Harlan Ellison Books

He's been raging for years. Star trek and outer limits episodes, the short story he claims (with much vigor.) was the basis for the terminator.
He is a man from a bygone age who writes with a passion that is not found today. Some of the best short stories to be found (I have no mouth and I must scream)flow from his pen. A man worthy of a retrospective.
think of that!Gideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do

My first introduction to Harlan Ellison was in a college course called "Alternative Political Futures" where the professor used science fiction to illustrate the concepts that underlie political science. As part of that course, we read many of the great works of science ficition, including Dune, The Left Hand of Darkness, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Ender's Game, and Childhood's End.

By far, however, the most fascinating writer in the course was Harlan Ellison, and we read two of his stories, A Boy and His Dog and Repent Harlenquin Said the Ticktockman. In just a few pages of each of his stories, Ellison creates a believeable world through the use of nimble wordplay and intriguing characters.

Essential Ellison demonstrates Ellison's development over the course of his career and provides a wealth of entertaining stories. Even more than the fiction, however, I enjoyed the autobiographical essays that are interspersed throughout the book. Ellison opens the window to his own personality, and he is character as vivid as any of his fictional creations.

The only reason that I gave four stars instead of the unabashed five star rating is because there are several stories in this 1000+ page tome that did not catch my fancy. That's to be expected, but I struggled through about 200 pages of the overall book. Don't let that deter you - find the stories that resonate with you.

When Harlan Ellison published Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions way back in the mists of the previous century, the speculative fiction community was turned on its ear, not just once but several times. Awards and accolades were heaped upon the participants -- none more so than Harlan himself, who brought the whole thing together. When the promised final volume, The Last Dangerous Visions, failed to materialize for thirty years, accolades turned to puzzlement, accusation, invective, and anger -- almost all of it directed at Harlan, who may or may not be the proper target. I won't enter into that debate (much of it is pointless and silly, not to mention frequently absurd and childish). The only reason I bring up the whole DV mess at all is because, in rereading Essential Ellison, I find that while other writers may have produced stories worthy of inclusion in those volumes, it is Harlan himself who, for all these years, had had the truly dangerous visions. Consider the following stories, all included in this eye-opening retrospective:

* "Lonelyache" -- a dark, mysterious tale of a man at the end of his emotional rope, which wallops you like a chunk of slate;

* Punky and the Yale Men" -- wherein a man tries to relive the violent days of his youth; one of Harlan's most underrated stories;

* "A Prayer For No One's Enemy" -- one of Harlan's most controversial tales, which puts not just anti-Semitism but all racism in its proper perspective;

* "Neither Your Jenny Nor Mine" -- a harrowing story of the days of illegal abortions, absolutely riveting;

* "The Resurgence of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" -- Harlan's best-ever parable about the cannibalistic world of Hollywood;

* "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" -- Harlan's delightful, delicious ode to nonconformity;

* "Jeffty Is Five" -- wistful, haunting, and scary all at once, this story (like Bradbury's "The Playground") shows that eternal youth is not all it's cracked up to be;

* "Mom" --Harlan could've talked Oedipus into leaving home;

* "Alive and Well On a Friendless Voyage" -- existential despair as only Harlan can render it;

* "A Boy and His Dog" -- I usually hate the post-apocalypse genre, but Harlan gets it right on this one;

* "The Deathbird" -- my all-time favorite Ellison story, bar none, a beautifully-constructed parable about God, the Devil, and Man's true place in the universe...

...and this list just barely scratches the surface! I haven't touched upon half of the great work in this retrospective -- such as Harlan's heartfelt, sometimes touching, oftimes scathing nonfiction and essays, or the samples of his wicked sense of humor, his brilliant screenwriting, and his absolute fearlessness and honesty in the face of every sort of mendacity and double-dealing one could imagine.

