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Illustrated Harlan Ellison
The Authorized Full-Color Book Of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Collection of stories by Harlan Ellison including CROATOAN, RIDING THE DARK TRAIN OUT, DEEPER THAN THE DARKNESS, "REPENT HARLEQUIN!" SAID THE TICKTOCKMAN, THE DISCARDED, SHATTERED LIKE A GLASS GOBLIN, and I'M LOOKING FOR KADAK. 3-D glasses included. First edition.
83 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Harlan Ellison
1,078 books2,978 followersHarlan Jay Ellison (1934-2018) was a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism.
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 2, 2012
This is a bit of a novelty in the Ellison bibliography. The first edition is a limited press of 3000, ALL signed and numbered by the author. Ellison once quipped that he has no idea how he managed to sign all 3000 in one sitting. There are seven stories each illustrated by a different artist. While Ellison's fiction is graphic enough without illustrations, the artists involved do a masterful job in catching the nuances of the tales. Illustrators include William Stout, the Dillons, and Steranko who does a dynamite 3D rendition of ""Repent Harlequin' Said the Ticktockman" complete with 3d glasses. I suspect the real rarity of this edition are the copies that still have the 3D glasses attached. But the big surprise is a non-science fiction/non-supernatural tale called "Riding the Dark Train Out" with stunning illustrations by Ralph Reese. This is one of those books for the Ellison collector who has everything. Not essential on its own but great eye candy with good stories.
June 8, 2017
This is a lovely collection of Ellison stories, masterfully illustrated by some of the most talented artists of the day. Some of the highlights are: Shattered Like a Glass Goblin, illustrated by William Stout; Deeper Than the Darkness, illustrated by Wayne McLoughlin; and Croatoan illustrated by Sutton, Alcala, and Oliff. There's also some very nice work by Leo and Diane Dilllon, and my favorite piece is "Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman illustrated in real 3D by the legendary Steranko. (The book had a pair of 3D glasses included with each copy!) This is definitely a volume that someone should bring back to print for new generation.
March 3, 2022
[note: this review was rejected by amazon.com for violating their Community Guidelines ]
‘The Illustrated Harlan Ellison’ (1978) was one of several trade paperbacks, in a groundbreaking graphic format, released by Baronet Publishers in the late 1970s under the auspices of ‘Byron Preiss Visual Publications’.
The other volumes were ‘The Illustrated Roger Zelazny’, 1978; and ‘Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination, Volume One: The Graphic Story Adaptation’, 1979.
Being long out of print, copies of ‘The Illustrated Harlan Ellison’ can have high asking prices from online vendors. If you do decide to invest in a copy, MAKE SURE you are getting the TRADE PAPERBACK published by Baronet, and NOT the abridged mass market edition issued by Ace Books in 1980 !
As indicated on the back cover of the book, ‘Ellison’ featured 8 chapters / sections. Some of these were traditional comics, and some had been excerpted in early issues of Heavy Metal magazine: ‘Croatoan’, ‘The Discarded’, and ‘Shattered Like a Glass Goblin’. Other chapters were text stories with accompanying illustrations: ‘Deeper Than Darkness’, ‘Riding the Dark Train Out’, ‘I’m Looking For Kadak’.
There is a brief portfolio of paintings by Leo and Diane Dillon, Ellison's favorite artists.
The chapter devoted to an illustrated version of ‘“Repent, Harlequin !”, Said the Ticktockman’ is unusual in that Jim Steranko provided 3-D images, which the reader viewed with the aid of a pair of crude spectacles, with red and blue cellophane lenses, which were inserted into the book’s binding much like a detachable subscription renewal card.
The 3-D effects genuinely work, and are another example of Steranko’s genius as an artist and designer.
I do recommend that you go online spend $10 for plastic 3-D eyeglasses, as they are much superior to the free cardboard glasses incorporated into the book.
By and large the contents of ‘Ellison’ will appeal to fans of that author’s work. The ‘Croatoan’, ‘Discarded’, and ‘Glass Goblin’ pieces are outstanding, and ‘Dark Train’ also stands out.
The only real dud in this collection is ‘Kadak', which comes across as a too-contrived effort by Ellison to recover his Jewish Roots by working up a humorous fable heavily littered with Yiddish words and phrases.
