Stiletto through the end of the 19th century, particularly in France, Corsica, and Italy. While still used as a weapon of surprise and assassination, the use of stiletto in preference to the dagger in close combat confrontations between adversaries became widespread throughout Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica. The continued popularity of the stiletto in the Kingdom of Sicily resulted in the development of the "scherma di stiletto siciliano" (Sicilian school of stiletto fighting). A person skilled in the use of a stiletto would thrust the knife deep into the victim, then twist the blade sharply in various directions before retracting it, causing
The Black Stiletto the vigilante's image and mystique was exploited by the media in comics, films, and action figures. "Who was the Black Stiletto?" became a catch-question like "Who shot JFK?" "The Black Stiletto" was released in the US on 5 September 2011. As part of the promotional process for the novel, a free downloadable teaser short story, "The Black Stiletto's Autograph" was made available on the official website. Reviewing "The Black Stiletto", academic Dr Wesley Britton noted that "verisimilitude is one strength of what could have been just a comic-book romp without pictures" and that because of this, the novel was "a