That said, there are some things missing from this book as well; my short list would include such gems as the brilliant "The Beast Who Shouted Love At the Heart of the World," the chilling "Croatoan," the hysterical "From A to Z, In the Chocolate Alphabet" and "How's the Night Life On Cissalda?" (my nominee for Harlan's funniest-ever story), the thought-provoking "Hitler Painted Roses" and "Lonely Women Are the Vessels of Time", and one of my favorites, the haunting "Demon With a Glass Hand". I understand an updated version of Essential Ellison s coming out soon (soon being relative when talking about Harlan and anthologies, natch), and that it will include some new things, like the stunning "Mefisto In Onyx". I can only hope some of the above stories are included as well -- and while they're at it, here's hoping Harlan and Terry Dowling decide to drop "The Man Who Was Heavily Into Revenge," which is my least-favorite of Harlan's works. It's full of the purple overwriting (some of it bordering on self-parody) which has marred so much of Ray Bradbury's latter-day stories. (Sorry, fellow Harlan fans, but I call 'em like I see 'em!) Harlan has said of Stephen King that King needs a good editor; reading "Revenge" makes me wonder if Unca Harlan shouldn't attend the mote in his own eye first.

That, however, is another subject for another time. (And it's a good thing Harlan eschews computers and the Internet, or I'd be getting one hell of an e-mail from him right about now!) The Essential Ellison is what I'm talking about here, and not only is it a great introduction to Harlan's immense body of classic work, it is also one of the finest collections of writing that any American author, living or dead, has ever produced. Only Mark Twain has written as well, as volubly, and on as many topics as Harlan, and only Twain was better...and I have a feeling that only Harlan will be missed as much, and celebrated as much, over the course of the next century as Twain was over the last. Enjoy him while you can, folks -- because writers like Harlan Ellison come along about once every hundred years, and their dangerous visions are not to be taken lightly.

I've had this book for going on ten years, and rarely is there a month that goes by without me picking it up. Ellison's full range is well represented, from the earliest days up through the classics like 'the Deathbird'. Some of the best Ellison non-fiction and opinion pieces are well represented also. If you've never read Ellison, be prepared to shift your outlook on pretty much everything.
This book and the "Angry Candy" collection would tide me over on a desert island pretty well.

Buy this book. Buy it now.Harlan Ellisn is the difference between writing and storytelling.....like some medieval wanderer with a heart full of magic, Harlan will leave your imagination reeling. These stories are the result of a person with a keen eye for the human soul and a style that far exceeds "expectations"....They may or may not change your life, but they are guaranteed to make your day. Buy it now, while there is still time. Your local bookstore will seem like a third-world newspaper rack when you realize that they probably don't have it, and you will be sorry.

I gave this book as a birthday present to my boyfriend, who is a lover of vintage robots. He was thrilled with the book! Lots of great pictures and interesting bits of information. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys in robots or vintage toys, either as a serious collector or just someone with a general interest.

As the author of ZAP! Ray Gun Classics, I've looked at a LOT of books on vintage space toys and in my opinion this is the very best one. The diversity of items, production values, factual information and other comments are all superb. I return to this book whenever I need a space toy "nostalgia fix" and I always seem to find something new. No vintage space toy collection should be without it.

More than merely a definitive catalogue of the subject, Blast Off is a socio-historical journey. Toys offer provide the prism through which the authors examine fascinating sociological phenomenon. Make no mistake this is the definitive book for this topic, but it becomes a tour de force by examining the history, economics, and sociology implied by these fascinating products from our recent past.

More than merely a definitive catalogue of the subject, Blast Off is a socio-historical journey. Toys offer provide the prism through which the authors examine fascinating sociological phenomenon. Make no mistake this is the definitive book for this topic, but it becomes a tour de force by examining the history, economics, and sociology implied by these fascinating products from our recent past.

Blast Off! is a fun and fascinating read for any fan of science fiction, space toys, or comic books. It's a beautiful coffee table-sized book with sexy images of robots, ray guns, and toys of all types that make you feel nostalgic even if you don't remember these toys from the first time around.

This book offers a history of "in the know" type stories about specific toys and the personalities who created and purchased them. There's the Buck Rogers XZ-31 rocket pistol that led Macy's and Gimbels into their most vicious price war ever, dropping prices by the hour to support the most successful toy promotion the world had ever seen. And there's the collector Bob Lesser who pays double the sticker price to win dealer loyalty. And there's a never-been-published story of the untimely death of Flash Gordon creator Alex Raymond. Plus the authors offer insight into how toys have affected history, entertainment, and the space program.

If you're a fan of Buck Rogers like I am, you should also check out Blast Off! author S. Mark Young's interviews with Erin Grey in Filmfax (Oct/Nov 2002 and Feb/Mar 2003) for a sensitive rendering of a sensational story.

