Book excerpt: The central and later decades of the twentieth century have not only been marked by the popularity of fantasy in general but of fantastic graphics in particular. As a literature relatively new to academic consideration, however, fantasy lacks a universally accepted definition, and no previous author has adequately studied the genral differences between the literalness of realistic illustration and the paradoxes of fantastic illumination. In "Illuminated Fantasy," James Whitlark presents a detailed analysis of the significance of picture/text discrepancy - its history, its various forms, and its psychological complexities.