tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.comments2022-05-11T14:59:25.993-07:00The I Am Legend ArchiveJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756902860221179061noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-40948087573520670912022-05-11T14:59:25.993-07:002022-05-11T14:59:25.993-07:00We still make it to the show every year (pandemic ...We still make it to the show every year (pandemic notwithstanding!) — though in the last few years we've been setting up to sell our (CimarronStreetBooks.com) wares, so not nearly enough time to make it around the show proper! I will definitely stop by and say hello next year!John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800985021534562914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-67192109372331067302022-05-11T14:37:52.273-07:002022-05-11T14:37:52.273-07:00Thanks for the splendid memories! You'll have ...Thanks for the splendid memories! You'll have to come by the paperback show again in future years, we are still going strong. It's funny, but after all these years and (literally) a thousand illustrations, IAL is still the item I'm most asked to sign and probably best known for. Go figure. Yeah, the SFBC's economical method (their prime directive of "non-interference" with the original galleys?) info has often resulted in misidentification.WestcoastTonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03211812190018346368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-45567437804633886772022-05-11T14:28:11.982-07:002022-05-11T14:28:11.982-07:00Thanks for providing that additional confirmation,...Thanks for providing that additional confirmation, Tony! The book will forever be referred to as a 1954 Doubleday edition in the absence of any other details in the book itself. After years of searching for a copy of the SFBC 'Things to Come' issue in which this was first offered, I have to admit that I was disappointed that they didn't show off all of your covers for this series of sci-fi classics. I've got one of your signed and numbered prints of the cover art in the Archives, and have a sketch of Neville you did for me in one my copies at the L.A. Paperback shows year ago.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800985021534562914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-51172577438463385332022-05-11T14:17:42.722-07:002022-05-11T14:17:42.722-07:00As the cover artist for the Doubleday edition, per...As the cover artist for the Doubleday edition, perhaps I can shed some light on the question of its publication date. The SFBC seems to have simply reprinted from the galleys of an older edition-- they did this with several books for which I did the covers, notably Theodore Sturgeon's "Golden Helix"-- without revising any copyright or publication information inside and simply adding a new cover. I did the artwork in late 1979 and the book was published in 1980.WestcoastTonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03211812190018346368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-73547053543797471322022-01-02T14:19:06.071-08:002022-01-02T14:19:06.071-08:00It is funny, in 2022, one of the 22 things I wante...It is funny, in 2022, one of the 22 things I wanted to do was write to authors of books I read this year. Well, the first book ironically enough was "I Am Legend." The author has been dead since 2013, but when I first got the book on Kindle, I didn't even think of that, I just wanted to see how the book version of the Will Smith flick would read. The tale did not disappoint my taste for the look into what the other post called a fear/wish fullfillment. Thank you for having this site so that although I cannot write the author, I can at least leave my comment out there in the universe. Jessica Garberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02547601567210863772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-56655160363537152752019-08-10T22:54:11.974-07:002019-08-10T22:54:11.974-07:00Doesn't Heston's character in "The Om...Doesn't Heston's character in "The Omega Man" make fun of the people in the "Woodstock" footage? Deride the whole hippie culture, especially Michael Lang? That was my memory of "The Omega Man" but the clips I just saw on youtube were the opposite of that. A reply would be appreciated.<br /><br />I'll never stop despising Heston for his part in the NRA's rise. But he does come off in this interview as a friendly guy; I liked that he asked for the interviewer's opinions.<br /><br />elvisbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09516275033437042659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-48624855954938744782018-10-24T15:37:21.827-07:002018-10-24T15:37:21.827-07:00The linked article has moved to this URL: https://...The linked article has moved to this URL: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-walk-of-the-worlds/Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02146850597500409930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-88800907724294108372017-11-09T13:18:36.158-08:002017-11-09T13:18:36.158-08:00Thanks a million for your terrific website!