This is an awesome book. I laughed and cried. It's heartbreaking and uplifting. I highly reccommend this for all US citizens - whether you are associated with the military or not. It gives an understanding of what the military members and their families deal with, and who they are.

This book was very moving. I laughed and I cried. There were sad stories and poignant stories and many positive stories. I recommend this book to anyone wanting a real look at how the military and their families feel about going through these deployments. I also recomment it for families going through the deployments now. I have learned a lot about what my son may be going through and may not be willing to share with us right now.

This book really gives you a taste for how it is in Iraq...I think everyone should read it...especially Pres. Bush.

I am a military wife. My young daughter and I survived 12 months while my husband served in Iraq. This book was absolutely amazing. I cannot come up with the words to describe how much this book meant to me. I don't know about other spouses, but no matter how much my husband and I talk, it is not easy for him to communicate his thoughts or feelings on his service in Iraq. It was even difficult for him to describe his life over there when asked directly. I think a lot of it is him trying to protect me, but also, his brain does not work that way. He was there, he did what he had to do as a soldier, end of story. This book brought me insight into my husband. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me sick. It made me angry. It made me happy. It made me joyful. It made me all of these things at the same time. I am so thankful to the organization(whose name escapes me right now) that made this book possible. It is a book that touched my heart and soul. I will never be the same, and I am greatful for that. It is in know way a "light" read. I read it quickly, as I do everything, but because I was hungry to read more, to know more, to feel more. Do not read it without a box of tissues next to you.

I am a NCO in the army and have been to Iraq 4 times and this book sent chills through my bodie many times with the pure honest look at war. Most of the stories are reflections of events that any service member will identifie with. Then there are some events told in this book only a select few will truely grasp. This is a must read if you would like a insight into the mind of a Military member who has been deployed. I cant recomend this book more then just get it read it and prepair to get choked up. I know i did

This is a very black, dark book. This is not a book for kids, nor is it a book for people who haven't read anything by Ellison previously. Harlan Ellison is one of those rare writers that can finish a story so powerfully, that you'll feel like you've been literally stabbed in the heart. Like many of Ellison's short story collections, he deals with a specific theme. In this book, he writes short stories about gods, in all their myriad shapes and forms. Gods of machines, pain, rocks, speed, revenge, among others. Of the 19 stories in this collection, let me tell you what I consider to be the best. THE WHIMPER OF WHIPPED DOGS: Ellison's award-winning retelling of the Kitty Genovese incident. Never heard of Kitty Genovese? Don't worry, after reading this chilling tale, you'll make sure you remember. BASILISK: A traitor to his country comes home and finds that he is not welcome. A little confusing at first, but you'll soon get the hang of it. PRETTY MAGGIE MONEYEYES: Don't let the strange title deceive you. This is Ellison in TOP form. Ever wondered what gods reside at the casinos and what they have in mind. It's not PRETTY, I can assure you. ERNEST AND THE MACHINE GOD: An easy-to-visualize story about a girl in a car-accident and her meetings at a gas station. ADRIFT OFF THE ISLETS OF LANGERHANS . . . : Another award-winning story about a man trying to find the geographical location of his soul. THE DEATHBIRD: Still another award-winner. This one is Ellison's retelling of Genesis. This story has a very innovative structure to it. You'll see what I mean, when you buy this book.

While I typically associate Harlan Ellison with Science Fiction, I'm somewhat hesitant to call all of these stories SciFi... they are more like Twilight Zone episodes. They are 19 short stories that involve individuals getting caught up in all sorts of fantastic situations. While there is a general underlying theme of the stories involving "Gods", I found that the main uniting feature was the fantastic nature of the stories.

Some sample reviews from the collection:

ALONG THE SCENIC ROUTE(1969)***** - Ellison published this tale of "Road Rage" way back in the late 60's. It is definately a classic, and one of the more SciFi-esque stories from this collection. Richard K. Morgan recently tried to do a modern "Road Rage" novel, MARKET FORCES(2005)***, which takes ideas from ALONG THE SCENIC ROUTE, but ultimately falls flat.

