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The Printings

Gladiator has been reprinted in at least 13 different editions. Each one featured new cover art that ranged from the elegant to the embarrassing.  Only a couple seemed to capture the essence of the novel. Eleven of the editions are pictured here.

The early paperbacks feature a half-naked Hugo in various incarnations, being adored by the disembodied heads of several women. Later printings kept the half-naked part and stuck Hugo among unexplained globs of color and geometric designs. Only one printing let's him wear clothes.

And then there are the cover blurbs...

Most aren't related the novel's content in the slightest. They're designed to hype an aspect of the book that barely exists. One cover even has the hero's name and book title wrong! 

The earliest printing I own and the edition that inspired the gray and brown color scheme of this site.

I really like the storm illo on the cover by Mac Harshberger. Has kind of an Art Nouveau thing going. A worthy attempt to connect the story theme and illustration. Gladiator wasn't considered pulp fiction yet. The artist was trying to get some depth. An interesting choice of subject matter. This picture means nothing until you've read the last page of the book.

Paper and cover are of very poor quality. It's more like a magazine and measures 16 x 25.5 cm. The cover stock resembles a paper grocery bag.  There was a hard back printing previous to this one. Here's a link to the inscribed edition of that printing.

Wylie wrote an interesting introduction to the story which I retyped  in the name of scholarly review. There are some editorial differences between this version and subsequent editions, but I'm just now collecting them. I'll write a little piece on them some time in the future.

Gladiator is dedicated to Michael Shepard but I don't know who that is. Probably a sad story behind it.

The first paperback reprint. Revised from the Book League Edition. There was a 19-year gap between printings.

First half-naked man cover. Portrait at least resembles the features offered in the prose. How about those adoring floating heads? Hugo, you rascal! Depiction entirely misses the point of the novel, but I like the title font.

Back cover copy gets tied in a grammatical knot more than once. Apparently, the writer was trying to fill space and use as many words as possible to say nothing. Shakespeare looks upset.

A classy little edition from Shakespeare House. It's got a bookmark ribbon and everything! Black and green boards with a portrait of The Bard embossed on the lower corner of the cover. Small title measuring 11.5 x 17 cm. Similar Shakespeare illo from back of 1949 edition. I assume a conspiracy...or at least a connection. Avon. Shakespeare. Stratford-Upon-Avon? Hm. It's all in there somewhere.

One of only three hard backs I can find. Probably part of a larger literary collection printed by Shakespeare House, but I'm just guessing. They released several obscure titles that same year.

The return of the half-naked man! Only now he doesn't resemble the description of Hugo at all.  He's some Nordic guy. And the floating heads seem mad at him.

Really, was that the best place to put a red X? It looks like they're slapping a ban on Blond Hugo. NO PALE GLADIATORS ALLOWED!

This edition sports the first quote from Outlook. It says the book is "surcharged with emotion." Surcharged! I looked it up in Webster's Tenth. There was no definition that fit the context. I think the writer just meant "charged." He was going for an archaic meaning at best.

Story description is at least somewhat accurate. Pared down from 1949 edition. There's still a lot of talk about Hugo's "vigor."

Printed from same plates as Avon 216.

A new publisher and a brand new take on the cover. 1958 is the only copyright date given, but I'm guessing a later printing. That cover art looks more like the 60s to me. And half-naked Hugo has longer hair than would have been cool in '58. Not certain though.

Copyright page makes first reference to the book being printed by arrangement with Harold Ober and Associates. There is now a nice quote from the New York Times. Some publication called Books offers the two words at the bottom of the front cover. Transcript didn't quite top them on the back.

I can say with some certainty that nobody at Lancer read the book -- or even discussed it with someone who had -- before writing these blurbs. They are welds and rewrites of previous blurbs and really start amplifying the synopsis errors. Instead of "fascinating vigor," Hugo now possess an "infinitely superior mind and a sex-drive that put insatiable women at his feet and turn men green with envy ..."  Well, not really.

Hugo is a looong way away from possessing an "infinitely superior mind." He's not exactly a moron, but he's no brainiac either. Perhaps even a bit thick sometimes. And his sex drive? Sure, the novel's got some spice for its time, but not the soft core the covers are advertising. Shame on those marketing people!

Here's a copy of personal significance to me. It was the first copy of Gladiator I ever purchased. Awwww!  I knew nothing about the book so I just bought the cheapest one I could find on-line.  The pages were falling out and the whole bit. 

