Books and Novels

The Crow was originally a tale told on the printed (illustrated) page, so its only fitting that it would not only find coverage in the pages of some wonderful books, but also see its mythos expand in a series of novels. The two movie books by Jeff Conner and Robert Zuckerman should be of particular interest to fans. Though long since out of print, they can still be found now and again on eBay and similar sites, and are definitely worth acquiring. If you're a fan, I highly recommend you track them down.

The Crow - The Movie
by Jeff Conner and Robert Zuckerman

Tagline: In a world without justice, one man was chosen to protect the innocent.

Description:
The Crow - Behind the Scenes

The Crow: The Movie is a rich, visual examination of the world of The Crow and its journey from James O'Barr's comic book masterpiece to the stunning silver screen adaptation. Author Jeff Conner and photographer Jeff Zuckerman have detailed every facet of the Crow experience. This facinating book includes full color images from the film, production stills, behind-the-scenes photos, and interviews with the film's creators and Brandon Lee. Both the faithful comic book fan and the newly-converted devotee will be captivated by this in-depth, pictoral history.

Softcover: 112 pages
Publisher: Crowvision Inc. Kitchen Sink Press (August 1994, 1995)

The Crow - City of Angels: A Diary of the Film
by Jeff Conner and Robert Zuckerman

Description:
The behind-the-scenes story of the creation of the sequel to The Crow, this book contains extensive information on how the sequel was conceived and executed. It contains exclusive interviews with members of the cast and crew, and over 200 photographs and production stills and drawings, and coverage of the film's production from day one.

Softcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Bad Bird Productions Inc. Kitchen Sink Press (August 1996)

The Crow - City of Angels
by Chet Williamson

Description:
Based on David Goyer's screenplay, this superb novelisation really fleshes out the characters and events in the film, not to mention the fact that it preserves the original plotting, before Miramax decided to interfere. It's a really good read, and many readers find it heightens their appreciation for the film and what Goyer and Pope were attempting to accomplish.

Softcover: 250 pages
Publisher: Boulevard/Berkley Publishing Group in arrangement with ERPEC Publishing In. (1996)

Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams
edited by James O'Barr and Ed Kramer

Description:
With this chilling collection of stories and poems, James O'Barr -- the creator of The Crow -- and Ed Kramer host an ominous array of interpretations of the gothic phenomenon by acclaimed writers well aquainted with the dark side. Here a resurrected gunslinger gets a final showdown with his archenemy... A tormented rogue cop literally fights fire with fire... A serial killer turned government assassin takes three abused children under his savage wing... A wise talking crow guides the vengeful hand of a murdered girl's lover... and much more.

Featuring illustrations by Rob Alexander, Rick Berry, Tim Bradstreet, Dan Brereton, Thomas Canty, Bob Eggleton, Phil Hale, Scott Hampton, Valena Lakey Lindahn, Don Maitz, Jeff Pittarelli, Rick Popham, Rob Prior, Lisa Snellings, Charles Vess, Ron Walotsky, Kent Williams, and James O'Barr.

A darkly sensual collection, The Crow: Shattered Lives & Broken Dreams evokes a modern night-world and its tormented denizens ensnared by unspeakable evil, engulfed by the thirst for revenge, and enfolded by the enigmatic, eternal wings of The Crow.

Contents:
* Fleas by Iggy Pop
* Spooky, Codeine, and the Dead Man by James O’Barr
* Goings Forth by James S. Dorr
* The Blood-Red Sea by Chet Williamson
* Twice by Fire by Ramsey Campbell
* Joy Divided by Douglas E. Winter
* Triad by Janny Wurts
* The Night Chough by Gene Wolfe
* Hot Animal Machine by Henry Rollins
* The Real Thing by Andrew Vachss
* Variations on a Theme by Nancy A. Collins
* Paragenesis by Storm Constantine
* Breach by Christine Crow
* Carrion Crows by Jane Yolen & Robert Harris
* Red as Jade by S.P. Somtow
* Jesus Christ’s Wrists by James O’Barr
* Procrastinator by Alan Dean Foster
* The King of Birds by Caitlín R. Kiernan
* Prophecy by Lisa Lepovetsky
* Spike Team by Rex Miller
* Lament for the Gunwitch by Christopher Golden
* Photo Album by Alexandra Elizabeth Honigsberg
* Hellbent by A.A. Attanasio
* Moving Toward the Light by Rick R. Reed
* Corvix Canto by K. Ken Johnson
* China Doll by Charles de Lint
* Spirit Dog by Jack Dann
* Darkness and the Shadow of Light by James O’Barr
* Wings Burnt Black by John Shirley

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Del Rey; 1st Trade Pbk. Ed edition (October 19, 1999)

Quoth the Crow
written by David Bischoff

Description:
William Blessing is obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe. Like Poe, he is a writer of dark fantasy. And like Poe, he has powerful enemies. One of them pretends to be a friend, even as he plots to murder William and steal his wife. Blessing's only hope is to learn the truth about his "friend" before...