O YE OF LITTLE FAITH(1968)**** - A young man of no faith in any god, is accompanying his mid-30's girlfriend back from a quick Tijuana abortion, in this pre-Roe vs. Wade world (Roe vs. Wade was decided in late 1973), and finds himself transported to a world populated by gods nobody believes in any longer.

PRETTY MAGGIE MONEYEYES(1967)*** - A sad story of two people's fateful encounter via a Slot Machine in a Las Vegas Casino. One is a pretty poor girl, who turns to prostitution to claw her way from the ghetto to Beverly Hills; the other is a long-time Vegas loser, who is down to his last dollar, and who's luck is about to change, but is it for the better?

CORPSE(1972)**** - A Latin American Studies professor from Columbia University, a man of some faith in Christianity, begins to see the emergence of a new type of god - the Automobile God, but ultimately fails to realize the inevitability and make the transition to the new faith.

SHATTERED LIKE A GLASS GOBLIN(1969)***** - A Marine, recently back from Vietnam, enters and becomes consumed by the varied pesonalities and drugs in a 60's "Party House"... reminds me of an old house my recently graduated high school buddies rented in San Diego, CA in the 70's (and which was slated to be razed along with the adjacent drive-in theater, to make way for a new shopping center). Like O YE OF LITTLE FAITH, this story is notable for the snapshot it gives of a Beatle's White Album-era America. Indeed, having just said that, I just realized that the title of this story SHATTERED LIKE A GLASS GOBLIN(1969), seems to be a play on the title of the Beatle's White Album song LOOKING THROUGH A GLASS ONION(1968).

This book has recently been republished by the SFBC in December 2005, as part of the third set of books in the SFBC 50th Anniversary Collection.

Harlan presents some stellar stories here about what modern gods might be like in what one would call a pessimistic, cynical outlook. He moves through such milieus as sci-fi, high fantasy and even urban fantasy through this book.

The best stories are very hard-hitting and emotionally affecting. These include The Whimper of Whipped Dogs, a retelling of the Kitty Genovese episode about the alleged god of New York City, The Basilisk, where the most terrifying aspect of the story is how a small town treats a returning POW and Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes where a manipulative woman continues to manipulate even after death. There are some other good stories, such as the road rage tale, though not as emotionally hard-hitting.

The problems in several of the stories stem from an abundance of cleverness. Rather than letting the story take the forefront, Harlan chooses to favor style over substance in an attempt to showcase his virtuoisity in the various methods of writing. This lessened some of his stories for me. He is most successful doing this in the titular tale, The Deathbird, but it was still distracting even there.

A very good collection though, despite the flaws. It is unapologetic and uncomprimising demanding you take the stories on their own terms.

For those fans of Ellison, you will not be disappointed, for those of you not familiar with Ellison, this one will have you hitting the used book stores in a vain hope of finding more fodder for your mind. (Don't bother looking, I already hit every book store myself.) Reading this book is like seeing Mohammed Ali box or Stevie Ray Vaughn play the guitar, you get the feeling of seeing the best at his best. Every story in this collection is a gem, some more than others. "The Whimpering of Whipped Dogs" is a classic in and of itself. "The Deathbird" is the most amazing story ever created by a fantasy writer and I say this with no hyperbole. Go out and get this book . . . NOW! It will change the way you view the world and yourself. Other books make this promise, Deathbird Stories is the only book I've ever read that actually delivers.

I read this book because, in the acknowledgements his wonderful novel "American Gods," neil gaiman said this book burned itself into the back of brain when he was still young enough for something like that to happen.

Well, how can you resist an endorsement like that? So, I raced up to the nearest library that had this book (an hour or so away, I'll have you know) and checked it out. And befoul these modern gods if it didn't blow my mind. At least, parts of it did.

Most of the stories - "the Whimper of Whipped Dogs," "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin," "Basilisk," and "Ernest and the Machine God," just to name a few - are really brilliant. They will twist your mind around like only certain versions of certain myths can. They will smack your conciousness around until you think there really are gods in the engine of your car and that traitors really are the high priests of Aries. They will, as Niel Gaiman says, burn themselves into the back of your brain.

Others, however, are not so brilliant. A few simply repeated ideas put forth in other, better stories. Some were simply not as interesting as the others, and some were both uninteresting and sordid. But please note that "some" could and should be read as "one, two at the outside." The majority are amazing.

