What is Hardboiled?

Some of you may not be familiar with the term hardboiled. Here are some the answers to that:

• A John Woo movie starring Chow Yun Fat
• A magazine published by Gary Lovisi/Gryphon Books out of Brooklyn
• A way to cook an egg
• A kind of popular fiction

There's a lot to say about this last bullet, but I am too damned tired to say it now. I just figured I'd broach the subject.