Aces Mar 41
The Discontented Cows, G-Men Detective Mar. 41
Life and Fire, Detective Fiction Weekly Mar-22-1941
Big-League Larceny, Ten Detective Aces Apr. 41
Selling Death Short, Ten Detective Aces Apr. 41
Client Unknown, The Phantom Detective Apr. 41
Your Name in Gold, The Phantom Detective Jun. 41
Here Comes the Hearse, 10-Story Detective Jul. 41
Six-Gun Song, 10-Story Detective Jul. 41
Star-Spangled Night, Coronet Jul. 41
Wheels Across the Night, G-Men Detective Jul. 41
Little Boy Lost, Detective Fiction Weekly Aug-2-1941
Bullet for Bullet, Western Short Stories Oct. 41
Listen to the Mocking Bird, G-Men Detective Nov. 41
You’ll End Up Burning!, Ten Detective Aces Nov. 41
Number Bug, Exciting Detective Winter 1941
Thirty Corpses Every Thursday, Detective Tales Dec. 41
Trouble Comes Double, Popular Detective Dec. 41
Clue in Blue, Thrilling Mystery Jan. 42
Death is a White Rabbit, Strange Detective Mysteries Jan. 42
Twenty Gets You Plenty, G-Men Detective Jan. 42
Bloody Murder, Detective FictionJan-10-1942Appendix:
The “V.O.N. Munchdriller” stories from The Driller
The “William Z. Williams” stories from Excavating Engineer

.

.Digital clean-up in progress

.Sample Story image

.Sample Appendix Spread

 DEATH IN THE DARK:
FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY,
VOLUME TWO
Edited by Stephen Haffner
Introduction by Jack Seabrook
744-page smythe-sewnhardcoverORDER NOW: $45.00  W/FREE SHIPPING*

CONTENTS:

“Fredric Brown Begins to Master the Pulp Mystery Form: 1942”
Little Apple Hard to Peel, Detective Tales Feb. 42
Death in the Dark, Dime Mystery Mar. 42
The Incredible Bomber, G-Men Detective Mar. 42
Pardon My Ghoulish Laughter, Strange Detective Mys. Mar. 42
Twice-Killed Corpse, Ten Detective Aces Mar. 42
A Cat Walks, Detective Story Magazine Apr. 42
Mad Dog!, Detective Book Magazine Spring 1942
Moon Over Murder, The Masked Detective Spring 1942
“Who Did I Murder?”, Detective Short Stories Apr. 42
Murder in Furs, Thrilling Detective May 42
Suite for Flute and Tommy Gun, Detective Story Mag. Jun. 42
Three-Corpse Parlay, Popular Detective Jun. 42
A Date to Die, Strange Detective Mysteries Jul. 42
Red is the Hue of Hell, Strange Detective Mysteries Jul. 42
Two Biers for Two, Clues Detective Stories Jul. 42
“You’ll Die Before Dawn”, Mystery Magazine Jul. 42
Get Out of Town, Thrilling Detective Sep. 42
A Little White Lye, Ten Detective Aces Sep. 42
The Men Who Went Nowhere, Dime Mystery Sep. 42
Nothing Sinister, Mystery Magazine Sep. 42
The Numberless Shadows, Detective Story Magazine Sep. 42
Satan’s Search Warrant, 10-Story Detective Sep. 42
Where There’s Smoke, Black Book Detective Sep. 42
Boner, Popular Detective Oct. 42
Legacy of Murder, Exciting Mystery Oct. 42
The Santa Claus Murders, Detective Story Magazine Oct. 42
Double Murder, Thrilling Detective Nov. 42
A Fine Night for Murder, Detective Tales Nov. 42
Heil, Werewolf!, Dime Mystery Nov. 42
I’ll See You at Midnight, Clues Detective Stories Nov. 42
The Monkey Angle, Thrilling Detective Nov. 42
Satan One-and-a-Half, Dime Mystery Nov. 42
Appendix:
The “Willie Skid” stories from Ford Dealer Service Bulletin
The “Colonel Cluck” stories from The Michigan Well Driller, Independent Salesman, and The Inventor
The “Barnyard Bill” stories from Feedstuffs

*Shipping is FREE in the continental United States. Alaska, Hawaii and International orders should email us at info@haffnerpress.com for shipping rate quotes. You have been warned!
Posted in News,Newsletter on December 28, 2016 @ 2:15 pm | Comments Off

Haffner Press Newsletter – December 19, 2016 – Signed BEYOND MARS now shipping!!

 In This Issue: December 19, 2016
 
• • NOW SHIPPING • •
BEYOND MARS
by Jack Williamson & Lee Elias

Autographed
Limitation Sheet
.

