What is a Fotonovel you ask?  They are these cool little books with wall to wall photos and word balloons.  They are very similar to comic books, only they are using real photos from television episodes or feature films and are presented in a paperback book format.   And for some strange reason, I am absolutely fascinated by these things.

The Fotonovel (sometimes spelled as Photonovel or referred to as a Photo Story) were very popular in the latter part of the 70’s and early 80’s.  They were a way to “watch” your favorite movie or television show in book form.  But unfortunately this simple, no-tech, super-cool book series was killed by technology, which in this case was the VCR.  Why view it in picture form when you could simply kick back on your couch and watch it on a television? 

But I never understood why they discontinued this crazy fun format.  Sure the VCR was going to take a bite out of sales, but there still had to be a market for these things.  And I would think in today’s geek world, with all of the comic books movies being released, that a Fotonovel based on one of them would fly off the shelves.  Imagine “The Dark Knight,” “Avengers,” or even “Spider-man” in this cool format. 

I could see how the Fotonovel format wouldn’t be as popular with certain titles.  Back around 2000, they released a couple of new ones based on “The Blair Witch Project” and “Charlie’s Angels.” I wouldn’t call those two titles very inspiring for this particular format.  But I am confident that if they did reintroduce the Fotonovel, if based on the right movies, that they would be hugely popular once more.

So every time I find myself in a used bookstore, I will scour it to see if I could locate a new Fotonovel that I don’t already own (though I think I have most of them by now).  I am in no hurry to complete the collection, but it has become a fun little shopping hobby.  But, of course, used bookstores aren’t the only place you can find these paperback gems.  If you look online you can find them for a pretty affordable price.

So I am hoping one day they choose to revitalize this fun format.  I know that I certainly rush out to purchase a new title if one is released.

Movies on Fotonovels

Alien (It’s in a larger book format)
Americathon
Blair Witch Project
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Can’t Stop the Music
Champ, The
Charlie’s Angels
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Grease
Hair
Heaven Can Wait
Ice Castles
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Lord of the Rings, The
Love at First Bite
Nightwing
Outland (It’s in a larger book format)
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Rocky I & II (combined)
Rocky Horror Picture Show, The
Saturday Night Fever
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

TV on Fotonovels

Battlestar Galactica
The Incredible Hulk
Mork & Mindy
Star Trek: TOS (12 titles)
     The City on the Edge of Forever
     Where No Man Has Gone Before
     The Trouble With Tribbles
     A Taste of Armageddon
     Metamorphosis
     All Our Yesterdays
     The Galileo Seven
     A Piece of the Action
     The Devil in the Dark
     Day of the Dove
     The Deadly Years
    Amok Time