I vivi...Thanks a million for your terrific website!<br />I vividly recall the cloudy day in early spring of 1964 when I was thrilled to discover the Bantam Books edition of I Am Legend on the rack of the small grocery store behind my grammar school. I had never heard of it before, nor had any clue that a movie based on it had just been released. At the time was a Poe and Bradbury devotee.<br />On my way home I could not resist starting to read it, so had to find a place in a small park to sit down as I became further drawn into the narrative - which read so much like one of my own childhood fantasies: the last survivor of the inexplicable overnight disappearance of everyone else around (I still love that one!). But, as I was lost in Matheson-land, an older kid came along and just had to butt in, asking what I was reading. Reluctantly I hand the book over to him. He scans the covers, starts to read it, then will not let go. After a few minutes he simply hands me some money and dismisses me. <br />To this day I regret not fighting for my copy - even though I promptly bought another one.<br />But, then again, maybe the fact that such an unusual (for me) incident as that only helped to enhance my memory of being introduced to Richard Matheson and one of his many wonderful creations was more than worth the small humiliation.<br />As the years passed, I kept hoping for a true movie adaptation - though I am sort of fond of the rather dopey AIP, which popped up on NY TV early one morning around 50 years ago. Otherwise, I suppose that the only genuine version of this story will remain in its peculiar time and place, where it belongs - and a superb illustration of a universal fear/wish fulfillment.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14722873041900301008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-47925620350857246592016-12-28T22:48:54.489-08:002016-12-28T22:48:54.489-08:00It just goes to show that critics don't always...It just goes to show that critics don't always get it right. Sometimes great works will outlive the negative criticism that they get. Sometimes they don't of course, lookit Richard Shaver, but on the whole, sometimes history is on the side of the author. Writers like Spillane, Lovecraft, Howard, Matheson, and others have outlived their critics, while so many critical darlings have faded into obscurity. Rarely does an author manage to influence so many medium as Matheson did. Good work reprinting this review.Mark Louis Baumgarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10231053102525178782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-54170023006823865932016-12-08T15:36:09.189-08:002016-12-08T15:36:09.189-08:00Thanks for commenting, Jordan. Yes, years ago I he...Thanks for commenting, Jordan. Yes, years ago I heard about Damon Knight's comments on Matheson, so I sought out "In Search of Wonder" to read them first hand. I don't think Knight could have imagined just how influential Matheson's novel would be, despite its scientific shortcomings. <br /><br />In case you missed it, I also posted what I believe to be the novel's first published review from Fantasy & Science Fiction: https://iamlegendarchive.blogspot.com/2010/10/first-review-of-i-am-legend.htmlJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16831824040930307613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-45306214218331076112016-12-08T15:09:31.155-08:002016-12-08T15:09:31.155-08:00Thanks for sharing this. So many of the early revi...Thanks for sharing this. So many of the early reviews of the book seem caustic and overly negative. I can remember encountering Damon Knight's scathing review in "In Search of Wonder" (a highly overrated book in my opinion). I suppose the problem is that the novel was reviewed as a science fiction novel. Very happy the reputation of I am Legend has far outlasted the negative attitude put forth in these early reviews. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-5912360267575633542016-10-02T08:19:35.854-07:002016-10-02T08:19:35.854-07:00Thank for this great interview---lots to digest he...Thank for this great interview---lots to digest here...Eleni Phufas-Jousmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05892097421893621417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-88118661674558986632016-04-06T08:13:10.108-07:002016-04-06T08:13:10.108-07:00Very cool find!Very cool find!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00154978357567452260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-73597767480223789712015-02-25T21:49:09.858-08:002015-02-25T21:49:09.858-08:00That's a great story, daddyoyo. Thanks for sha...That's a great story, daddyoyo. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to have to finally make a pilgrimage down to those few blocks of Cimarron.