Books
‘Psycho’ – Robert Bloch’s Classic Horror Novel Gets a Stunning Limited Edition Release from Suntup Editions
Hello again, Norman. Suntup Editions is back with another hot horror release, this time a fine press limited edition of the classic horror novel Psycho by Robert Bloch.
Printed letterpress from hot metal type, the edition includes an exclusive new introduction by Joe R. Lansdale, six full color illustrations by Gregg Kreutz and a dust jacket illustration for the Artist edition by Paul Mann. The dust jacket for the Artist edition is reversible with the back featuring a version of the first edition jacket with the iconic typeface created by Tony Palladino.
The edition is highly limited with a very low print run, and is now available for pre-order here.
One of the most influential horror novels of the 20th century, Psycho by Robert Bloch is the shocking story that ushered in the dawn of the slasher genre. Forty-year-old Norman Bates is a shy, overweight recluse who lives at home with his domineering mother; a mean-tempered, puritanical old woman who forbids him from having a life apart from her. Together they run the small Bates Motel in Fairvale, where business has suffered ever since the state relocated the highway. It’s the kind of place hardly anyone ever stops at anymore.
Enter Mary Crane, a beautiful young secretary who has impulsively stolen $40,000 from her boss, hoping her boyfriend can use it to pay off his debts so they can finally get married. As she flees town en route to her boyfriend Sam, Mary accidentally turns off of the main highway and finds herself at the Bates Motel where there are plenty of vacancies. Soon, Mary Crane will meet Norman. She will meet Mother, too. And she will grapple with the gravity of the crime she has committed as she comes to realize the cutting truth—that we all go a little mad sometimes.
Originally published on April 10, 1959, The New York Times called the novel “icily terrifying.” The seeds Bloch planted with Psycho grew into horror staples: the serial killer, the isolated location, the butcher knife, the shower and the shocking twist ending. The voyeurism displayed in the novel created a potent combination of terror and titillation that would also become a mainstay of the genre. Throughout his opus, Bloch subtly pairs contrasting elements, fusing them into iconic imagery. The soft, matronly style of Norma and the cold steel harshness of the weapon. The old Victorian house and the neon glow of the modern motel. By pairing opposites, Bloch is constantly hinting at disassociation, toying with the reader like a cat with a mouse. The gothic and the modern. The softness and the steel. The beauty and the brutality.
In 1960, Psycho was adapted into a feature film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The director famously bought up every copy of the book he could get his hands on so that no one would know the ending, resulting in very few first editions existing today. Often ranked as one of the greatest films in cinematic history, Psycho is currently #14 on AFI’s list of the Top 100 movies, and #5 on the Top 100 All-Time Greatest Movies list by Entertainment Weekly. In 1992, the Library of Congress deemed the film “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant” and selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. As Hitchcock himself stated in one of his last interviews, “Psycho all came from Robert Bloch’s book.”
Click here to pre-order the Artist edition, signed by artists Gregg Kreutz and Paul Mann, limited to only 750 copies available for sale.
ABOUT THE ARTIST EDITION
The Artist edition is limited to 750 copies, and is the only edition to include a dust jacket illustrated by Paul Mann. It is a smyth-sewn, quarter cloth binding with Zanders Elephant Hide paper covering the boards. The spine and cover are foil blocked, and the binding design is inspired by the first edition book cover. The dust jacket is double-sided featuring a licensed version, on the reverse side, of the famous first edition dust jacket designed by Tony Palladino. The edition is housed in a slipcase wrapped in Japanese metallic paper with cloth ends and is printed letterpress from metal type on Mohawk Superfine. This edition is signed by Gregg Kreutz and Paul Mann.
For more information on the Lettered and Numbered editions, signed by Joe R. Lansdale, Gregg Kretuz and Paul Mann, visit: https://suntup.press/.
Books
‘Halloween: Illustrated’ Review: Original Novelization of John Carpenter’s Classic Gets an Upgrade
Film novelizations have existed for over 100 years, dating back to the silent era, but they peaked in popularity in the ’70s and ’80s, following the advent of the modern blockbuster but prior to the rise of home video. Despite many beloved properties receiving novelizations upon release, a perceived lack of interest have left a majority of them out of print for decades, with desirable titles attracting three figures on the secondary market.
Once such highly sought-after novelization is that of Halloween by Richard Curtis (under the pen name Curtis Richards), based on the screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Originally published in 1979 by Bantam Books, the mass market paperback was reissued in the early ’80s but has been out of print for over 40 years.
But even in book form, you can’t kill the boogeyman. While a simple reprint would have satisfied the fanbase, boutique publisher Printed in Blood has gone above and beyond by turning the Halloween novelization into a coffee table book. Curtis’ unabridged original text is accompanied by nearly 100 new pieces of artwork by Orlando Arocena to create Halloween: Illustrated.
One of the reasons that The Shape is so scary is because he is, as Dr. Loomis eloquently puts it, “purely and simply evil.” Like the film sequels that would follow, the novelization attempts to give reason to the malevolence. More ambiguous than his sister or a cult, Curtis’ prologue ties Michael’s preternatural abilities to an ancient Celtic curse.
Jumping to 1963, the first few chapters delve into Michael’s childhood. Curtis hints at a familial history of evil by introducing a dogmatic grandmother, a concerned mother, and a 6-year-old boy plagued by violent nightmares and voices. The author also provides glimpses at Michael’s trial and his time at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, which not only strengthens Loomis’ motivation for keeping him institutionalized but also provides a more concrete theory on how Michael learned to drive.
Aside from a handful of minor discrepancies, including Laurie stabbing Michael in his manhood, the rest of the book essentially follows the film’s depiction of that fateful Halloween night in 1978 beat for beat. Some of the writing is dated — like a smutty fixation on every female character’s breasts and a casual use of the R-word — but it otherwise possesses a timelessness similar to its film counterpart. The written version benefits from expanded detail and enriched characters.
The addition of Arocena’s stunning illustrations, some of which are integrated into the text, creates a unique reading experience. The artwork has a painterly quality to it but is made digitally using vectors. He faithfully reproduces many of Halloween‘s most memorable moments, down to actor likeness, but his more expressionistic pieces are particularly striking.
The 224-page hardcover tome also includes an introduction by Curtis — who details the challenges of translating a script into a novel and explains the reasoning behind his decisions to occasionally subvert the source material — and a brief afterword from Arocena.
Novelizations allow readers to revisit worlds they love from a different perspective. It’s impossible to divorce Halloween from the film’s iconography — Carpenter’s atmospheric direction and score, Dean Cundey’s anamorphic cinematography, Michael’s expressionless mask, Jamie Lee Curtis’ star-making performance — but Halloween: Illustrated paints a vivid picture in the mind’s eye through Curtis’ writing and Arocena’s artwork.
Halloween: Illustrated is available now.
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