# Need help IDing an illustrated Sci-Fi book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184 "2017-04-25T03:44:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/1 "2017-04-25T03:44:21Z")
I was given a book for my bar mitzvah back in 1980 that I have lost in the intervening years. I can’t quite remember every detail but I am hopeful these details will bear fruit: - I am pretty sure the book was more illustration than written but I don’t know if I would call it a graphic novel. For one thing the form was much bigger, maybe 12"x12". - It was not Heavy Metal but I’d say there were similarities. - I think the story involved some sort of giant train. - There was a character named Pvt. Parts :smack: - There was at least one image of a woman, wearing a white shirt and the out-line of her nipple was enough to catch the attention of my 13 year old self. I know the Dope has done more with less so my fingers are crossed. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/2 "2017-04-25T03:55:39Z")
I’m stumped at the moment. You said you got it in 1980, so that rules out _Le Transperceneige_, published in English as _The Escape_, which was made into the film _Snowpiercer_ back in 2013. Also, I don’t recall a character with the decidedly English-speaking joke-y name of Pvt. Parts. Epic Illustrated was started in 1980, but it was an anthology magazine like _Heavy Metal_ and I don’t recall a train story in the first 2 years of publication. I’ll keep thinking and looking tho. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/3 "2017-04-25T06:07:51Z")
Harry Harrison, _Planet_ _Story_, illustrated by Jim Burns. Used to be in my school library in the early 80s, until the Christian Brothers caught sight of the illustrations. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/4 "2017-04-25T06:24:21Z")
[Still on Amazon, too](https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Story-Harry-Harrison/dp/0905310136), [nipples](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/82/36/62/823662bbb59c6441767e5591f1f3a647.jpg), [trains](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XOeuKFF9B2Y/TIY4ViO-8VI/AAAAAAAAFkk/KXbrHCnyWYo/s1600/03+LIGHTSHIP+-+BIG+BOY+LOCO.jpg) and all. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/5 "2017-04-25T10:01:22Z")
Just under 2.5 hours for a correct response. Standards are slipping around here. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/6 "2017-04-25T10:29:30Z")
Apparently it’s Private Parrts, not Parts. Much more dignified. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/7 "2017-04-25T14:48:24Z")
That is the book! Thanks so much. I just ordered a copy. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/8 "2017-04-25T14:57:46Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Harry Harrison, _Planet_ _Story_, illustrated by Jim Burns. Used to be in my school library in the early 80s, until the Christian Brothers caught sight of the illustrations. Harrison did some weird crossover stuff in the 1980s, blending his skiffy and comix backgrounds. I remember a couple of completely second-rate short novels, in mass paperback format, with line illustrations throughout. Neither added up to being worth the cover price. But you have to remember ALL female renderings had nipples in the late 1970s-early 80s, starting with the Farrah poster and going on to JC Penney mannequins. There was actually a subindustry of “modernizing” old mannequins with improved figures and prominent nips. (The progression, for non-fans, is Speculative Fiction - Science Fiction - SF - sf - sci-fi - skiffy [which sticks to the roof of your mind].) ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/9 "2017-04-25T20:04:52Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > That is the book! Thanks so much. I just ordered a copy. Took me right back to being 13 in 1981, it did. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/10 "2017-04-25T20:24:24Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [Still on Amazon, too](https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Story-Harry-Harrison/dp/0905310136), [nipples](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/82/36/62/823662bbb59c6441767e5591f1f3a647.jpg), [trains](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XOeuKFF9B2Y/TIY4ViO-8VI/AAAAAAAAFkk/KXbrHCnyWYo/s1600/03+LIGHTSHIP+-+BIG+BOY+LOCO.jpg) and all. Hell! Now I want a copy! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/11 "2017-04-26T15:02:05Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > That is the book! Thanks so much. I just ordered a copy. Me too! > [@G0sp3l](#): > > Hell! Now I want a copy! Me too! ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/12 "2017-04-26T21:00:13Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [Still on Amazon, too](https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Story-Harry-Harrison/dp/0905310136), [nipples](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/82/36/62/823662bbb59c6441767e5591f1f3a647.jpg), [trains](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XOeuKFF9B2Y/TIY4ViO-8VI/AAAAAAAAFkk/KXbrHCnyWYo/s1600/03+LIGHTSHIP+-+BIG+BOY+LOCO.jpg) and all. Wow…that would have held my attention at that age too!! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/13 "2017-05-12T07:32:38Z")
I got my copy yesterday; it is near-new condition. The artwork is amazing; the story is 100% Harrison ripping yarn in the Bill the Galactic Hero mold. I’m about halfway thru and so far it’s been a ton of fun. Thanks very much for this thread, **Ike** and for knowing the book, **Penfeather**. This is a fantastic addition to my library. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/14 "2017-05-12T09:06:48Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I got my copy yesterday; it is near-new condition. The artwork is amazing; the story is 100% Harrison ripping yarn in the Bill the Galactic Hero mold. I’m about halfway thru and so far it’s been a ton of fun. Isn’t it _ **Bil** (only one “L”) the Galactic Hero_? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-iding-an-illustrated-sci-fi-book/785184/15 "2017-05-12T13:35:39Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Isn’t it _ **Bil** (only one “L”) the Galactic Hero_? Not on my copy it isn’t. It is, however, _Bill, the Galactic Hero_. Mea culpa; I forgot the comma. Finished _Planet Story_ last night before I went to sleep. And yeah, the similarities in characters, plot and writing style to Harrison’s best-loved and most well-known works made this just a blast to read. Jim Burns’ artwork is stunning and brings me right back to the late 1970s/early 1980s and reading great science fiction in OMNI magazine and _Heavy Metal_ and _Epic Illustrated_. Again, thanks to the OP and y’all for helping me add this to my collection. I liked it so much I just ordered a copy of [Mechanismo](https://www.amazon.com/Mechanismo-Harry-Harrison/dp/0891695044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494596270&sr=8-1&keywords=mechanismo) to keep it company on the shelf!