On the whole, however, this is a wonderful book. I am shocked and dismayed to find that it it unavailable. I think anybody who is into mythology should read this book, just for some of the ideas expressed in it. So should anyone who read "American Gods" and thought it was cool, too. They should have a good time pointing to certain stories and saying, "Neil Gaiman lifted that, that and that." I recommend this book highly. Even with the few faulty tales herein, it is definately worth the time.

This is a real treat for not only Ellison fans, but any SF fan worth his salt. Features some of the best and worst pieces of fiction by Ellison. It could have been alternatively titled "How I became a writer - Harlan Ellison", for through the pages, we (literally) travel through time and realize how Ellison's writings matured and shaped over the years, from his early teens to the present.

I am not rating or dissecting the actual stories cos that takes half the suspense out of the plots .. Just a line of recommendation: GO BUY IT!

Here it is: 50 years of the splenetic imaginings of Harlan Ellison, who writes like an angel on speed, and doesn't care, God bless him,
if he offends you or not. Read "REPENT HARLEQUIN! Said the Ticktockman,"
and "A Boy and His Dog." Ladies, don't let Ellison's misogynism spook you: you'll be better for having enjoyed the stories of this prolific, disciplined madman.

i ordered this book because i just recently discovered the awesomeness of mr. ellison's work, and i wanted more of it. more is what i got! nobody told me how huge a tome this thing is... it weighs at least 5 pounds and it's as thick as one of those dictionaries you get at the public library! portable it's not, but if you want absolutely as much of ellison you can get for the money, look no further.

I bought this book initially so I'd have a copy of the essay 'Xenogenesis', which scared seven shades of pea soup out of me when I first read it in IASFM. Further perusal gave me a thorough glimpse of the work of an author I'd been skipping, as I considered him a product of the 'second wave' of science fiction/science fiction-influenced authors (first wave involving Heinlein, E. E. 'Doc' Smith, and so on). Good to have been proven so wrong, and now it's a book I'll recommend to those of my friends who see 'Harlan Ellison' and only think 'that guy from Babylon 5'.

For the uninitiated or causal reader, "The Essential Ellison" represents the best compilation of the author's works between two covers. With 1400 + stories under his belt, Harlan Ellison is one of the most prolific writers of any genre of fiction. The amazing thing is that all of them are good. Even better, most of them are great. And better yet, a good number of them are some of the best short stories written in the last fifty years. Though classified as a sci-fi author, Ellison writes fierce and barbed tales about the alienation of the individual in modern life, whether it's the guise of sci-fi, fantasy, or non-genre fiction. With defiant tone, Ellison passionately defends the individual against the impersonal machinations of ridged, authoritarian systems and their apathetic leaders. Unrelenting and sincere, Ellison's prose and characters take a stand for those who can't or won't. "The Essential Ellison" contains most of the author's greatest stories. From the spiritual longing of "Grail" to the utter insanity of "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream"; from the mute hopelessness of "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" to the phantasmagorical absurdity of "Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktock Man"; from the prophetic frustration of "Along the Scenic Route" to the rebellious shriek of "A Boy and His Dog." Mercurial and pointed, purposeful and thought-provoking, Ellison rarely writes for bemusement's sake alone. And like all great authors, the reader leaves a story with more than they started with. So, if you're tired of the same ol' sci-fi/fantasy story of "an ambitious young farm lad who is really of noble birth assembles a cadre of trusted misfit warriors and does battle with the great evil that threatens to envelop the world" rot, then I whole-heartedly suggest you check out the work of Harlan Ellison.

Back in 1990 on a rainy night (or maybe it wasn't) I happened across a book in a bookstore entitled: Puzzles of the Black Widowers. I thought it looked interesting...it was! In fact, it was awesome, and so are any of the Black Widower books you can lay your hands on.

Tales of the Black Widowers
More Tales of the Black Widowers
Casebook of the Black Widowers
Banquets of the Black Widowers
Puzzles of the Black Widowers, and now
The Return of the Black Widowers

Each story follows the same outline. A monthly meeting is held in a private room in an exclusive New York Restaurant. The members take turn bringing a guest. Over dinner a mystery is revealed. The members of the club try to work it out, but in the end, their faithful waiter, Henry, solves the mystery. Does the formula ever get old? Never! These are incredibly well written stories, each one being very different and unique. There are 12 stories per book. This book "The Return" is a posthumous volume. Asimov died in 1992 leaving only 6 unpublished Black Widower stories. These are collected here and grouped with 10 of his all-time classics. Also included are two, paying homage to Asimov. Although the book is paperback, it is larger in size than the standard paperback and a screaming buy at $10.

