The Illustrated Roger Zelazny Trade paperback edition

The Illustrated Roger Zelazny

Trade paperback edition

illustrations by Gray Morrow, edited by Byron Preiss

Baronet Publishing, February 1978

I recently looked up the pricing for the February, 1978 trade paperback edition of The Illustrated Roger Zelazny and it's possible still to find copies in good condition for around $20 or less (although the bookjackers at amazon have it listed for exorbitant prices).

My 2011 review of the mass market paperback edition, available here, gives an overview of the contents of the book. I gave the mass market edition a score of 2 of 5 stars because the small sizing of the mass market format simply didn't allow for adequate presentation of the material. 

With this present posting, I hope to provide a better overview of how much better the content looks in the trade paperback edition, with its dimensions of 8 1/2 x 11 inches.

I previously posted the entirety of the 'Jack of Shadows' comic, 'Shadowjack', which is the best of the pieces featured in The Illustrated Roger Zelazny. Shadowjack Part One is here and Part Two is here.

After the passage of 43 (!) years, it's still impressive to see how Byron Preiss (1953 - 2005) enabled his artistic vision for illustrated books with this Zelazny title, at a time when the term 'graphic novel' didn't really exist and the entire concept was a novelty.

Gray Morrow's artwork remains impressive, all the more so when you remember that in 1978, there was no such thing as Photoshop, scanners, or software for layout and composition. The original artwork was pasted onto the page alongside the text sections and photographed to make the negatives used at the printer.

With the exception of 'Shadowjack', I don't believe the stories presented in The Illustrated Roger Zelazny are going to appeal to those who are not New Wave sci-fi fans. 

'A Rose for Ecclesiastes', about a self-absorbed poet who finds fulfillment in discussing Art with a dying race of Martians, may have been innovative when it first appeared in 1963, but nowadays might not gather Likes from anyone other than Zelazny fans. Similarly, I can't see 'The Furies' (1965) and 'The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth' (1965) appealing to audiences outside of those elderly persons who remember the New Wave era.

Summing up, acquiring a copy of The Illustrated Roger Zelazny trade paperback is best recommended for those driven by nostalgia for the New Wave era, and the introduction of new formats for illustrated books, comics, and magazines that came with the 1970s.

Roger Zelazny at the 1985 Necronomicon convention. From Andre Norton's personal album, loaned by Irene Harrison, FANAC, Inc.