Richard Matheson's The Night Creatures

Previously only available in the hardcover limited edition of Bloodlines, Richard Matheson's 1957 screenplay adaptation of I Am Legend (The Night Creatures) is now available in an affordable trade paperback from Gauntlet Press. Visions Deferred is now shipping. You can order your copy through the I Am Legend Archive Store through the link on the right.

It's fascinating to read how Matheson handled the challenge of adapting his seminal novel, as compared to the re-written version filmed as The Last Man on Earth, or the more drastic departues: The Omega Man and the recent I Am Legend. I must admit that certain elements surprised even me as I read the script for the first time.

The cover art, by Harry O. and Christine Morris, beautifully echoes the original 1954 I Am Legend Gold Medal paperback original cover by Stan Meltzoff. I've had the opportunity to examine the art in a larger size and unencumbered by the text and it truly is amazing.

Unfilmed screenplays for The Distributor and Sweethearts and Horrors (also reprinted from prior Gauntlet hardcover volumes) round out the collection, however it goes without saying that the primary reason to pick it up is for the opportunity to read the author's take on his classic I Am Legend.