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-77955128666985248332015-02-23T14:06:52.607-08:002015-02-23T14:06:52.607-08:00I had a very cool introduction to this book. When ...I had a very cool introduction to this book. When I was 13 in 1962, my family moved to Gardena from Compton just before I started at Junipero Serra High School. I had a strong interest in science fiction by then and picked up a copy of I Am Legend. Imagine how I felt when I read the passage where he turns off of Compton Blvd (now Marine Ave) onto Cimarron, sees the vampires at his house, drives through them and continues around the corner a short block to Haas and then right again on 152nd to Cimarron. Our house was right at the corner of Haas and 152nd. Now, this was 8 years after he wrote it, so I don't know if he was still there, but there's no question that his house must have been just a block over, Cimarron between 152nd and 154th. It was a real kick at the time.daddyoyohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01694802874831650381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-57016641523862473412012-07-04T02:48:40.330-07:002012-07-04T02:48:40.330-07:00Wow. Someone who loves this book more than me. J...Wow. Someone who loves this book more than me. Just found your blog whilst researching something for my own. I'll be back later to check out the archives :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-20381123256672323892012-04-28T22:57:40.339-07:002012-04-28T22:57:40.339-07:00Congratulations, Mr. Matheson! That's some pre...Congratulations, Mr. Matheson! That's some pretty stiff competition! http://bit.ly/_i_am_legendGinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05685757005183224626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-6845259318535151122012-04-09T19:43:33.069-07:002012-04-09T19:43:33.069-07:00Your site is a compliment to Richard Matheson'...Your site is a compliment to Richard Matheson's novelette. Kudosdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11432646890950821604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-85759436767525130832011-08-03T19:38:25.642-07:002011-08-03T19:38:25.642-07:00Thanks for the help, definitely going to buy it no...Thanks for the help, definitely going to buy it now.BLOOD BATHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01267179856720807961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-84475816110008688872011-08-02T15:27:57.705-07:002011-08-02T15:27:57.705-07:00Hey Blood Bath -
I can confirm it's the orig...Hey Blood Bath - <br /><br />I can confirm it's the original novel. There's actually never been a tie-in that wasn't just a repackaging of Matheon's original novel. Both the Omega Man cover from Berkeley Medallion and the Will Smith cover are the real deal.<br /><br />One thing to note - the Kindle version does not contain the additional stories in the current TOR paperback editions.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-60343463492441693132011-08-02T14:56:21.459-07:002011-08-02T14:56:21.459-07:00I'd like to buy this for kindle but as usual w...I'd like to buy this for kindle but as usual with kindle books it has no real information on what version it is, no page length or whether or not its a tie in. I'm hoping to get another original and would love to know not only which version it is but what the main difference is.BLOOD BATHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01267179856720807961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-76262470370594554192011-03-02T13:52:02.930-08:002011-03-02T13:52:02.930-08:00Thanks Steph -
The 1954 Gold Medal paperback was...Thanks Steph - <br /><br />The 1954 Gold Medal paperback was in fact the first edition. One more but of trivia - it was the first science-fiction novel published by Gold Medal.<br /><br />I do have a couple of copies of the first edition paperback. You can check it out here:<br /><br />http://iamlegendarchive.blogspot.com/search/label/Gold%20Medal%20417John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-13417062634309359492011-03-02T12:56:25.795-08:002011-03-02T12:56:25.795-08:00Impressive collection! But what was the very FIRST...Impressive collection! But what was the very FIRST book that was ever released, it could not be the Gold medal book could it? They wold not have know it was a gold medal book! Do you have it? I am curious to see a picture of it...and maybe try and find it myself...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04423053689459084094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-52565587704229552232011-02-26T10:16:45.726-08:002011-02-26T10:16:45.726-08:00Greg Cox, Matheson's editor at TOR, was kind e...Greg Cox, Matheson's editor at TOR, was kind enough to confirm that the license on the movie edition is running out, and that we will soon see a new edition. Keep your eyes peeled, and if you don't see it here first, please shoot me an email to let me know it's out there!John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578392407581719074.post-32314291020746130712010-11-04T08:46:32.956-07:002010-11-04T08:46:32.956-07:00Hi John,
I'm teaching an online course on th...Hi John, <br /><br />I'm teaching an online course on the vampire novel, and I noticed that you commented on one of my student's blogs. <br /><br />http://slarsonnovel.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-am-legend-pt-2-online-artifact.html<br /><br />I would love it if you could join in our conversation this week if you have time. The central website for the class is here at<br /><br />http://thevampirenovel.blogspot.com/<br /><br />There you can find links to my students' pages and our discussion forums. If you go to Forum A or B you'll be able to post and comment.<br /><br />I know this student was very excited to see someone out in the "ether" post on her blog. Thank you for taking the time to do that!<br /><br />ColleenColleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05334034737315460983noreply@blogger.com