Richard Matheson's I Am Legend - A Field Guide to the Science Fiction Book Club Editions

One of the most common questions I get through The I Am Legend Archive is, "How can I tell if my hardcover book club copy of I Am Legend is a first edition."

The Science Fiction Book Club edition has been the source of much confusion throughout the years. First off, it's dated 1954, the year of the Gold Medal paperback original was released, and the publisher is listed as Nelson Doubleday. The first world hardcover edition of I Am Legend was published in 1970 by Walker & Company. The book club edition didn't debut until March 1980 as part of a series of science-fiction classics with matching designs and cover illustrations by Tony Gleeson.

After 25 years of collecting more than 100 editions of I Am Legend from around the world, I think I have solved the riddle of how to identify a 'first edition' of the book club edition.

I have three distinct binding variations of the book in the archive. If you have or are aware of any others, please contact me so I can incorporate that information on the site. 

The Black and Gold Edition 

• 1/4 bound in black faux-leather with black paper boards. 
• Gold lettering on the spine (I Am Legend - MATHESON - the only version that matches the lettering on the dust jacket spine).
• Evenly cut pages. 
• Pages 75 and 77 have no markings on the lower page gutter. 

The black and gold edition on the right is the only one with evenly cut page edges.

Due to the elaborate binding, and in the absence of the printing artifacts present on the other editions, my opinion is that the black and gold edition is the first book club edition.

The Red Edition

• Bound in red faux-leather boards. 
• Orange lettering on the spine (I Am Legend - RICHARD MATHESON). 
• Deckled edge page cut. 
• Page 75 and 77 have a black bar on the lower page gutter that would remain in subsequent editions. 
• This edition has no number on the back of the dust jacket—it has 3684 on the inner back flap.

The Blue Edition

• Bound in blue paper boards.
• Black lettering on the spine (I Am Legend - RICHARD MATHESON).  
• Deckled edge page cut. 
• Page 75 and 77 have a black bar on the lower page gutter. 

My copy was purchased directly from the SFBC when offered late in the 90s, so I know that this represents the final run that they offered.

Thanks to reader William Thompson, you can check the date of your edition using the SFBC gutter codes. The first (black) edition and last few years of the blue editions don't have a gutter code, but if you check in the gutter of page 150, you can cross reference against the list on this page to determine the year of your printing. 

New Year - New Books!

I Am Legend aficionados are well aware of the publications from Gauntlet Press (including the 40th Anniversary limited edition of I Am Legend, Bloodlines, and Visions Deferred).

Gauntlet has announced their publication slate for 2012, which includes a new autobiographical novel (Generations) and a new edition of Matheson's I Am Legend screenplay, titled Richard Matheson's Censored and Unproduced I Am Legend Screenplay, to be released this summer.

I confirmed with publisher Barry Hoffman that the book will include material previously published in Bloodlines and Visions Deferred. As soon as the cover art is available I will post it here.

Official I Am Legend eBook

I Am Legend is officially available as an eBook from Rosetta Books (along with several other Matheson titles, including a new collection with an unpublished short story, "Backteria" and a collection of Matheson's song lyrics titled (appropriately enough) "Lyrics"), so I had to buy a copy to 'officially' have it in the I Am Legend Archive.

Get it for your iOS device, or through Amazon for your Kindle.

Steve Johnson XFX I Am Legend Make Up Test

Following up on my post featuring the Kerry Gammill production art, Steve Johnson XFX has recently uploaded some 'hemocyte' Make Up Test footage on YouTube.

While it seems like it would have worked better than the almost cartoonish CGI we were treated to in the Will Smith/Francis Lawrence film, I still contend that the biggest mistake the filmmakers made was changing the creatures from being recognizable humans (i.e. Neville's neighbors).

That's my opinion, anyway. What do you think?

Last Call: I Am Legend Movie Tie-In Trade Paperback

Now's your chance if you want to pick up a copy of the I Am Legend movie tie-in trade paperback before they're all gone at only $5.98—a 63% savings! Or, it looks like you can grab the last of the Orb editions for only $5.47. Amazon indicates they're down to only 10 copies of that, and I'm hoping that the next time they have the book in stock, it will feature a new cover (I assume the one they are using for the mass market edition). Stock up now and save!

Illustrating I Am Legend: Jim Thiesen

I first became aware of artist Jim Thiesen in 1995 when he painted the cover to TOR Books' first publication of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. I immediately fell in love with the cover, which I felt managed to capture the epic scope of Matheson's novel. I purchased the original art, and discovered that I was already familiar with a great deal of Thiesen's other art by sight, if not by name. I thought it as about time someone sat down to find out a little bit more about this artist who has provided artwork for such high profile writers as Stephen King, Brian Lumley, and Thomas Harris.

 

IAL Archive: Were you aware of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend before you got the cover assignment?

Jim Thiesen: No, I was not familiar with the book.  The art director told me it was about vampires—lots of vampires!

IAL: What was your vision for the cover art? Were you pleased with the results? I'm of the opinion that it in many ways it's the best thematic representation of the novel of all the cover art that has been used.

JT: I wanted to create lots of vampires, but I wanted them to flow like one continuous entity. I wanted to give them a kind of H.R.Giger-like feeling. I appreciate your appreciation of the piece. But as with most of my work, I would like to keep working on it. 

IAL: Were you aware when Tor digitally manipulated the art for their Orb trade paperback? What are your thoughts on that versus your original painting?

JT: I was not aware of any of the things that TOR was doing with my work—and not compensating me for, which by law they are supposed to do.  As you know, last year I found out about quite a few of the things that TOR has been doing illegally with my art. Obviously I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy about not getting paid, nor with the way they have manipulated my work. Unfortunately prosecuting them would not be financially worthwhile.

IAL: That revised artwork (cropped - perhaps to remove a vampire baby, blurred, and one foreground head relocated) has gone on to be used in several countries around the world, second only to the Will Smith movie tie-in art. How does it feel to have your art (albeit in an altered form) seen by millions of readers around the globe?

JT: The art has changed so much it hardly feels like mine anymore.

2011 Post Script:
A new edition of I Am Legend is forthcoming from TOR, and if the cover shown in a recent Richard Matheson interview in Fangoria is accurate, it restores Jim Thiesen's original art, cropped to remove the horizon, and it appears once again manipulated to remove the baby.

Check out my full interview with Jim Thiesen, including an extensive gallery of his art.

Have You Seen This Book!

The latest issue of Fangoria (#301) has a new interview with Richard Matheson, and one of the supporting illustrations (on page 44) appears to be a new paperback cover from Tor Books.

If this is in fact the latest edition of the book from Tor, what's particularly interesting is that for the first time since 1995, they have reverted to Jim Thiesen's original cover art (albeit cropped to elimiate the horizon), rather than the photoshopped version that has been used internationally in the interim. Unfortunately, if this image is accurate, it appears that the painting has been manipulated yet again to remove the baby which would be in the second row - between the two female vampires.

If you happen to see this new cover in the store, please drop me a line (john [at] iamlegendarchive.com) or feel free to post a comment here, so I know it is in fact for real.

And while you're at it, if you happen to see a physical copy of the Steve Niles comic adaptation with the following cover, please let me know that as well!