A Fistfull of Stories (and Articles)

"A Fistfull of Stories (and Articles)" is a collection of short work by Joe R. Lansdale, published in 1996, which contains more non-fiction work than any of the other collections, as well as short stories some of which are exclusive to this collection.

The title is a play on the title of Sergio Leone's western "A Fistful of Dollars" (deliberately misspelling the title). It was published as part of a trilogy, in between "The Good, The Bad, and the Indifferent" and "For a Few Stories More".

It contains:

fiction

*"An All American Hero" {originally published in "Espionage Magazine", Feb 1986}
*"Bar Talk" {originally published in "New Blood" #7, 1990}
*"Beyond The Light" {originally published as "The Soul Ghoul" in "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazin", Oct 1981}
*"Billie Sue" {first publication}
*"A Change of Lifestyle" (co-wr: Karen Lansdale) {originally published in "Twilight Zone Magazine," Nov/Dec 1984}
*"The Companion" (co-wr: Keith & Kasey Jo Lansdale) {originally published in "Great Writers & Kids Write Spooky Stories," ed. Greenberg, Morgan & Weinberg (1995)}
*"Drive-In Date: Play Version" {originally published in "Cemetery Dance", Winter 1991}
*"Listen" {originally published in "Twilight Zone Magazine", May/Jun 1983}
*"Master of Misery" {originally published in "Warriors of Blood and Dream", ed. Roger Zelazny & Greenberg (1995)}
*"Mister Weed-Eater" {originally published by Cahill Press, 1993}
*"The Mummy Buer" {originally published in "Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine", March 1981}
*"Old Charlie" {originally published in "The Saint Magazine", Aug 1984}
*"The Pasture" {originally published in "Twilight Zone Magazine", Dec 1981}
*"Personality Problem" {originally published in "Twilight Zone Magazine", Jan/Feb 1983}

non-fiction

*"Lansdale Raves (I & II)" {originally published in "Iniquities", Spring & Fall 1991}
*"Trash Theater" (movie reviews) (all co-wr: David E. Webb)
**"Dolemite" {originally published in "Cemetery Dance", Summer 1992}
**"The Human Tornado" {originally published in "Cemetery Dance", Spring 1992}
**Bob Balaban's "Parents" {originally published in "Cemetery Dance", Spring 1993}
**"" {originally published in "Cemetery Dance", Fall 1993}
**"Viva Las Vegas" {originally published in "Cemetery Dance", Winter 1994}
**"Clambake" {originally published in "Cemetery Dance", Winter 1994}

The short stories "An All American Hero," "Beyond the Light," "The Mummy Buyer," and "The Pasture," as well as the play version of "Drive-In Date," are all exclusive to this collection, as are all of the non-fiction pieces.

Limited Edition

There was also an extremely limited edition (lettered) which included two Batman stories Lansdale had written in 1990, "Subway Jack" and "Belly Laugh." These have never been included in any other Lansdale collection, but it is much easier to find them in their original printings, "The Further Adventures of Batman" (1989) and "Batman: The Further Adventures of The Joker" (1990), respectively, or their reprints in "Tales of the Batman" (1994) and "Adventures of the Batman" (1995), respectively. All were edited by Martin H. Greenberg.