.

Harriet Adams died in 1982, and the remaining Syndicate partners sold out to Simon & Schuster in 1984. The last Digest overseen by the Syndicate was #83, Swamp Monster.

The series was halted in 1986 for a year or so as Simon & Schuster researched into what to do with the series. This "thinking period" produced the Casefiles and toned down the Digests, which had become more like the future Casefiles series for the last few volumes.

The series contains one of the most ludicrous stories in HB history, The Skyfire Puzzle, in which the Boys go into space. Modern-day Disappearing Floor?

Because the initial Digests were still produced by the Syndicate, author records for early volumes are available through the NYPL Archives. The authors of a few later volumes have been 'sleuthed out' by enthusiasts.

Known Ghostwriters:
James Duncan Lawrence: 59, 60, 62, 67, 74, 82
Vincent Buranelli: 61, 63-65, 71, 75, 77, 80
Richard Deming: 66
Conrad Fuchs: 68
Laurence Swinburne: 69, 73, 76
Karl Herr III: 70, 72, 78, 79, 81
Neal Barrett, Jr.: 83, 85

Volumes through 88 had two or three different cover illustrations. In the list of illustrators below, "b," or "c," refers to the second or third art for that book. As a general rule, b arts were Wanderer and c arts were Minstrel.

Illustrators
George Gaadt: 59a, 60a, 61a, 62a, 63a, 64a
Steven Assel: 65a, 66a, 67a, 68a, 69a, 70a, 71a, 72a
Derek James: 73a, 74a, 75a, 76a, 77a, 78a, 79a, 80a, 81a, 82a
Richard Williams: 59b, 62b, 68b, 70b, 83a, 84a, 85a
Mark Skolsky: 63b, 72b, 75b, 76b, 77b, 86a, 87a
Paul Bachem: 59c, 60b, 61b, 62c, 64b, 65c, 67c, 68c, 69b, 70c, 71c, 72c, 73b, 74b, 75c, 76c, 78c, 79c, 80c, 82c, 83b, 84b, 85b, 86b, 88a, 89-112
Daniel Horne: 66c, 77c, 87b, 88b, 113-123
Gary Ruddell: 67b
Gary Lang: 65b, 66b, 71b, 78b, 79b, 80b, 81b, 82b
Brian Kotsky: 124, 134, 135
Vince Natalie: 125-133
Lee MacLeod: 136-143
John Youssi: 144-154
Broeck Steadman: 155-157
Bill Schmidt: 158-160
Jeff Walker: 161-186
Jonathan Carlson: Collector's Edition 3-in-1.

Some collectibles from this series include:

• Volume 58 (G&D) with the plug for Night of the Werewolf.
• Volumes 59-85 Wanderer format A Hardcover DJ editions.
• Scholastic version of volume 59.
• Volume 95 in the hardcover, Just For Boys edition.
• Volume 64 audiobook.
• Gift Sets containing 3 [Wanderer] or 5 [Minstrel] volumes. For more info on gift sets, see the Misc. section.

Digest Formats
#1 - Volumes 59-82 Wanderer Also used for hardback dust jacket versions. 1st Minstrel printings of 60 and 69 use this format.	#2 -  Volume 83 Wanderer Paperback and hardback. Also used on Be a Detective.	#3 - Volumes Wanderer and Minstrel Various books ending with 87. 84, 85 Wanderer Hardback DJ
.
#4 - Volumes 59-135 Minstrel omit 81. (Same as format 3 except spine and cover border are one color, not fading into two like #3, and the cover title box is smaller. Different publishing imprint.)	#5 - Volumes 136-160 Minstrel 140, 152 reprinted in Aladdin, taller editions. 141 evidently reprinted in blue spine Aladdin. 160 reprinted in Minstrel, taller edition.	#6 - Volumes 161-Now Aladdin 161-172 in tan Aladdin spines. 161/2, 165-170, 173-Now in blue Aladdin spines. (No people on these covers.)