All the news that’s fit to capsulize!

SADDLE UP!
Though Westerns may be dead at bookstores, they still have their fans (us included). But none may be as big as the boys behind Saddlebums Western Review, a new website dedicated to the genre. They’ve kicked off with an interview with author Brian Garfield. (Speaking of Garfield, his novel DEATH SENTENCE is the basis for the new Kevin Bacon movie. Would it have killed some publisher to reissue a tie-in?)

HARD CASE ADOPTS ‘BABY’
Hard Case Crime welcomes THE FURY horror author John Farris to the fold when it reprints one of his earliest novels, a 50-year-old crime number called BABY MOLL, which appeared under the pen name of Steve Brackeen. Expect it sometime next year.

AWARDS ALL TIED UP
Among the winners of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers’ first-ever Scribe Awards announced last month were a few we reviewed: Marv Wolfman’s SUPERMAN RETURNS for Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Adapted; Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte’s 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: RUMORS OF THE UNDEAD for Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Original; and Christa Faust’s SNAKES ON A PLANE for General Fiction, Best Novel Adapted.

NO, IT’S FRONKENSTEEN
NPR has an interesting article on how the influence of weather on Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN holds global-warming resonance today. “Weather” or not you agree, ’tis good for a listen.

PLAYING DRESS-UP
Man, those Brits sure know how to update a classic, don’t they? Check out these cool new covers from the current batch of UK’s Vintage Classics. Mind your drool.

–Rod Lott