The Long Lost Phantasm Novelization
Photo from the Tied In Tumblr Page. Link.
The film novelization was a longtime staple of film releases. Did you know there have been several for PHANTASM? But where are they now??
A novelization is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Novelizations of films began to be produced in the 1910s and 1920s for silent films such as Les Vampires (1915–16) and London After Midnight (1927). One of the first films with spoken dialogue to be novelized was King Kong (1933).
One of the earliest film novelizations “Les Vampires”
Film novelizations became a staple of film releases in the 1970s and 1980s:
Some of the most popular film novelizations. Photo via Ebay.
PHANTASM has a long and interesting history of novelizations. (see the full history in “The Books of Phantasm”:
Back in 1979 Kate Coscarelli, mother of PHANTASM creator Don Coscarelli and first time author, wrote a novelization of the film. The book includes backstory to the characters never shown in the films.
Then in 1980 Kate Coscarelli’s novelization is translated into Japanese and released in Japan. It goes out of print soon after.
Soon after that A bootleg novelization by an unknown Russian author is released. It includes a rare novelized sequel to PHANTASM.
For nearly 20 years the novel was unavailable to the public but was much talked about amongst PHANTASM fans.
Finally in 2002 Silver Sphere press produces a brand new edition of the PHANTASM novelization. It is the first time this edition is available to English speaking audiences. The limited run sells out instantly and was autographed. It has become one of the rarest collectables in the Phantasm-verse.
So how can you read the PHANTASM novel now? Unfortunately with everything out of print and sold out it is very difficult! Very rarely the 2002 print shows up on EBAY and other book collector sites but it remains one of the most elusive pieces of PHANTASM merchandise ever created. We absolutely love this Reddit post about a fan stumbling on one in a thrift shop and nabbing it for $4!
The rarest edition is probably the Japanese one. PHANTASM creator Don Coscarelli recently shared an Instagram post showing off his personal copy.
The Japanese edition of the novel remains the holy grail of PHANTASM collectors.
