Frank R. Paul: Father Of Science Fiction Art
From The Pen Of Paul: The Fantastic Images Of Frank R. Paul
(2010 - Castle Books)

I'm holding a copy of FRANK R. PAUL: FATHER OF SCIENCE FICTION ART - very accessible and apparently the exact same book as the trade-paperback edition (the red cover, from the previous year) of THE PEN OF PAUL: THE FANTASTIC IMAGES OF FRANK R. PAUL. Another hardback edition carries that latter title, but otherwise seems to be an exact copy of what's in my hand. And then, for more money, there are two additional books with that same latter title, the Deluxe edition (all the same material *and* a 16-page illustrated index of the artist's work) & the Ultra Deluxe edition (with that index and another 16 pages of art). You'll need to be meticulous to make sure you are getting the exact book you want. Mine seems to be an extremely colorful volume that, out of 128 pages, has 44 large reproductions of either magazine covers or original paintings. 55 other pages each pull together multiple images, usually in a gallery style. Leaving the rest of the book to biographical materials and an overview of the man's career, along with appreciatory missives from professional & fandom luminaries. (There's even a 'well-presented' painting from Michael Whelan, as he testifies to Paul's influence (that work can additionally be found so among his own collections)). Since this book was released, another volume about Frank R. Paul has become available, FRANK R. PAUL-THE DEAN OF SCIENCE FICTION ILLUSTRATION and, by our scoring, it is recommended before this title. As mentioned above, this book here includes a gallery of selected magazine covers presented four-to-a-page, while the other has a more comprehensive gathering of the covers that Paul did, but presents it as smaller nine-to-a-page images. That size differential for 40 pages (160 images) seems to be one substantial argument for getting this book additional to the better one. Also, there are about 20 'well-presented' pieces here that can't be found that way in the other book.

SEND US A COMMENT (goes via e-mail - all info kept anonymous, but comment itself may be shared . . .)