Philip Jose Farmer's The Image of the Beast

Philip Jose Farmer's The Image of the Beast

adapted by 'Grisly,' Last Gasp, 1979

 

 

Here's a real Underground Comix oddity......an adaptation of Philip Jose Farmer's pornographic novel, 'Image of the Beast' (1968). The first printing of this adaptation was issued by Last Gasp in 1973, and copies are quite rare. This second printing, with expanded pages, was issued as a 32-page, black-and-white comic in 1979.

The artist, according to the Last Gasp website, was Tim Boxell, who used the pseudonym 'Grisly.'

For those unfamiliar with the original novel, my review is available here.

Needless to say, the explicit sex and violence in 'Image' is best served by an 'Adults Only' comic..........

 

Boxell's adaptation suffers from trying to compress the novel's plot into the confines of a 32-page comic. As a result, panels are cramped and often overburdened by text.

 

Keeping in mind that in the 1970s, comix were obliged to use lower-resolution paper and printing processes, Boxell's artwork is necessary and sufficient in terms of rendering the 'gothic' atmosphere of the novel. 

In many ways, Boxell's art and composition prefigure the styles that would appear in the black-and-white 'outlaw' comics that flourished in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s: Gore Shriek, Verotika, Faust, etc.

Summing things up, if you're a fan of Farmer's 'erotic' novels or comix, then this adaptation may be worth getting. I found my copy for $5, so affordable copies can be had with a bit of searching.