I Am Legend is a 1954 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive in a future Los Angeles, California. It is notable as influential on the developing modern vampire genre as well as the zombie genre, in popularizing the fictional concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease, and in exploring the notion of vampirism as a disease. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and again in 2007 as I Am Legend. I Am Legend is a 2007 American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. ... Image File history File links Iamlegend. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... ISBN redirects here. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other uses, see Novel (disambiguation). ... Richard Matheson (born February 20, 1926) is an American author and screenwriter, typically of fantasy, horror, or science fiction. ... A group of actors portraying zombies in a film Zombies are regularly encountered in horror- and fantasy-themed fiction and entertainment. ... St. ... This article is about the medical term. ... The Last Man on Earth (originally titled LUltimo uomo della Terra) is a 1964 film based upon the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend. ... The Omega Man is a 1971 science fiction thriller starring Charlton Heston. ... I Am Legend is a 2007 American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. ...

Later releases of the novel include several of Matheson's short stories: Buried Talents, The Near Departed, Prey, Witch War, Dance of the Dead, Dress of White Silk, Mad House, Funeral, From Shadowed Places, and Person to Person.

Plot

I Am Legend covers the daily life of Robert Neville from January of 1976 to January of 1979, in Los Angeles. The story opens with the monotony and horror of quotidian life for the protagonist, who apparently is the sole survivor of a bacterial pandemic apocalypse, the symptoms of which are like vampirism. Neville prepares for a siege night from a vampire horde. He spends the day time hours repairing his house — boarding windows, hanging garlic garlands, disposing of vampire corpses, and gathering supplies. Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria is also the fictional name of a warring nation under Benzino Napaloni as dictator, in the 1940 film The Great Dictator... For other uses, see Pandemic (disambiguation). ... The end of civilization or the end of the world are phrases used in reference to human extinction scenarios, doomsday events, and related hazards which occur on a global scale. ... Vampirism is a term used differently in popular culture and in zoology. ...

The story is Neville's attempt to comprehend, and possibly cure, the disease that killed mankind, showing his research of vampirism, and its possible causes. Via flashback, Neville's past is revealed. Moreover, his emotional struggle to cope with losing his family is dealt with by going about a daily routine.

Neville sees the destruction of the infected survivors as a right, a moral imperative, even, to be pursued for his own — and mankind's — survival, yet, in the end, he glimpses a future society wherein infection is normal and he, Neville, a murderous, biologic deviant. He then grasps that, just as vampires were legend in pre-infection times, now he, Robert Neville, is legend for the new human race born of the infection.

Influence

First edition cover art

I Am Legend influenced the zombie genre and popularized the concept of a world-wide disease apocalypse. Though classified and referred to as "the first modern vampire novel", ^[1] it is as a novel of social theme that I Am Legend impressed itself to the cinematic zombie genre by way of film director George A. Romero, who acknowledged its influence and that of its 1964 adaptation, The Last Man on Earth, upon his film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ^[2][3][4] Moreover, film critics noted similarities between Night of the Living Dead (1968) and The Last Man on Earth (1964). ^[5][6] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A group of actors portraying zombies in a film Zombies are regularly encountered in horror- and fantasy-themed fiction and entertainment. ... St. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director, writer, editor and actor. ... This article is about the 1968 film directed by George A. Romero. ...

Stephen King said, "without Richard Matheson I wouldn’t be around". ^[7] Film critics noted that the British film 28 Days Later (2002) and its sequel 28 Weeks Later both feature a rabies type plague ravaging Great Britain, analogous to I Am Legend. ^[8] The recasting of zombies as disease victims is comparable to recent zombie genre examples such as the Resident Evil series, the Blade trilogy, the 1984 B movie Night of the Comet, and The Addiction (1995), directed by Abel Ferrara. The United Kingdom has been influential in the technological, commercial, and artistic development of cinema. ... 28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris and Christopher Eccleston. ... 28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film, and sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later. ... This article is about the medical term. ... Resident Evil (known in Japan as Biohazard )) is a survival horror video game series and media franchise consisting of comic books, novelizations, three Hollywood motion pictures, and a variety of collectibles, including action figures, strategy guides and publications. ... The Blade film series is a trilogy of films based on the Marvel Comics that starred Wesley Snipes as the title character and beginning in 1998 and ending in 2004. ... // Events The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name. ... The King of the Bs, Roger Corman, produced and directed The Raven (1963) for American International Pictures. ... Night of the Comet is a 1984 science fiction film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney. ... The Addiction is a 1995 film by Abel Ferrara, starring Lili Taylor and Christopher Walken. ... Born July 15, 1951 in The Bronx, Ferrara started his career in his teens, making amateur films on Super 8. ...

