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WritingPermanent catalogue Work

Winner Take All

Also published as:Sucker!
3textual states10Characters
PublishedJuly 1930Sale amount$80Howard received$80
Genre
Boxing

Introduction

Sucker! First published in Fight Stories volume 6 number 2 Winter 1939-1940. Published under the name Mark Adam. Originally published as Winner Take All in Fight Stories Volume 3 number 2, July 1930. 

Textual states

Shown in a practical developmental order where possible: synopsis/outline, numbered drafts, submission states, then published or posthumous states. This display order does not itself assert exact chronology or textual authority.

Draft 1Winner Take All — Draft 1
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First published as Winner Take AllWinner Take All
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Republished as Sucker!Sucker!
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Characters in this Work

Counts are across exact Textual Versions currently represented. Additional textual research may add further appearances.

Bill O’Brienrangy Irish Sea Girl sailor and Steve Costigan’s close friend/second1 textual stateHeinie Steinmanfight-arena owner/promoter/referee1 textual stateJerry Rourkeowner/bartender of the American Bar who keeps Mike temporarily1 textual stateJoan WellsAmerican dancer/con artist who dupes Steve and Bill1 textual stateMikeSteve Costigan’s white bulldog and constant animal companion1 textual statePanther Cortezdangerous Water Snake boxer1 textual stateSea Girlmerchant ship associated with Sailor Steve Costigan1 textual stateSteve Costigansailor-boxer brought in to face Snake Wamberson in The Trail of the Snake1 textual stateTo YingNo Sen Tong figure whom Joan claims is pursuing her1 textual stateWater SnakeBritish vessel with a shady reputation; later name form appears as Water-snake1 textual state

Publication appearances

Fight Stories - July 1930Fight Stories, Inc. (Fiction House)July 1930↗Fight Stories - Winter 1939/1940Fight Stories, Inc. (Fiction House)Winter 1939/1940↗Steve CostiganNeONovember 1986↗Robert E. Howard's Fight Magazine #1Necronomicon PressMarch 1990↗Железный кулак (Zheleznyj kulak) (Iron Fist) P ublication information courtesy of the Russian website Laboratory of Fantasy .Северо-Запад (Severo-Zapad) (North-West)1998↗Cобрания Cочинений Том 3. Честь корабля (Cobraniia Cochinenii Tom 3. Chest- korablia) (Collected Works Volume 3. Honor of the Ship) Cover and p ublication information courtesy of the Russian website Laboratory of Fantasy .Терра — Книжный клуб (Terra - Book Club) Северо-Запад (Severo-Zapad) (North-West)2003↗Waterfront Fists and OthersWildside PressMay 2003 (hardcover); December 2004 (trade paperback)↗Waterfront Fists, and Winner Take AllDodo PressFebruary 2008↗The Battles of Sailor Steve CostiganFrancis DiPietroAugust 2008↗The Collected Boxing Stories of Robert E. HowardHalcyon Press, Ltd.December 2009↗The Robert E. Howard Omnibus: 99 Collected StoriesHalcyon Press, Ltd.May 2010↗Fists of Foolishness: The Tales of Sea-Faring Boxing Champ Steve CostiganNuelow GamesOctober 2011↗The Sailor Steve Costigan StoriesJame-BooksAugust 2012↗Robert E. Howard's Collected WorksJame-BooksFebruary 2013↗Fists of Iron Round 2REH Foundation PressFebruary 2014↗Robert E. Howard's Sailor Steve CostiganPulp-Lit Press & Audible AudioJuly 2019↗Стальной кулак (Stal-noi kulak) (Iron Fist) Cover and publication information courtesy of the Russian website Laboratory of Fantasy.Подсолнухи (Sunflowers)2020↗Steve Costigan. Chi Trova Un'Amica, Trova Un Cazzotto (Steve Costigan. He Who Finds a Friend, Finds a Punch)Providence PressSeptember 2025↗Steve Costigan. Chi Trova Un'Amica, Trova Un Cazzotto (Steve Costigan. He Who Finds a Friend, Finds a Punch)Providence PressOctober 2025↗Fists of Iron Round Two - UEREH Foundation PressApril 2026↗