Goodbye to Another Old Friend (Hardboiled Magazine 1985 - 2014 R.I.P.)

Over the weekend, I received a copy of the latest Hardboiled (#47) from editor/publisher Gary Lovisi. In the envelope, Gary included a short note saying this would be the last issue. On the editorial page of the issue, he expands on the reasons why.

If you want to read what he has to say, I encourage you to buy a copy of the issue. As always, it has a great selection of tough, hard-edged fiction, including tales from two of my favorite writers … the late C.J. Henderson and a current rising star, Thomas Pluck.

Naturally, I have a particular fondness for Hardboiled. It was, after all, my baby originally, when I started it back in 1985 with the help of "outlaw poet" Todd Moore and encouragement from a number of writers in the crime/mystery genre.

We did twelve issues and I'm damned proud of each and every one. I'm sure Gary feels the same.

When I ran out of gas in 1991, Gary took over at the urging (to each of us) of Andrew Vachss. Gary took Detective Story Magazine, which he had begun publishing, fused it with HB as Hardboiled Detective for three transitional issues, then continued on with Hardboiled.

Hundreds of stories later --- by established names, new names who went on to become very established, more than a few one-shots, and everything in between --- HB fades quietly down the dark street of ceased publications.

That's too bad. Because, right from the get-go, it represented what there was (and certainly remains) far too few of … a fair shot for a writer to get published, to get his or her name "out there".

Maybe … just maybe … as Gary indicates in his editorial, there's a chance Hardboiled will be revived as an e-zine or some such. I hope so.

If not, after nearly three decades, I hope it will remain a deservedly fond memory for readers and writers alike.

I know it sure will for me.