In Kim Newman's alternate history novel Judgment of Tears, an alternate version of I Am Legend is said to be based on Count Dracula coming to America after being driven from Britain and establishing a vampire state there, with the hero the only mortal man left to oppose him. Kim Newman (born July 31, 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. ... Alternative history or alternate history can be: A History told from an alternative viewpoint, rather than from the view of imperialist, conqueror, or explorer. ... Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stokers 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. ...

On the album Le Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol 1, the metal band White Zombie had a song called "I Am Legend", loosely based on the novel. Heavy metal is a form of rock music characterized by aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars, generally with grandiose lyrics and virtuosic instrumentation. ... White Zombie was an American band named after the 1932 film White Zombie, which starred Bela Lugosi. ...

Christian post-hardcore band, He Is Legend, derive their title from the novel. He Is Legend is a Southern Rock/Post-Hardcore band formed in Wilmington, North Carolina and signed to Solid State Records. ...

The comic Y: The Last Man is about the only man on Earth to survive a plague; a comic within the comic read by the titular character (about the last woman on earth) is called I Am Woman.^[9] The comic also has stadiums being used for the collection and disposal of corpses, as in I Am Legend.^[10] Y: The Last Man is a comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan (Swamp Thing) and published by Vertigo. ... A story within a story is a literary device or conceit in which one story is told during the action of another story. ...

Adaptations

I Am Legend has been adapted to a feature-length film three times. The book has also been adapted into a graphic novel titled Richard Matheson's I Am Legend by Steve Niles and Elman Brown.^[11] Steve Niles is a comic book author, best known for his 2004 horror hit, 30 Days of Night, set in Barrow, Alaska. ...

A nine-part reading of the novel performed by Angus McInnes was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4. old Radio 4 logo BBC Radio 4 is a UK domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ...

The Last Man on Earth

Main article: The Last Man on Earth (1964 film)

In 1964, Vincent Price starred as Dr. Robert Morgan (rather than "Neville") in The Last Man on Earth (the original title of this Italian production was L'Ultimo Uomo della Terra). Matheson wrote the screenplay for this adaptation, but due to later rewrites he did not wish his name to appear in the credits; as a result, Matheson is credited under the pseudonym "Logan Swanson." The Last Man on Earth (originally titled LUltimo uomo della Terra) is a 1964 film based upon the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend. ... // Events January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove is released. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... The Last Man on Earth (originally titled LUltimo uomo della Terra) is a 1964 film based upon the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend. ...

The Omega Man

Main article: The Omega Man

In 1971 , a far different version appeared as The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston (as Robert Neville) and Anthony Zerbe. Matheson had no influence on the screenplay for this film; it deviates from the novel's story in several ways, completely removing the vampirical elements except sensitivity to light. The Omega Man is a 1971 science fiction thriller starring Charlton Heston. ... See also: 1970 in film 1971 1972 in film 1970s in film years in film film // Events February 8 - Bob Dylans hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New Yorks Academy of Music. ... The Omega Man is a 1971 science fiction thriller starring Charlton Heston. ... Charlton Heston (born October 4, 1924) is an US-american film actor, known for playing larger-than-life heroic roles such as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes, and Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur. ... Anthony Zerbe (born May 20, 1936 in Long Beach, California) is an American stage, film and television actor. ...

I Am Legend

Main article: I Am Legend (film)

Will Smith stars in the film directed by Francis Lawrence, released on December 14, 2007. This movie also deviates from the original novel. The infection is caused by a virus originally intended to cure cancer. However, some vampiric elements are retained, such as sensitivity to UV light and attraction to blood. I Am Legend is a 2007 American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. ... “W. S.” redirects here. ... Francis Lawrence (born in Vienna) is a popular music video director, having worked for stars like Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Destinys Child, Garbage and Missy Elliot. ... is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength shorter than that of the visible region, but longer than that of soft X-rays. ...

See also

• Post-apocalyptic fiction
• Vampire literature
• Zombies in popular culture
• Survivalism

Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... For information on movies about vampires, see Vampire films. ... A group of actors portraying zombies in a film Zombies are regularly encountered in horror- and fantasy-themed fiction and entertainment. ... For other uses, see Survivalism (disambiguation). ...

References

Y: The Last Man is a comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan (Swamp Thing) and published by Vertigo. ... Y: The Last Man is a comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan (Swamp Thing) and published by Vertigo. ...

External links

• The I Am Legend Book Archive