Summing up, it’s still possible to get copies of this vintage treasure for prices under $30. If you are an Ellison fan, you’ll want to act sooner, rather than later.
‘The Illustrated Harlan Ellison’ (1978) was one of several trade paperbacks, in a groundbreaking graphic format, released by Baronet Publishers in the late 1970s under the auspices of ‘Byron Preiss Visual Publications’.
The other volumes were ‘The Illustrated Roger Zelazny’, 1978; and ‘Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination, Volume One: The Graphic Story Adaptation’, 1979.
Being long out of print, copies of ‘The Illustrated Harlan Ellison’ can have high asking prices from online vendors. If you do decide to invest in a copy, MAKE SURE you are getting the TRADE PAPERBACK published by Baronet, and NOT the abridged mass market edition issued by Ace Books in 1980 !
As indicated on the back cover of the book, ‘Ellison’ featured 8 chapters / sections. Some of these were traditional comics, and some had been excerpted in early issues of Heavy Metal magazine: ‘Croatoan’, ‘The Discarded’, and ‘Shattered Like a Glass Goblin’. Other chapters were text stories with accompanying illustrations: ‘Deeper Than Darkness’, ‘Riding the Dark Train Out’, ‘I’m Looking For Kadak’.
There is a brief portfolio of paintings by Leo and Diane Dillon, Ellison's favorite artists.
The chapter devoted to an illustrated version of ‘“Repent, Harlequin !”, Said the Ticktockman’ is unusual in that Jim Steranko provided 3-D images, which the reader viewed with the aid of a pair of crude spectacles, with red and blue cellophane lenses, which were inserted into the book’s binding much like a detachable subscription renewal card.
The 3-D effects genuinely work, and are another example of Steranko’s genius as an artist and designer.
I do recommend that you go online spend $10 for plastic 3-D eyeglasses, as they are much superior to the free cardboard glasses incorporated into the book.
By and large the contents of ‘Ellison’ will appeal to fans of that author’s work. The ‘Croatoan’, ‘Discarded’, and ‘Glass Goblin’ pieces are outstanding, and ‘Dark Train’ also stands out.
The only real dud in this collection is ‘Kadak', which comes across as a too-contrived effort by Ellison to recover his Jewish Roots by working up a humorous fable heavily littered with Yiddish words and phrases.
Summing up, it’s still possible to get copies of this vintage treasure for prices under $30. If you are an Ellison fan, you’ll want to act sooner, rather than later.
December 30, 2020
I was a bit disappointed with this one compared to the other collections I've read from this author. Repent Harlequin is his strongest in the bunch and the illustrations throughout the book are excellent and very imaginative. My biggest issue is most of the stories lay the groundwork for larger tales or more interesting endings but generally they fizzle out. Ellison also has this odd fascination with molestation and rape that seems to be included just for the shock value.
I found myself skimming more and more as I reached the end because the descriptions became more nebulous as the stories progressed. One story was so disorganized and and nonsensical it seemed to be a recounted dream rather than an elaborately planned tale. Some might find this kind of kafkaesque storytelling appealing but I don't.
Repent Harlequin is an absolute classic, though.
I found myself skimming more and more as I reached the end because the descriptions became more nebulous as the stories progressed. One story was so disorganized and and nonsensical it seemed to be a recounted dream rather than an elaborately planned tale. Some might find this kind of kafkaesque storytelling appealing but I don't.
Repent Harlequin is an absolute classic, though.
December 29, 2023
Harlan Ellison is presented here with a series of images from many phenomenal talents in the art world - many having worked in comics. Ellison’s stories are ripe for the mental images they invoke anyway but here we see master artists jar even our mental images into a joyously problematic reading and engagement. Ellison once quipped that he was four square for chaos- the art both expands and reels in that chaos, jarring us from our pretenses but also ensuring that our imagination is still drug to the view Ellison has. Varied, but rich - and all compelling in their reading.
June 29, 2018
Posting again in honor of the dead, this is one of my favorite short stories in general. I'd first heard about it in Stephen King's Danse Macabre and searched it out. Every once in a while I dig out this collection just to read this one. You will be missed!
November 27, 2024
A variety of artists provide images that expand on Harlan’s creative stories.
November 1, 2020
"If you haven't read Harlan Ellison, you haven't read." ~ Richard Halasz
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews