From: Bud Plant Posted: 08/12/08
While St. John is best known for his dozens of covers for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan and John Carter of Mars novels--he has a much larger portfolio of work. As a pulp cover artist, he did iconic paintings for the likes of Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, Fantastic Adventures, Oriental Stories and Blue Book.

As a book illustrator, he created his own 1905 fantasy book, The Face in the Pool. He was also a popular cover artist for westerns and romance novels, including Clarence Mulford's Hopalong Cassidy.

But as Danton Burroughs points out in a special chaper, Growing up with J. Allen St. John, his most beloved work remains his visualization of Tarzan's jungle, John Carter's Mars, David Innes' inner world of Pellucidar and the other Burroughs fantasies. He was the perfect artist, his work powerful and fantastic, giving us readers just a taste of the amazing scenes Burroughs would create.

A great many of the illustrations here are taken directly from the original paintings, and the reproduction is first rate. Here at last is a long, satisfying look at the finest work of a lifetime of fantasy art. St. John inspired generations of artists, including Frank Frazetta, who provides this book's Afterword

Also includes essays by Jack Williamson, Vincent Di Fate and Robert Barrett.