This was one of my favorite series when I was younger, as I have a thing for short mysteries. The last of the Black Widowers books, this one was a good as any I've read. A must-have for any true Asimov or mystery fan.

Of course I had to buy it! I love Asimov, I love his style and wit. He passed away in 1992, but that only slowed his output without stopping it.

There are 11 stories repeated from previous collections, six stories gathered for the first time, one Black Widower story by someone else, and an hommage to the Black Widowers also by someone else. There's an essay by Asimov and Harlan Ellison's forward.

Ellison's forward is the first thing wrong with the book. Asimov was famous for refusing to have anyone else write introductions to his books. In his story collections he also appended miniature essays to each story, often about how he came to think of a particular plot; obviously these essays are missing here. Further, the two stories by other writers just didn't belong in an Asimov collection, they're intruding. Finally, a few of the last stories were written when Asimov was dying and they are simply no good. I read and enjoyed them for sentimental reasons only; they would disappoint readers new to Asimov or the Black Widowers.

So if you are already a fan of the Good Doctor's fiction, indulge yourself and enjoy. Otherwise, do yourself a favour and pick up another of his 400+ books.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

Being an avid fan of Issac Asimov my whole life, I have read many to most of his fictional works including the casebooks of the Black Widowers. But this particular edition and its highly intense forward by the Doctor's dear friend is the best mystery collection by far. Any Issac Asimov fan will love it as much as I do and any reader of the genre will be highly gratified by the intelligence and plot twists the dear Doctor ingeniously supplies in his stories.

The Return of the Black Widowers


The Return of the Black Widowers (2003) contains:

The Acquisitive Chuckle

Early Sunday Morning

The Obvious Factor

The Iron Gem

To the Barest

Sixty Million Trillion Combinations

The Wrong House


The Redhead

Triple Devil

The Men Who Read Issaac Asimov

And some previously uncollected stories,including:

Northwestward

Yes, But Why

Lost In a Space Warp

Police at the Door

The Haunted Cabin

The Guest's Guest

The Woman in the Bar

The Last Story, by Charles Ardai

And an Afterword on the Birth of the Black Widowers







The Foreword by is by Asimov's Friend Harlan Ellison

If you've enjoyed The Black Widowers before or if you just enjoy a good mystery short story, I highly recommend this book.


Please be advised, it might be hard to put down.

Gunner April,2007

I'd like to point out that the two stories in this book are not all of the Shmoo stories; there were at least a half dozen more.

Pity no one thought to put all of them in a book.

The book does justice to combine two previous books THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE SHMOO and RETURN OF THE SHMOO. Both have been out of print for decades.

Pity about Harlan Ellison's over blown introduction. He can't stick to the subject.

It's good to see this great part of the Li'l Abner comic strip is once again available. I takes me back to when I was 14 and in High School.Not only did Al Capp give us the wonderful Shmoos;but also Sadie Hawkins Day and all the fun we had with that.
This story of the Shmoo came out in the daily Comic Strips but it also was published in Paperbook form in 1948 and 1949.I still have my copy from those days and wrote a review on it on November 27,2007.
It has the title,"The Life and Times of the Shmoo",by Al Capp.
One thing worth mentioning is the high level of artwork that the cartoonists like Al Capp,Walt Kelley and Chester Gould gave us,and it was so good that it still remains the standard for cartoon art to aspire even today.

Grew up reading this series. Now I have a permanent copy of my own. Good price and great product for comics junkies.

