One of Stephen King’s most popular and iconic novels, IT was first published in 1986. The book went on to win the British Fantasy Award in 1987, was adapted into several films, and firmly established its creepy clown antagonist as a massively influential part of the pop-culture lexicon. Now the Folio Society, independent publisher of beautifully illustrated hardback books, will publish a limited illustrated edition of Stephen King’s seminal classic IT, featuring chilling illustrations by award-winning artist Jim Burns as well as an all-new introduction by Guillermo Del Toro.
Limited to just 500 copies, the stunning edition features 11 double-page black-and-white illustrations and 6 double-page colour illustrations from Burns, as well as box, binding and endpaper design by David Curtis. The limited edition will be quarter bound in leather with printed cloth sides and printed edges and presented in a clamshell box covered in cloth with a printed lining. The box also includes instructions on how to make a paper boat, designed by Curtis, which recalls the boat which sends Georgie into the sewers in King’s seminal story. Every element of the production has been approved by Stephen King himself and will feature signatures from Del Toro, Burns and Curtis.
“IT speaks of the struggle that never ends, the eternal vigil against evil that is, by necessity, cyclical. The many shapes the cosmic dread takes keep changing: sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning at us,” said Guillermo Del Toro in his deeply personal introduction. “IT was a presage of what was to come in adult years — it struck great fear in me — irrational fear and then, slowly, a fragile kind of bravery — the tenuous understanding that when all is said and done, all we have is each other.”
“Jim Burns’ illustrations reveal all the terror and mystery of IT, one of the truly great horror stories of the modern age — and Guillermo del Toro’s personal introduction reveals why this is one of his must-read books, a book that has grown bigger than itself and now infuses much of our popular culture,” said Folio Society Head of Editorial James Rose. “This one-of-a-kind edition continues Folio’s commitment to publishing Stephen King’s work — and some readers might be surprised to see how much was (inevitably) missed in the adaptations. Always horrifying, always creeping closer, IT is where Pennywise began, and it remains essential for any serious fan of the genre.”
The Folio Society edition of IT is available now for £590 / US $825 exclusively from https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/fiction/comics-graphic-novels.
