Description

Icons of the Fantastic: Illustrations of Imaginative Literature from the Korshak Collection edited by Amanda T. Zehnder and David M. Brinley

Hardcover – University of Delaware – November 2025 – 172 pages

Icons of the Fantastic: Illustrations of Imaginative Literature from the Korshak Collection features artwork by pioneering artists from over 160 years of published works of science fiction and fantasy. The illustrations in the collection appeared on the covers of timeless novels such as the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs and classic pulp magazines from the 1930s through 1960s, such as Amazing Stories and Weird Tales. They accompany images of mischievous satyrs, ethereal mermaids, and spell-casting witches for texts ranging from The Tempest, Don Quixote, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to works by Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells. Alongside essays about famous illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Aubrey Beardsley, contributors engage in a critical reassessment of understudied artists such as Josâe Segrelles, Wladyslaw Benda, Margaret Brundage, and Hannes Bok. The book includes a foreword by Guillermo Del Toro, a preface by Kevin J. Anderson, an introduction by Michael Dirda, and an interview with renowned contemporary illustration artist Michael Whelan