But this is the realm of the Crow, where the grave is the doorway to the truth. William must walk through it to discover Poe's final secret. Then, and only then, with the help of a dark-winged "Raven," can he return to feed on the human carrion who raped his wife and slaughtered his soul.

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (January 1, 1998)

The Lazarus Heart
written by Poppy Z. Brite

Description:
Five, four, three, two ... Jared Poe counts the days on Louisiana's Death Row. The controversial S&M photographer has been condemned to die for killing his lover. He doesn't know who did it. Only that he didn't.

Can he clear his name and find the real killer in time?

No. For this is no ordinary thriller. We are in the dark realm of The Crow, and Jared must feel the cold shudder of Death; must hear the beating of black wings; must prowl the shadowy goth netherworld of New Orleans, to prove he was no killer when he died.

And find out what kind of killer he has become.

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Harper Entertainment (April 1998, June 1999)

Clash by Night
written by Chet Williamson

Description:
A crazed militia has planted a bomb in a day-care center, and a dedicated teacher discovers it just in time to get herself and the children to safety.

Almost. For we are in the dark universe of the crow, where the innocent must die so that justice can triumph.

Where a woman devoted to peace must don camouflage as she prowls with her black-winged familiar through the tangled underworld of hate on a search-and-destroy mission that leads her from gun shows to the rubble of the disaster.

A rubble that is stirring with new and hideous life...

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (July 1, 1998)

Temple of Night
written by S.P. Somtow

Description:
Turn-of-the-century Bangkok is a glittering modern city where high-tech industry and ancient mystery meet. It is a powerhouse of international finance by day ... and a playground of depravity by night. The Klong Toey shantytowns are home to shadowy eroticemporiums, where millionaire celebrities act out their darkest sexual fantasies, protected by money, influence, and American diplomacy.

Enter a young American journalist, assigned to expose the latest cover-up. Stephen is about to break the two cardinal rules of journalism: Don't fall in love. And don't get killed....

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1st ed edition (December 1, 1999)

Wicked Prayer
written by Norman Partridge

Description:
On a coal-black night, on a desolate stretch of Arizona highway, two last-chance lovers die badly.

In these, the final, cruelest moments of his earthly existence, Dan Cody watches as the lifeblood of his lady is sucked down by the thirsty desert sands. In an instant , his heart and his redemption have been blown away by a postmodern witch and her sadistic goth-giant companion on their gor-soaked joyride to immortality.

But even as one life ends in pain and anguish for Dan Cody, another begins . He is about to join those chosen to walk beneath the shadow of the Crow's wing. Revenge will be the sole reason for his return; revenge on tow who are speeding into the night in a '49 lamb's-blood Mercury on the fast track to Hell..or Nevada. And thought Kyra Damon and Johnny Church have embraced evil with a zealor's fervor, they underestimate the power of what's pursuing them from beyond the grave-the rough beast that's now slouching toward Vegas with murderous rage in its dead eyes.

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1st ed edition (November 7, 2000)

Hellbound
written by A.A. Attanasio

Description:
A demon named Dren is looking for salvation. Satan's fiery underworld has become a foreign place to him. He feels he is different from the other souls. He's changed over time. He's ready for redemption. But getting out of hell is no easy task. Escaping was the easy part. But now, alone in a world unfamiliar to him, Dren must save a single soul in order to pass on to the heavens above.

Billy is a young hoodlum working for a big-time mobster. Like Dren he has also changed. He wants out of the seedy underworld he calls his home. Just, one more run, one more big payday, and he's finished with it all. He'll, get his cash, grab the woman he loves, and be gone forever. But the mob doesn't look kindly on deserters.

Satan has sent two rogue demons from hell to stop Dren. The mob has hired a conjurer named Nadja to kill Billy. In the end, the two must call on the powers of the Crow to, save them both -- waging a full-scale war on the mobsters of Earth above and the lord of darkness below.

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1st ed edition (June 26, 2001)

The Crow: The Story Behind the Film
written by Bridget Baiss

Description:
The Crow is the ultimate cult movie, with a dedicated worldwide following, and two sequels, plus a fourth currently in production. Now, ten years after the original film's release, the full story of this seemingly cursed production can finally be told... In The Crow's last days of filming, its star Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee) was killed in a strange on-set accident, while filming his character's death scene. Bridget Baiss describes the chain of events which led from O'Barr's creation of the graphic novel, up to this fateful day, and beyond, to the film's final, triumphant release. The definitive account of The Crow's production and the phenomenon it became, packed with scores of interviews with the film's cast and crew.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Making of the Crow Incorporated (July 1, 2000)
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd (23 Jan 2004)