News & Timeline

In the author-site era this page tracked appearances and publication news. Preserved here, it serves a better purpose: a single timeline of everything that happened on this domain, from the zine's first issue to its last bow.

The Zine Years

• Fall 2002 — Hardluck Stories launches with Philip Tomasso III as guest editor. The first issue includes an essay on Jim Thompson, planting the zine's flag from day one.
• 2003 — Four issues under guest editors Michael A. Black, Charlie Shafer, Jim Blue, and Miki Hayden. Ray Banks, Allan Guthrie, and Ed Lynskey appear in the contributor lists.
• Spring 2004 — Charlie Stella's issue carries the landmark Ken Bruen interview by Duane Swierczynski, drawn from a 26,000-word correspondence.
• 2005 — The zine moves to one directory per issue. The Bank Job issue includes the noir comic Nothing But Jerks, illustrated by Jean-Pierre Jacquet; Weird Noir and City at Night follow.
• 2006 — The strongest single year: Horror/Crime (Harry Shannon), Borderland Noir with the James Crumley interview (Craig McDonald), Western Noir (Ed Gorman), and Psycho Noir (Dave Zeltserman).
• 2007 — Femme Fatales (O'Neil De Noux), Noir Blues (Trey Barker), and the Five Star / Crime in the City issue (John Helfers) marking the zine's fifth anniversary.
• 2008 — The one last call goes out; the final 30s Pulp Noir issue, co-edited by Ed Gorman, closes the run with Jean-Pierre Jacquet artwork.

The Author-Site Years

• 2008 — The domain becomes the home of Dark Crime Fiction from Dave Zeltserman as Small Crimes reaches U.S. publication in October, with the zine archives kept online for readers.
• 2009–2010 — Pariah and Killer complete the Serpent's Tail noir cycle; Bad Karma arrives from Five Star. The site tracks reviews, podcasts, and appearances.
• The 2010s — The site continues as an author hub through a string of acclaimed later novels, while the zine archives remain the deep stacks of the domain.

The Restoration

After the domain lapsed, this restoration was assembled from historical web captures so that the publication record — the issues, the credits, the interviews, the essays — would stay reachable at its original addresses. Researchers can verify the underlying captures through the Internet Archive. Corrections to any date or credit are welcome via the contact page.