When I was 5 I would love to have my father read Pogo, Dagwood and Blondie, and Li'l Abner to me from the daily and Sunday newspapers. When I was 7 years old, I loved reading them by myself and about this time, 1958, the Shmoo became a major theme in the Li'l Abner series. I could not wait for the paper to arrive so I could read the latest adventures of these Shmmos that were so accommodating to meet almost all human needs. Yet even then, at age 7, I began to "get" the message behind the series. This is wonderful social commentary on the limits of capitalism and the limits government will go to ensure that capitalism remains our economic model. However for captitalism to work, there has to be need or the threat of need which creates demand which stimulates supply, and I am sure you know the rest of this formula. If the basic needs of labor are met, they won't work, and thus the costs of labor goes up and the profits go down. Al Capp was brilliant to bring this message into America's homes soon after the McCarthy Anti-American hearings in Washington. Capp, like the Shmoo, is subversive in such a clever endearing entertaining way that when I saw this book I had to re-read the scripts to see what I may have remembered from so many years ago.

The book contains the original Shmoo characters and script from 1948-49 and the return of the Shmoo in 1958. If I was ever to teach High School Seniors in an Economics class, I would have them read this book along with their text, maybe not to strengthen the neurons but to lighten them.

Capp's other Dogpatch hillbilly characters and story lines are also delightful. Li'l Abner, Daisy Mae, Ma and Pa Yokum, and Sadie Hawkings are all here!

This was more amusing that I expected. I hadn't read much of "Li'l Abner" and was surprised. However, I have two objections to this book. First, the original strips seem a bit truncated. Surely, they could have gotten more of the dailies in this book than they did. And second, the awful introduction by Harlan Ellison. He seems to be in love with the sound of his voice and not necessarily a Li'l Abner fan. The Schmoo seems to have been a craze like the "Pet Rock." More information about that and less about Ellison's advertures in New York City would have been welcomed.

Doc savage fans along with fans of bama-art in general will be pleased with this book! being there isnt a whole hell of a lot out there for him, or the mighty doc savage as far as new-releases of things go... great book to add along with the classic pulp and novel collections! neat aurora-model artwork too, a true masterpiece!

I recently recieved my copy of James Bama: American Realist and let me say I'm just floored by this incredible collection by a true master painter. Bama's speciality was book covers, mostly of the mass market paperback variety where his incredible visions of adventure were needed to catch the eye of readers. His technique is flawless, with a realism that elevates his subjects into powerful visions. His mastery of texture and form is particularly impressive.
I knew him only for his iconic portrayal of pulp legend Doc Savage, but there is a whole lot more in this book, covers for westerns, war stories, science fiction and even romance and teen novels.
The highlight for me, of course, was the Doc Savage section, with cover reproductions of every single Bantam Books Doc Savage novel with a James Bama painting. These covers almost cry out READ ME as they are filled with incredibly visions of adventure.
The book ends with a section of Bama's western themed paintings which is what he does nowdays, and these too are fantastic, evoking serene visions of cowboys, indians and wildlife, always with his characteristic realistic style.

When I was very young and saw Bama's book cover to Doc Savage #1, The Man of Bronze, I was mesmerized. The starkness of it, the intensity, the schizoid isolation, the realism . . . in my opinion the story in the book did not live up to the cover, not by a long shot!

Ditto for the rest of Bama's covers, with few exceptions.

Bama's illustrations collected in one volume bowled me over.... He was responsible for so many book covers and illustrations that I remember as a kid in the sixties and seventies. It was a nostalgic look back, but also an incredible appreciation of this artist and his type of art. He was so present in my day-to-day life...posters I hung on my wall, books I read, owned and still own. A beautiful collection.

James Bama is a wonderful artist who dazzled me with his covers for Doc Savage when I was a child. Seeing his massive output in paperback covers and beyond is astonishing. Bama not only painted exciting and dramatic scenes, but his vibrant use of colors is stunning.

This book gives us a plethora of examples of this versatile artists work, while also giving us an insight into his background and history. His real life situations were sometimes as dramatic as the scenes he illustrated on paperbacks and magazines.

The book was a delightful read and well worth purchasing.

I am not a Harlan fan, my husband is. I wanted this for his Christmas, now it's April and no book. I'm curious what the hold up is. Harlan is such a prolific prognosticator I can't imagine what is keeping him from print. I'd love to find out when the book is due. C. Nelson

When they first appeared in the early 1970s, THE GLASS TEAT and THE OTHER GLASS TEAT were instant underground classics. These two books collected the speculative-fiction writer (he'll throw things at you if you call him a science-fiction writer or, God help us, a sci-fi writer) Harlan Ellison's television reviews for the LOS ANGELES FREE PRESS. Ellison's reviews set a new standard for brilliant, savagely funny, mordant criticism of the slop poured onto us over the airwaves by those who think they know what we want to see. In many ways, these reviews invented modern television criticism. Unfortunately, they don't stay around long; they've now appeared three times, from three different publishers, and apparently their first publication (1970-1971) was pulled by a nervous publisher. It's good to see them back in print.

