I Know There are Harlan Ellison Fans Here...
 

...so has anyone heard of/seen this?

Wolf? I'm lookin' at you, girl.

I've only read one of his stories, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream".
It depressed the hell out of me for weeks.

All I know of Harlan Ellison is the experience the Penny Arcade guys had with him.

I'm sure his books are lovely, but I've never read any of them. What should I start with if I'm considering add one of his to my pile?

Any anthology will do nicely. I prefer his short stories myself.

I don't think there's any doubt that H.E. has an enormous ego, but hey...he's truly one of the greatest writers of the modern era, hands down. I'd have an ego, too.

I so must see that.

I love listening to him reading his own work. I have Repent, Harlequin and Tales from the Sunken Cathedral on tape.

Harlan does not write happy work. Even his comedy pieces are tidbits of sharp satire, Sour Patch Kids that don't bother with a sweet finish, but you keep munching on them anyway.

From my own experience, it's not easy to find his short story collections. I have managed to track down most of what was published before the mid-nineties, except for limited edition and foreign publication works. The Essential Ellison is large enough to kill a chihuahua with if you drop it, but it's about the best collection out there.

If I had to recommend only one collection that weighs less than ten pounds, though, I'd go with Alone Against Tomorrow. You'll be horribly depressed by the end, since the thematic link of the stories is alienation, but you'll find yourself saying, "that boy can write."

Gentleman Junkie and Shatterday are awesome as well. Okay. It's all great. I am in danger of just listing everything.

He had two cameos in Babylon 5, one as a voice and one as nonspeaking role, so I guess it added up to one cameo in total. Plus he was credited as "conceptual consultant" on every episode.

Isn't that the guy who got fired from Disney for joking about making porn cartoons while at lunch where some bosses overheard his conversation?

"City on the Edge of Forever" -- Star Trek -- was his.

As broadcast, no it wasn't.

If you don't know that story, you're not really a fan.

I have read the original script. It's a much better story than was filmed.

Silver Surfer animated series, episode 8, credits "story by Harlan Ellison"

Edited to add: http://harlanellison.com/text/comicbib.txt