Click to bigify sample pages

 BEYOND MARS — Signed Edition
Written by Jack Williamson
Artwork by Lee Elias
Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney
Introduction by Bruce Canwell
Oversized 9.6″ x 12.1″ full color hardcover, 160 pp$55.00 W/FREE SHIPPING*

Drawn from the same setting of Jack Williamson‘s novels SEETEE SHIP and SEETEE SHOCK, BEYOND MARS takes place 200 years in the future, when a new force—paragravity—has enabled men to live and breathe on the asteroids. The strip stars Mike Flint, a spatial engineer who lives on Brooklyn Rock, an asteroid “beyond Mars.” With Sam, his green-skinned metallic partner from Venus, Flint gets involved in a series of lighthearted adventures, battling space pirates, teaming up with beautiful and strong-minded women, and dealing with addicts of the mysterious drug called “star dust.”The restored color is outstanding and the artwork is creative and imaginative. Bruce Canwell contributes a wonderful introduction, putting this in the context of early 1950s science fiction. The book also includes original art by Lee Elias on other features like Black Cat, Terry & the Pirates and Tommy Tomorrow.
Editor Dean Mullaney of IDW / Library of America Comics was nominated for an Eisner Award for his assemblage of this vintage 1950s Sunday newspaper strip.
 
**SPECIAL SIGNED EDITION: This is book is an essential addition to your library, but the first installment (February 17, 1952) of the strip was unintentionally left out. By special arrangement with the publisher, we have secured copies of BEYOND MARS with this missing page! Even better, this 8.5″ x 11″ page has been AUTOGRAPHED by Editor Dean Mullaney, Art Director Lorraine Turner, and Associate Editor/Introducer Bruce Canwell on the verso! Also bearing facsimile autographs of Jack Williamson & Lee Elias, this sheet has been numbered and loosely tipped into your finished copy.To ice the cake, we will match #’s to those customers who have standing orders for our numbered and slipcased editions!Obviously, supplies are extremely limited, so get your order in soon!
ORDER NOW
$55.00
W/FREE SHIPPING*

REVIEWS FOR BEYOND MARS

“…THIS IS THE BEST REPRINT BOOK OF AN OLD NEWSPAPER STRIP I’VE EVER SEEN!!! …The colors are gorgeous, the art is sharp and crisp, and the quality of the book is top notch! Bruce Canwell’s intro is informative and to the point. I’m afraid it can’t get any better than this, friends…It’s really stunning, and though I usually grumble when it comes to the restorations of old newspaper strips, this is the best ever! Highly recommended, and a sure winner!” —Diego C.“Rethidenth of Brooklyn Rock are thure to love thith book. I am ethpecially fond of the green metal-eating worm. For a Venusian, he’s VERY attractive!  —Sam

“…this is a great collection of stories featuring that amazing era when space travel seemed right around the corner. Equal parts Hardy Boys (with only one boy) and Flash Gordon…The main reason to buy this is the art by Lee Elias, a true master who seldom got the respect he deserved. Best of all, if you’re like me and you find reading comic strip collections difficult because they are so repetitive and the pacing slow, these are collected Sunday strips, so each one is a full page of stunning art and the story moves along at a relatively brisk pace, you’d think you’re reading a graphic novel rather than a comic strip collection.” —IMHO T. 

“…This is the BEYOND MARS I’ve been waiting for! The black & white reprints in the 80s were fine, but here is all the color and reproduced at full-size! Also, VERY happy to see that this signed edition includes the missing first weekly installment.” —Mojo M.

“…Art is Great. The story certainly has that 1950′s Space Adventure feel..” —George G.

“…I highly recommend it to lovers of classic science fiction and sequential art. Beyond Mars is what happens when two masters in their respective fields join forces to create a work of art. It is, simply put, beyond awesome.” —Chad Derdowski, cinemasentries.com
*Shipping is FREE in the continental United States. Alaska, Hawaii and International orders should email us at info@haffnerpress.comfor shipping rate quotes. You have been warned!
That’s it for now. To ensure that you continue to receive this newsletter, be sure to add haffnerpress@sbcglobal.net and info@haffnerpress.com to your email software’s “safe list.” 
Posted in News,Newsletter on December 19, 2016 @ 12:03 pm | Comments Off

Haffner Press Newsletter – December 16, 2016

 In This Issue: December 16, 2016
•• NOW SHIPPING ••
THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR:
THE EARLY KUTTNER, VOLUME TWO

Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays everyone! Aside from a few stragglers we have shipped all our open orders for THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR: THE EARLY KUTTNER, VOLUME TWO. We had a successful launch at the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus over the Halloween weekend and spent the following 5 weeks(!) getting this wonderful book to all of you who preordered. We’re shipping new orders daily so below is ordering info and a contents list along with some initial feedback from those who have received their copies. We’ll be back in a few days with updates on our forthcoming titles.
The Watcher at the Door:
The Early Kuttner, Volume Two
by Henry Kuttner
Edited by Stephen Haffner
Foreword by Robert A. Madle
Introduction by Dr. Garyn G. Roberts
Cover by Jon Arfstrom
ISBN: 978-1893887824
712-pg Hardcover
ORDER NOW $45.00
FREE SHIPPING IN CONTINENTAL USA