While waiting patiently for this new edition to roll of the presses, I found a copy of "The Other Glass Teat" at my university library. It does not disappoint! Hilarious AND thought provoking, Mr. Ellison knows how to hold our collective faces up to the mirror and show us our own twisted, sad, surreal reality we've created but won't own up to. To top it off these essays are about an EARLIER TV era. Only Harlan can save our souls.

It seems that these two books are destined forever to do battle with their own publication. Due out some months ago, and pre-announced in various publications as available as early as May of this year, once again the Teats seem to somehow struggle with the light of day. My autographed copies of the Popular Library editions from the late '70s must continue to wait for this newest version before being put happily and hermetically to rest once and for all. In the meantime, they serve as reminder fair and foul, proud and profane, incorrigible and indignant, of how far we think we have come and how far we know, though will never admit, we still have to go. If they are not required reading in every college level social science, recent history, and media course, they should be. Ellison's words changed and continue to change the way people think and believe. There can be no higher praise for a writer.

Ah, yes! Return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear when "politically correct" meant being able to think for yourself. I first was referred to this scathingly accurate view of television by the bibliography section of Stephen King's Danse Macarbe. How is this 30 year old collection of essays relevant to the world of 1998, you ask? Ellison's essays took to task some of the trends that have since become the norm in network programming. Mediocrity is rewarded. Any content that dares to challenge the viewer to think for themself (thereby offending the religious right, the society of blind, left-handed dentists without tonsils, etc.)is pulled off the air. Every few years a "new" show is aired which is just an updated version of an old show with a different cast. (Murphy Brown, basically a modern version of the old Mary Tyler Moore show from the early '70's, to name but one example.)If you're fond of intelligent, provocative criticism, especially in a case where it's been so richly deserved, this is a literary benchmark. A condensed version of these volumes is the author's foreward to "Strange Wine", a viciously sarcastic essay entitled " Revealed at last! What REALLY killed the dinosaurs!( And you don't look too good yourself)" As long as you're at it, pick up a copy of Strange Wine as well. The foreward alone is worth the price of admission. Harlan Ellison pulls no punches in his views of the television industry and certainly can speak from experience, with credits for "The Young Lawyers","The Outer Limits", as well as authoring what many Star Trek fans consider to be the best episode of them all, " The City on the Edge of Forever".

This book by Lupoff and Thompson is a pioneering work. Books on comics used to focus on daily strips and almost always glossed over comic books entirely. This was the first to give us the background of the artists, writers, and the charecters themselves. Well worth the money.

There is a story told, of a poor Italian man who lived in a small house with dirt floors. His only true possession was a painting that has been handed down through his family. He hung it over his fireplace. Well, rumors spread and a investigating Art Historian found that the painting was a lost Bottichelli , valued at several million dollars. After the discovery was made public, the man was forced to sell the painting as he could not afford security or insurance for it. This painting that was once appreciated for its beauty was now appreciated for its large price tag.

The point of this, and there is one, is that comics were once valueless pieces of old paper. People loved them anyways, and loved them enough to write this little book. "All in Color for a Dime" has a secret that modern comic collectors may have lost. It exudes joy for the four-color wonders know as comics. There is so much excitement in recounting the lost but not forgotten Captain Marvel, or even gaining new found respect for Popeye. All those little treasures are recounted in personal stories. Comics for the love of it, and not for the price tag. Reading Golden Age comics for the stories, what a great concept!

However, as a modern comics collector, I seem unable to ignore price tags entirely. I must admit I chucked when one of the writers was astounded to learn that a mint Action Comics #1 could be sold for up to $300.00. Those were the days.

This is a classic reprint. Authentic information from when comics were real.

I read this book four times when I was in junior high and high school, and I'm so glad to see it in print again. Great history, great pictures, and must have for comic book fans everywhere.