New member, old fan.

[Majere]

Hi guys, I just wanted to introduce myself since I'm new around here.  Basically, I'll just talk about when/how I became a fan, and some other tidbits.

I became a Hardy Boys fan when I was in the 4th grade and found a hardback copy of the Hardy Boys Casefiles #7: Deathgame in my homeroom teacher's bookcase.  (She was an avid reader, and kept a stocked bookcase in the classroom to encourage us to read as well, I guess.)  Anyway, from that moment forward I was a pretty huge fan.

I remember always going to the book section of any store that my mom was at, and searching for a new Hardy Boys book.  If it was on the weekend or during the summer, I would usually finish the book on the same day I started it.  (Kind of made my mom a little mad too, haha.  We didn't exactly have money to burn at that time.)

Sometimes we'd also go to a used bookstore on occasion, and I'd find some old copies of the original blue-backed Hardy Boys books, or the digest sized ones that continued the continuity of those originals.  I never liked them as much as the Casefiles books, however.  I grew up in the 80s/90s, when it was okay for kids to see R-rated action movies at the cinemas, and so the Casefiles seemed a little more realistic to my young mind than the other Hardy Boys books, which never really featured anything except thieves of some kind.


Anyway, something funny about all this is that my sister also became a fan as well, and so we used to play Hardy Boys outside together.  She was Frank, and I was Joe.  The funny thing is though, I was one year older than her and had dark hair.  She was one year younger and had blonde hair.  So why the hell wasn't I Frank?  Well, we both thought Frank looked cooler on the cover of Deathgame I guess, and she called dibs on him before me, so that was that.

Anyway, another strange coincidence is that I went by the name "Joe" all through middle school and high school, as my real name was too hard for most kids to pronounce at the time.  (I went by "Joe" before I ever read a Hardy Boys book, so just another sign that he was destined to be my favorite character from the books.)


So what brought me to this forum?  Well, I was working in China for nearly 10 years, and just got back in December 2013.  As I was going through my old books and getting them in order, I came across my old Hardy Boys books (both Casefiles and the originals).  I've slowly been going along since then, picking up a few here and there to complete my collection.  I finally decided to crack one open (No. 3: Cult of Crime), and I've really been loving it so far.  I'm a real sucker for nostalgia, so it has really taken me back to a wonderful time in my life.

As a result, I found this place because it's really the only way for me to talk to like-minded fans about a pretty big part of my childhood.

Well, that's it for now.  I've got other Hardy Boys tidbits I can share later, but I think you're probably all tired of reading by now.

Anyway, feel free to share your own stories.  (Apologies if I posted this in the wrong place.)

[MacGyver]

Hi Majere! Welcome to the forum!
This forum is fine for this discussion. Always glad to have another Hardy Boys fan on the site. I grew up reading The Hardy Boys as a young child and just never stopped.
I love all the series in general myself (particularly the original hardback books, along with the later Digests and the Casefiles, as those were the ones that were big when I was growing up.)
         You may be aware already, but there are even newer Hardy Boys series now and still running. The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series ran for most of the mid to late 2000s and now there is a new series- Hardy Boys Adventures. And of course, The Hardy Boys: Secret Files is still running too (but that one's aimed at younger kids.)
         Cult of Crime is a great book- definitely very interesting and exciting. Of course, I will tell you that they're all my favorites- I can't choose too well when it comes to The Hardy Boys- it's all good.
          I'm sure we will all be interested to hear more personal stories about The Hardy Boys as well.

[tomswift2002]

You may be aware already, but there are even newer Hardy Boys series now and still running. The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series ran for most of the mid to late 2000s and now there is a new series- Hardy Boys Adventures. And of course, The Hardy Boys: Secret Files is still running too (but that one's aimed at younger kids.)
         

You also forgot about the Frank and Joe Hardy are:/The Hardy Boys Are: The Clues Brothers series that ran from 1997-2000 (#'s 1-9 [September 1997 - October 1998] were issued under the Frank and Joe Hardy Are: The Clues Brothers banner, while starting with #10 and going right through #17 in April 2000 the series was issued under The Hardy Boys Are: The Clues Brothers banner; since the series ended, people have called it The Clues Brothers  or just used the last banner as the series title, even for the first 9 books.)  Also there was the A Hardy Boys And Tom Swift Ultra Thriller series that was a Casefiles spin-off featuring the Hardy's of the Casefiles and Tom Swift of the 90's series that ran for only two books from 1992-1993.

But, welcome Majore.  Reading your post I couldn't help thinking of how quite a few things in your story were the same as in my journey with the Hardy's.  I also read my first Hardy Boys book while I was in the 4th grade, although it was The Tower Treasure (1959 revised edition), followed up by the Original 1944 text of The Melted Coins (I've read both the 1944 and 1970 versions of The Melted Coins and I have to say that the revised has got to have the worst plot of the revised texts; I prefer the original 1944 text by Leslie McFarlane).  That being said, I also grew up in the late-80's and 90's, but I didn't start to read the Hardy's til the 90's. 

When I think of it, the first 26 Casefiles (up to Trouble In The Pipeline published in April 1989), plus the 2 pilot Casefiles, are now 25 years old or older and can rightfully be called Hardy Boys Classics.  Even the Nancy Drew And Hardy Boys SuperMystery'88 series is entering the Classic era, as Dangerous Waters (June 1988), A Crime For Christmas (November 1988) & Shock Waves (April 1989) are now past the 25 year mark.

Personally the Casefiles continuity is my favorite amongst all the continuities.

[MacGyver]

You also forgot about the Frank and Joe Hardy are:/The Hardy Boys Are: The Clues Brothers series that ran from 1997-2000 (#'s 1-9 [September 1997 - October 1998] were issued under the Frank and Joe Hardy Are: The Clues Brothers banner, while starting with #10 and going right through #17 in April 2000 the series was issued under The Hardy Boys Are: The Clues Brothers banner; since the series ended, people have called it The Clues Brothers  or just used the last banner as the series title, even for the first 9 books.)  Also there was the A Hardy Boys And Tom Swift Ultra Thriller series that was a Casefiles spin-off featuring the Hardy's of the Casefiles and Tom Swift of the 90's series that ran for only two books from 1992-1993.

Well, yes- and the Nancy Drew GD and Hardy Boys UB Supermysteries series as well. And other one-off books. But I was only trying to list the most current ones. Thanks for the additional information though.