Before his marriage to (and subsequent collaborations with) Catherine L. Moore, Henry Kuttner was a frequent contributor to the pulp magazines that specialized in the weird, supernatural, horror, and science fiction genre. Beginning in 1936, with the minor classic “The Graveyard Rats,” Kuttner launched a steady stream of short stories aimed at Weird Tales, Strange Stories, Thrilling Mystery, and others.
Writing for Weird Tales brought Kuttner into direct correspondence with that magazine’s premier contributor. H. P. Lovecraft. Kuttner set several stories in Lovecraft’s “Cthulhu Mythos” and two are presented in THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR: “Hydra” and “The Hunt.”
At this point in his still-young career, Kuttner had cracked the science fiction market and was steadily publishing in Thrilling Wonder Stories, Fantastic Adventures, Science Fiction, and made his first sale to the new prestigious fantasy magazine, Unknown.
In the course of writing the stories collected in this volume, Kuttner married Catherine Lucille Moore on June 7, 1940 (in New York with artist Virgil Finlay as Best Man).
     THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR is the second volume in a three-volume “Early Kuttner” set collecting many of Kuttner’s earliest stories, most of which have never been reprinted.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by Robert A. Madle
Introduction by Garyn G. Roberts, Ph.D.
We Are the Dead, Weird Tales, Apr ’37
The Case of Herbert Thorp, Weird Tales, Nov ’37
The Transgressor, Weird Tales, Feb ’39
Hydra, Weird Tales, Apr ’39
Murder for Fun, Thrilling Mystery, May ’39
The Watcher at the Door, Weird Tales, May ’39
The Hunt, Strange Stories, Jun ’39
“Telepathy Is News!”, Science Fiction, Jun ’39
Death Is Where You Find It, Thrilling Mystery, Jul ’39
The Curse of the Crocodile, Strange Stories, Aug ’39
The Misguided Halo, Unknown, Aug ’39
The Devil’s Brood, Thrilling Mystery, Sep ’39
Corpse Castle, Thrilling Mystery, Nov ’39
Towers of Death, Weird Tales, Nov ’39
Suicide Squad, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Dec ’39
Death Has Three Sisters, Thrilling Mystery, Jan ’40
When New York Vanished, Startling Stories, Mar ’40
All Is Illusion, Unknown, Apr ’40
Beauty and the Beast, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Apr ’40
Pegasus, Famous Fantastic Mysteries, May ’40
50 Miles Down, Fantastic Adventures, May ’40
Improbability, Astonishing Stories, Jun ’40
The Room of Souls, Strange Stories, Jun ’40
The Mad Virus, Science Fiction, Jun ’40
Dr. Cyclops, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Jun ’40
Time to Kill, Strange Stories, Jun ’40
No Man’s World, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Aug ’40
The Seal of Sin, Strange Stories, Aug ’40
World Without Air, Fantastic Adventures, Aug ’40
The Uncanny Power of Edwin Cobalt, Fantastic Adventures, October ’40
FEEDBACK FROM READERS

“…THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR arrived today — another beautiful volume!” —Chet Williamson, author of Robert Bloch’s Psycho: Sanitarium

“…I just got my copy of The Watcher at the Door yesterday and it is beautiful.” —Allen M.

“… it’s a beautifully produced volume… For longtime fans and collectors of classic science fiction and fantasy, this is a real jewel. It would make a terrific Christmas gift to yourself or to a friend... And I’ve got to tell you, I’ve waited for this volume, and I’m really excited. Yet, I don’t want to take it out of its protective wrapping! What a conundrum!” —Robin Wayne Bailey, author of Turn Left to Tomorrow

“…I just returned from a winter vacation and found both CAPTAIN FUTURE – Vol. 3and EARLY HENRY KUTTNER, Vol. 2.  Thanks for these – I’m still digging out from all the thingsthat accumulated during the trip, but checking these out top to bottom will be my firstpriority.They do look beautifully made – typical Haffner Press products.” —Drake M.

“…You can’t imagine what a thrill it was for me to see the introduction to Kuttner II by Bob Madle – age 95! Madle was the first writer to mention my name in a professional science fiction magazine... I’m delighted to see that Madle is still with us. Please do me this favor: send him a note to the effect that I am still grateful for that small benison, and have a warm spot in my heart for him!” —Richard A. Lupoff, author of Where Memory Hides: A Writer’s Life

“When I got back to the “new” office a bit ago I had a really nice looking book sitting on my desk.” —Gene B.

“…The Kuttner volume arrived yesterday, an amazing job! Well done, indeed. You even found a handful of stories that I haven’t read and I’ve been chasing Kuttner stuff since I was fourteen or thereabouts! —John Pelan, author of Darkness, My Old Friend

“…this beautiful book has arrived.  First story is fantastic, love surprise endings.Thank you for publishing great books of this type/subjects. Fantastic!” —Gerald R.

“…WATCHER just arrived: terrific book.” —Leo D.

“…while THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR is a beautiful book, I am deeply disturbed at Mr. Kuttner’s  presentation of my person in his story…” —Dr. Cyclops

*Shipping is FREE in the continental United States. Alaska, Hawaii and International orders
should email us at info@haffnerpress.com for shipping rate quotes. You have been warned!

That’s all for now. To ensure that you continue to receive this newsletter, be sure to add haffnerpress@sbcglobal.net and info@haffnerpress.com to your email reader’s “safe list.”
Posted in News,Newsletter on December 16, 2016 @ 12:15 pm | Comments Off

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