GRAND MASTER OF ADVENTURE PB: THE DRAWINGS OF J. ALLEN ST JOHN (Edge) [Paperback]

J. David Spurlock (Author)

Book Description

Series: Edge | Publication Date: April 8, 2005

This book collects, for the first time, the exquisite pen, ink, and pencil illustrations of the grand Tarzan artist J. Allen St. John. Some of these flights-of-fantasy illustrations were found in the top pulp magazines of the 1920s and 1930s, such as Amazing Stories, Blue Book, and Weird Tales. Other illustrations include those found in Edgar Rice Burroughs' (the creator of Tarzan) classic works Tarzan and the Golden Lion, Tarzan the Terrible, as well as in Burroughs' sci-fi creations, At the Earth's Core and Pirates of Venus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS (April 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887591613
• ISBN-13: 978-1887591614
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,343,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother, May 23, 2005

By 

James Allen - See all my reviews

This review is from: GRAND MASTER OF ADVENTURE PB: THE DRAWINGS OF J. ALLEN ST JOHN (Edge) (Paperback)

What a genuine disappointment! This book had potential, but it is such a rip-off of earlier work that it is nearly pointless to possess.
Exactly half of this book is lifted straight from Russ Cochran's EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS LIBRARY OF ILLUSTRATION VOLUME ONE, which is ninety percent St. John artwork, and therefore, the first major collection of the artist's work. If you check the acknowledgements in this book, Cochran's name is offensively absent.
If you are going to literally STEAL the hard work and efforts of another publisher, especially one who cared about the quality of his book, you could have at least thanked him for it.
Much of the rest of the reproduction of this book is not even taken from the original published source, but rather from reprints, so the loss of quality is all too obvious.
This book also claims to be the first major collection of St. John art ever published. Cochran's book from which this book is lifted, was the first major collection of St. John art. A dozen years ago, Darrell Richardson's illustrated bibliography of St. John included exactly 200 illustrations (some of them lifted for this volume) and a month before this book came out, the first volume of the full color J. ALLEN ST. JOHN COMPLETE LIBRARY OF ILLUSTRATION appeared for sale at lulu.com.
If no previous works had been done on J. Allen St. John, this book might have had some merit, but as it is, with all the lifted material (art and text), this book is no more than a low end second rate RIP OFF.

Don't waste your time or money.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars St. John for the masses, December 27, 2005

By 

Clyde Duensing III (Ormond Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GRAND MASTER OF ADVENTURE PB: THE DRAWINGS OF J. ALLEN ST JOHN (Edge) (Paperback)

Some seem to feel this book is valueless because it is similar in content to the earlier "The Edgar Rice Burroughs Library of Illustration, Volume One." Although this may be the personal opinion of one that already owns the earlier collection, I feel there are reasons why this books still deserves a high rating.

Let me start out by saying that I do own the Library of Illustration Vol. One, and that it is a superior product, with high quality reproductions including, color versions of limited color pieces and full color paintings. It is also out-of-print and expensive on the collectors book market.

I payed $150.00 for my copy, and was only able to get it that cheaply because it was being sold as an isolated volume rather than as a full set. I purchased this one volume specifically because it was the only book I could find at the time that contained a collection of J. Allen St. John's art.

Although I grew up as a Burroughs fan and a fan and collector of fantasy art, I had never heard of St. John until just a few years ago. Once I saw a few samples of his art and realised the tremendous debt that artists like Roy Krenkel and Frank Frazetta owed to his pioneering illustrations, I became obsessed to find more of his work. At the time I found that to be nearly impossible.

I just received my copy of "Grand Master of Adventure Art: The Drawings of J, Allen St. John" a few days ago and am quite happy with it. The paperback is perfectly priced for those that want access to a collection of this under-rated master's work.

There are a number of illustrations in this collection that are not in the earlier volume. This alone might be enough to convince many to pay the very reasonable price of this book.

The second reason to support and laud this book is that it exists at all. St. John has not been given his due in the history of illustration, and very few still even have heard his name. Vanguard is practically doing a public service, in my opinion, to get a collection of this man's art back in print, and at a price anyone can pay.

The biographical information provided is sparse, but one can still hope that the upcoming edition of St. John's paintings will contain more.

Personally, I'm just happy to see this great artist back in print and hope that because of that many people will learn about him and the influence of his work on the field of heroic fantasy art.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edgar Rice Burroughs' Favourite Artist, June 14, 2005

By 

William Hillman "ERBzine.com" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GRAND MASTER OF ADVENTURE PB: THE DRAWINGS OF J. ALLEN ST JOHN (Edge) (Paperback)

As a longtime ERB fan who considers St. John one of the all-time greats, I eagerly awaited the publication of this volume since previous St. John tributes are long out of print. I welcome a book that serves to introduce new generations to this grand master illustrator - and it occupies a prominent place in my personal library. Apparently my enthusiasm over this collection is shared by ERB's grandson Danton of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., to whom the book is dedicated:

"It was with great anticipation that I opened Vanguard's new book, Grand Master of Adventure: The Drawings of J. Allen St. John -- and I wasn't disappointed. To see so many of St. John's drawings collated into one volume, and reproduced so magnificently, is a real treat.

It's been a long time since I've been so impressed with an art book! I am proud of the fact that it was my grandfather's great imagination that produced the stories that inspired St. John to create many of these unforgettable images"
~ Danton Burroughs ~ Tarzana, California