Hey, I received my copy of Gauntlet Press's book "It Came From Outer Space" today! I've received number 155 of a limited edition of 700 or so, and it's signed by Mr B himself. Anyone else got a copy yet?

I haven't had time to read it yet, but I've skimmed and it looks good (and so it should be for the price...), except that paper doesn't give the impression of high quality.

There is a brief, humorous, and rather superficial interview with Ray inside, and a couple of articles placing the movie in context. There's also a lot of reproduced publicity material from the film's original release, and a copy of the contract Ray signed. Looks like he got $1000 back in 1953 for a "treatment" which was really a fairly complete screenplay.

What looks most interesting (to me) is that the book pretty much reproduces Ray's original typescript drafts, including his own handwritten corrections. This is the first time I've seen any reproductions of Ray's corrections, and I'm hoping they will show evidence of Ray's "throw up in the morning, clean up at night" philosophy of writing.

When I've finished reading it, I'll put a review on my ICFOS page.

- Phil

[This message has been edited by philnic (edited 05-26-2004).]

I had the same impression with the quality of the paper. For the price of the book, and it's obvious focus as an autographed collectible, I'd like to have seen a higher quality of paper.

Mine is number 42, so I got a relatively early version.

The introductory essay, "Bradbury's Web of Fear: The Lost Metaphor Behind the Screen Tratment," (by Jonathan Eller) was interesting. I'm axious to read the balance of the treatments.

I also liked the Bradbury-written scribbles on the text. It's always fun to try and discover what took a writer in the direction he/she went.

The collection of print promotional pieces was also fun. Again, I would like to have seen higher quality reproductions on a glossy paper, but this was the same issue I had with Dark Carnival. In Dark Carnival, I loved the inclusion of the cover photos of the magazines in which the stories originally appeared, but would loved to have seen them full size, on glossy paper, and in color. Again, the book was not cheap!

I also loved the cover. Well worth the money, I thought.

I am waiting for the lettered edition to arive. Maybe that will have better paper, but I doubt it.

As a printer, I've worked with a lot of paper... and tho I have not seen this particular copy, your expressions of "cheap" paper...may not necessarily mean that. Paper has increased so many times, that it boggles the brain. And lots of papers out there, expensive papers, may look not so expensive, but are. Which means...I shall have to either buy or locate a copy and figure out what sort of paper was used.

Many fine editions are now using acid free, archival paper. But if the paper doesn't look right, who cares how much it costs....

Nard: You're probably right, but there is no indication on the title page that acid free or archival quality paper was used. I used to purchase printing (long ago, and in a land far away), and this paper just doesn't have a quality feel or heft to it. But I could be wrong.

Gosh......I'm envious of you guys. I ordered ICFOS eleven months ago & have been impatiently waiting for it since then. I had no idea that it was being shipped, much less already showing up for people.

Has anyone else ordered the book, but not received it yet?

Well, I found out why my book hasn't arrived yet. It looks like the Post Office messed something up, resulting in my book being returned as REFUSED to Gauntlet Press.

I called Gauntlet & squared things up, so hopefully I'll get my book soon.

Andrew,

The actual date Gauntlet started shipping copies was about five weeks after the last release date they announced (if that makes any sense). They may not have shipped the extra-extra special editions yet - e.g. slipscased editions. If I were you, I would send them an email and ask what's happening.

[Drat, your reply to your own post appeared while I was typing this. Please ignore the whole thing!]

- Phil

[This message has been edited by philnic (edited 05-28-2004).]