Iola's first post-DoT appearance

[SDLagent]

When did Iola Morton first appear in the Digests, after she was killed in the Casefiles? I always assumed that it was apparent from the beginning that the Casefiles existed within a new continuity, but considering there was a five month gap between the publication of Dead on Target and the the publication of 1987's first Digest, The Mystery of the Silver Star, many fans could have believed Iola to be gone for good!

So, did Iola appear in The Mystery of the Silver Star, or did S&S make fans wait another few months before Iola appeared again? Also, does anyone know if the Casefiles and Digests were originally planned to be in the same continuity?

[tomswift2002]

It's been a while since I read Mystery of The Silver Star but I do believe that Iola is mentioned, if not appears in the story because Chet is in the story, and Chet is not sad or missing his sister.

Also, while it is unknown what the official stance is on the Casefiles and Digests being in the same continuity, it is most likely that this was the direction that S&S was heading for in 1985, before splitting the series.  Paul Mular has discovered that there is a manuscript in the S&S archives for a #86 that was to be printed under the Wanderer imprint, and the book was issued an ISBN (0-671-49733-2, and as of 2004 it was still assigned to that unnamed #86).  The story for that book was, apparently, suppose to be in the style of Revenge Of The Desert Phantom & The Skyfire Puzzle.  Mystery Of The Silver Star (which is Hardy Boys #86) was issued with a completely different ISBN, and under the Minstrel imprint.

[SDLagent]

I've got another question, which Casefiles mention Iola? A know a lot talk about her death but which one's talk about her life? I know Casefiles #4 does a bit.

[MacGyver]

I've been resurrecting all kinds of old threads today- I just saw this question and thought I'd chime in.
Iola Morton was mentioned in The Hardy Boys Casefiles series in:
#1 Dead on Target (and of course, this is the only book where she has an appearance while still alive)
#2 Evil, Inc.
#4 The Lazarus Plot
#11 Brother Against Brother
#80 Dead of Night
and in the 1988 A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Supermystery series, #3 Shock Waves also makes a pretty significant mention of Iola Morton.
There may be others I've forgotten though. I know a good few of the earlier titles tend to make reference to Iola.

[SDLagent]

She was also mentioned in Witness to Murder, No Mercy, and the Ultra Thriller, Time Bomb.

[MacGyver]

Cool- good to know.

[hardygirl847]

What would you say is your favorite Iola moment or "use" of her?

[MacGyver]

Beyond Dead on Target, certainly The Lazarus Plot was really powerful- I love the line about how "it was almost as if Iola's love had come back from the grave to save Joe."
And of course, Dead of Night was an incredibly intense and emotional book as well.
I also appreciated Iola's mentions in Brother Against Brother and Shock Waves- I would say those are my main favorites and some of the most powerful uses of the character.

[SDLagent]

What would you say is your favorite Iola moment or "use" of her?

The moment Iola went "woof".

[JoeHardyRocks]

I thought she was scary in Dead of Night

[hardygirl847]

Beyond Dead on Target, certainly The Lazarus Plot was really powerful- I love the line about how "it was almost as if Iola's love had come back from the grave to save Joe."
And of course, Dead of Night was an incredibly intense and emotional book as well.
I also appreciated Iola's mentions in Brother Against Brother and Shock Waves- I would say those are my main favorites and some of the most powerful uses of the character.

I have to agree those are all good instances. I think for Iola she was important in all of her "scenes". The author had some kind of point or really valid reason for having her mentioned. I don't feel like there's a situation where she was just thrown in for no reason. She always had a purpose. I can't say that about every character.

The only time I feel like her character was lacking was in the bluespines. Possibly the Digests too but I haven't read enough of them.

The moment Iola went "woof".

?? When was this?

I thought she was scary in Dead of Night

Yes, perhaps...especially because seeing her tormented Joe but it still had a profound effect.

[SDLagent]

?? When was this?

At the beginning of Dead on Target

[MacGyver]

I think SDLagent meant more like "whoomp", when the Assasins' car bomb took her life in Dead on Target.
The only time I can think of that she went "woof" was when she was working for that dog kennel in Crime in the Kennel

[MacGyver]

The only time I feel like her character was lacking was in the bluespines. Possibly the Digests too but I haven't read enough of them.

I've noticed that in the Original Texts, (of the ones I've read anyway), Iola and Callie both seem to make mainly bit appearances here and there. They both have a quick cameo in The Mystery of Cabin Island and that's it.
They make a bit more regular appearances in the Original 58 Revised Texts and a fairly good amount in the Digests. But certainly there are books where they are more central than others. And many where they don't show up at all.

Anyway, while looking through some of The Hardy Boys Casefiles series yesterday, I saw that while Iola isn't specifically mentioned as far as I can tell, the events of Dead on Target are referenced at the start of Too Many Traitors- so I don't know if that really counts or not. (By the way, that one is one of my favorites- I have read and reread that one a few times.)

[SDLagent]

I think SDLagent meant more like "whoomp", when the Assasins' car bomb took her life in Dead on Target.
The only time I can think of that she went "woof" was when she was working for that dog kennel in Crime in the Kennel

It was a play on the old joke "how do you make a cat woof?"