Welcome to a hard-boiled and not without noir blog with news and reviews, occasional outbursts of maniacal Autograph Hound activity, plus archival records from the forty-five year run of The Dashiell Hammett Tour. 
The Dashiell Hammett Tour
1977-2022
Arkham House Ephemera
The Classic Years 1937–1973
Death Lit
Essays and Reviews Selected from Fifty Years of Writing 1974–2024
Willeford
The Book
Monthly Archives: August 2019
Sinister Cinema: Perley Poore Sheehan
For his next Autograph Hound Saturday offering, Kevin Cook turns to the pulpster and film-writer Perley Poore Sheehan — let’s proceed, with Kevin at the wheel: “Perley Poore Sheehan is an unacknowledged master of fantastic fiction. “After serving as Munsey’s … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Frank A. Munsey, Kevin Cook, Lon Chaney, Perley Poore Sheehan
Rediscovered: Homer Eon Flint
For the rest of Autograph Hound Saturday let’s return to the thrilling days of the early twentieth century pulp scene, and hand the action over to Kevin Cook. Kevin’s got something sneaky going, pulling out John Hancocks from writers who went … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Karl to Eric
John D. Haefele slips a toe into the Autograph Hound Saturday action, writing: “You and your cohorts seem focused on the first third of the twentieth century. “Here is one of interest from the middle. I didn’t even know I had … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, Eric Carlson, John D. Haefele, Karl Edward Wagner, L. Sprague de Camp, Lovecraft
Frisco Beat: Feel the Bern
Generally speaking, I wouldn’t bother with politics on the blog — mostly because I’m not in the grip of one of the prevailing derangement delusions. Hammett was a communist. (Or, technically, a rich communist, which makes the whole commie thing … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, News
Tagged Bernie Sanders, John Konstin, John's Grill, Nancy Pelosi, TCM Backlot, Willie Brown
Rediscovered: Richard L. Tierney Speaks
Just a few days ago I was mentioning my stint in 1975-76 in the Lovecraftian MinnCon group, centered in the Twin Cities — with Big Name Lovecraftians coming in from all over the country. Harry Morris Jr tooled up from Albuquerque … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged David C. Smith, Dennis Rickard, Eric Carlson, Harry Morris, J. Vernon Shea, John J. Koblas, Ken Faig, Richard L. Tierney, The Winds of Zarr
Two-Gun Bob: The Kid Dula 10-Parter Rediscovered
I regret dead links in older posts, but not enough to run around trying to find some kind of updated website to re-link to. I figure, get it while it’s hot, and if it’s dead, it’s dead. Ubi sunt, that’s … Continue reading
Posted in Boxing, News, REH
Tagged Brian Leno, Kid Dula, Linefacedscrivener, Sowrds of Robert E. Howard, Two-Gun Raconteur, Wayback Machine
Sinister Cinema: Warren “Spider” Hull
For Autograph Hound Super-Sunday Brian Leno reports: “As an added bonus I’ve included a scan of the signature of Warren Hull, who played the Spider in the two serials, The Spider’s Web (1938) and The Spider Returns (1941). “Hull was … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Boris Karloff, Brian Leno, Green Hornet, Rocky Colavito, The Spider, Victor Jory, Warren Hull
Rediscovered: Two of Norvell Page’s The Spider, and One Other
Brian Leno says, “Apologies for bombarding you with so many pictures, but I’ve always felt that some of the Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft bloggers (one very prominent HPL scholar springs to mind) should start including a few … Continue reading
