Dead Evidence: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Harrigan

by Ed Lybeck, Arthur Rodman Bowker (Illustrator), Jes Schlaikjer (Illustrator)

Quite likely one of the most hyped—and most mysterious—Black Mask authors to ever appear in its pages, Ed Lybeck made his debut as one of editor Joesph Shaw’s new faces in the wake of Dashiell Hammett’s departure. For Black Mask, Lybeck penned the hard-boiled stories of Francis St. Xavier Harrigan, a former gunman-turned-reporter for the New York Leader.Though his duration as a Black Mask author was brief, his status as one of its greatest alums was certified by his inclusion in the historic retrospective of Black Mask, The Hard-boiled Omnibus. This edition collects—for the first time—the entirety of Lybeck’s Black Mask output. Includes an all-new introduction by pulp historian Will Murray.

148 pages, Paperback

Published July 7, 2020

Reviews

[L J Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has four crime stories from 1931-34. Lybeck is little known at this time, but his stories burst out in Black Mask magazine and he found an immediate following. These are terrific hard-boiled stories. Three of them are making their first appearance since their original debut in Black Mask. Steeger Books is reprinting some of the best stories and novellas from other publishers as well and presenting us with long-lost stories from Argosy, Adventure, Dime Mystery and sundry other publications. The pulps are back!

[Jon Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great (but short-lived) series of short stories about a tough-guy turned newspaper reporter, F.X. Harrigan, taking on corrupt politicians and mobsters in New York. I enjoyed these, especially "Kick-Back".