Signed and numbered by the author and the artist on the limitation page.

This unique book chronicles Kinstler's life from the summer he dropped out of high school and got his first job at 16 as an apprentice comic book inker, to his departure from commercial art to begin his long and illustrious career as a painter of portraits. The 240-page book includes an extensive biography of Kinstler's first two decades as a professional artist, and galleries of his work in the comic book, pulp magazine and book fields.

Written by popular culture historian Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. and annotated by the artist. With an introduction by author and drama critic, Robert Brustein, Kinstler's friend since 1936.

• 380 illustrations and photographs
• over 150 in color, many reproduced from the original
• with a special focus on his pen and ink work

From the publisher:

Everette Raymond Kinstler's portraits of Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Jimmy Cagney, and Katharine Hepburn may be familiar to art lovers, but few realize that he honed his craft as a high school dropout, inking and sketching comics for pulps like Dime Mystery. This book is the first to examine the popular culture phase of Kinstler's career, and it includes an extended biography liberally spiced with anecdotes, reminiscences, and commentary by the artist. More than 300 illustrations -- many reproduced from originals in Kinstler's archives -- portray his lively early work, including double-page pulp spreads, paperback novel covers, and panels from Classics Illustrated.