The Last Unicorn.

BEAGLE, Peter S. with Peter B. Gillis; Art by Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon.

$400.00

Item Number: 147091

San Diego: IDW Publishing, 2011.

First edition of the graphic novel adaptation of Beagle’s classic second book, which follows the tale of a unicorn, who believes she is the last of her kind in the world and undertakes a quest to discover what has happened to the others. Octavo, original pictorial boards, illustrated by Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon. Boldly signed by Peter S. Beagle on the front end paper. In near fine condition.

It took Beagle "close to two years" to write The Last Unicorn, and he states that "it was hard every step of the way." Beagle came up with the idea for the novel in 1962 while on an "artistic retreat" in Berkshire Hills after Viking Press rejected his novel, The Mirror Kingdom. He stated that though the idea for the novel was "just suddenly there", he also said that he had "read tons of fantasy and mythology" from childhood, and that his mother told him that he had shared a story about unicorns during a visit to one of the elementary school classes she taught. It has sold more than five million copies worldwide since its original publication, and has been translated into at least twenty languages (prior to the 2007 edition). In 1987, Locus ranked The Last Unicorn number five among the 33 "All-Time Best Fantasy Novels", based on a poll of subscribers. It was the basis for the 1982 animated film, directed and produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. "All the magic and wonder is here, accompanied by some of the most astounding art to be seen in a comic" (Karyn Pinter, Comics Bulletin).