Hey, is that old Hugo Danner? Not only fully clothed, but all dressed up in a polo shirt, blazer, loafers and sunglasses! And is that Hugo's sports car? And his ... airplane?

At least they showed the whole top-half of a woman.

I remember pulling this book out of the mailer and thinking they'd slipped me a Harlequin Romance with the same title. No way this book was set in the early 20th Century.  Turns out, yeah, this was the right book. Wrong cover is all.

By the mid 60s, the houses publishing Gladiator had no clue what it was, or even what it was about. Super-powered heroes had overrun comics and were all over the place. TV shows, movies, whole lines of toys, games and clothing were based on super heroes. They'd long since moved beyond the germ of their origins. Who the heck ever talked about Hugo Danner when Superman, Spiderman, Batman and the Hulk were around?

Not even Gladiator remembered what it was. Except for the Sam Moskowitz introduction to the Hyperion editions in 1974, none of the books mention the novel's influence on comic books and super heroes.  All communication to the reader is limited to that "vigor and envy" schlock.

I bet a lot of people who bought Gladiator because of its cover felt jipped.

Oops! Hugo's feeling like an uninhibited superman again. There go the clothes! Now I'm starting to understand why this book shows up in some odd Ebay listings.

Actually, I think this is one of the cooler covers. The figure manages to be both realistic and abstract. Strength, power and pain all seem to radiate from the Christ-like pose. The subdued colors lower the book's dime novel personality and give it a more sophisticated appearance. Did that sound smart?

The hype is still way off. It's another rewrite with the same salted keywords. Free. Fears. Virility. Inhibit. Envied. Desired. Only now Hugo has been "blessed by his own biology,"  an inaccurate statement that contradicts the books theme on several levels.

Bottom of cover says "3rd Big Printing." That closes the printing gap with the 1958 and 1965 Lancer editions.

This quality hard cover printing is from Hyperion's Classics of Science Fiction Series. My favorite part of this edition is the Introduction by Sam Moskowitz. That alone is worth the price. This was where I got tipped off about the Amazing Story June 1930 review.

This is one of my favorite editions just because of the quality of printing. Nice binding and great paper. I don't think it ever had a dust jacket.

And not a half-naked man in sight! Uh, oh. What a minute. That Greek astronaut. What the..?! He doesn't have anything on but a space helmet! Now doesn't that just cut it? Hugo doesn't even own a space helmet.

I think this edition was published simultaneously with the hard back. Pretty close. And what a tasteful, although bland, cover we have. Text is a purplish pink (like all of the Classics Of Science Fiction trade paper titles).  Looks like something you'd buy for a lit class.

Moskowitz intro reprinted. Identical interior to hard cover.

Yes, I know. The Greek astronaut is the logo for the Classics of SF collection. I got stuck with a copy of Olga Romanoff I can't unload. Cover's nearly identical to this one.

Okay, this is where it drops off a cliff. Somebody just needed to take the book away from them.

First of all, the title of the novel is wrong. For mysterious -- and possibly conspiratorial reasons -- the new publisher, Manor Books, inserted a "The" above the word "Gladiator" in the main title. Thus blowing off the most fundamental level of respect a publisher can pay a book. Getting its name right.

Yet that sin is minor compared to the next.

No excuse can exist for calling Hugo "Henry" all over the front and back covers. That ain't no typo. Granted, Hugo is a clunky name, but such editorial judgment belongs to the author. Not even the reader has the clout to change a character's name. Just mispronounce them.

It surely didn't happen because the design staff, and every proofreader in the basement, didn't know the character's correct name! A preposterous suggestion. After all, that was their job.

Half-naked Hugo seems to be lifted from a different sci-fi novel cover. What's happening? Is he floating in space? Why are his hands that way?

Now for the happy twist: The blurb isn't that bad. It touches on several themes of the story and acknowledges that Gladiator is the "most literate and convincing of all novels of super-powers and supermen."

I can't actually name those other novels, but it's still probably true.

Good old University of Nebraska Bison Press comes through with an incredible cover, well-written blurb and a new forward by Janny Wurts. These people like their job.

A vivid setting sun frames Hugo's black silhouette above an art deco landscape. Not thrilled with the figure's pose but the image captures a sense of emotion I don't get from the others.  Cool font helps us remember the novel's setting in time.

A writer over at the Sci-Fi Channel's site did a tough, but pretty good, review of this printing. One of the better editions and it seems to be doing well with non-collectors (a.k.a. "readers").