Dark Shadows Books - Questions

[retzev]

In 1987, there was a book published in a limited edition by DARK SHADOWS Festival Publications titled THE HISTORY OF DARK SHADOWS 1966 - 1967. I seem to remember hearing, a few years back, that it was going to be reprinted under the title DARK SHADOWS: THE FIRST YEAR. Does anyone know if anything ever came of this?

Also, the copyright page of the '87 edition lists the DS Festival Publications address as a P.O. box in Fort Worth, TX. Does anyone remember exactly where this book was pressed? Or do you know someone who might know?

Another book I'm wondering about is DARK SHADOWS: THE COMIC STRIP BOOK from Pomegranate Press. Again, I thought I heard there was another book coming out that was going to reproduce the complete syndicated strip. Is my memory playing tricks on me?

One more, another from PomPress, the DARK SHADOWS PROGRAM GUIDE. Does anyone know how many pages it is? What are its dimensions? I've heard it referred to as a booklet. How is it bound? Is it illustrated, and are the cover and pages glossy or matte, etc?

Any help appreciated. Thanks!

[Brian]

I have these books: 
DARK SHADOWS: THE FIRST YEAR published by Blue Whale Books, 2006, 266 pages.
Maybe DS Fest Publications were based in Fort Worth in 1987.
DARK SHADOWS: THE COMIC STRIP BOOK – I think this is the complete strips.
DARK SHADOWS PROGRAM GUIDE -  not a “booklet” but I didn’t count the pages.
Brian

[michael c]

aside from the pomegranate press books and "the first year" book i have this...


a book called the "dark shadows tribute" written by edward gross and james van hise, published by a company called 'pioneer books inc.' out of las vegas, NV in 1990. it's an oversized soft cover i found at a flea market a few years ago and maybe paid $5.00 for.

it has the usual "origins of" type chapter, profiles of dan curtis, art wallace and robert costello, pictures and an episode guide. more notable are interviews with jonathan frid, louis edmonds, jerry lacy and, interestingly, alexandra moltke, who tends to be rather mum about her time on the series. most notable however is what is perhaps the last known interview with grayson hall.

there are also interviews with production people like john sedwick and ron sprout.

i'v never seen this particular book anywhere so i consider it quite a find for my collection.

[retzev]

Thanks Brian and michael c, I'm glad that FIRST YEAR book isn't a figment of my imagination. I can't find anything online about it lately. I seem to remember it was going to be a somewhat large trade paperback with a color photograph of Victoria, Roger, and maybe Davjd standing around a piano on the cover. Looked pretty nice. Do y'all know if it is a straight reprint of the HISTORY OF book from '87? Are there any additional features, like a new forward or introduction, are there any color photos, etc?

mike c, that TRIBUTE book sounds like a major score! I'd love to hear more about it and see some photos posted if you have some time.

And Brian, is there anything more you can tell me about the PROGRAM GUIDE? Number of pages, is there anything in it beside episode summaries, is it staple-bound or square-bound, etc?

Thanks!

[michael c]

retzev...


i purchased "the first year" at the 2007 fest although it's copyrighted 2006. it seems like it was around for that year and then disappeared completely. i haven't seen it at a fest since. and yes, the cover is a 1966 publicity shot of louis, david and alexandra at the piano. it looks like it was taken during the same photography session as the rest of the 1966 seaview shots. it's quite well done if you can get your hands on it. have you contacted 'blue whale books'?

in terms of the 'tribute book' unfortunately i do not have a scanner so i cannot scan images of it. what i can tell you is that it's the same 8.5"-11" size as the 'first year' and about 150 pages. the cover is a color shot of a fanged and evil looking barnabas showcasing the wolf's head cane and black onyx ring. i couldn't tell you what session it's from but it looks later than 1967. the back cover is the familiar shot of barnabas, cassandra, adam and nicholas blair taunting a crouched victoria.

in addition to the chapters and interviews i mentioned above there are a fair amount of black and white photographs. most of which have been well seen elsewhere. the pictures skew heavily towards frid as well and grayson and joan. it not being a 'pomegranate press' publication it is practically void of kathryn leigh scott and light on lara parker as well. there are also numerous shots of seaview.

apparently it originally retailed for $14.95.

i'm not sure what this means but it's episode guide only covers a "syndication package" that starts with barnabas' release(the 1966 storyline is not included)and ends very abruptly in the middle of the 1897 period during the petofi storyline.

[michael c]

i just did a google search on the book and apparently there are copies available at a site called "webstore.com".


check it out.

[retzev]

Thanks for the heads up on that webstore. I've googled blue whale books but haven't come up
much except for the facebook page of a bookstore in VA. I might give them a ring. My search did however turn up a KILLER Dark Shadows YouTube video. I'm gonna go start a thread about it.