Alternate Saturdays

More intentionally 'off-model' Secret Saturdays promo
artwork from the Kirby-channeling pen of Juan Ortiz...

Call Him Monster

In all honesty, I had nearly forgotten these perfect little books. Did you forget them, too? Early readers from 1973 that I adored and moved on from, without further thought-- until I discovered some vintage paperback copies in my Mother-In-Law's collection of kids books she still has from her days as a public school teacher. But I recognized them at once, like meeting an old friend, and knew I needed to find the whole lot for myself. There are 12 little volumes in the Monster Book series written by Ellen Blance and Ann Cook, and illustrated by the incomparable Quentin Blake. And they are perfectly delightful... I can't confirm this, but I am sure they were written with input from young kids, as the writing style is so breezy and quirky, and extremely child-like, which is hard to fake (see above and below). Blake's drawings match the tone so perfectly, it's like a natural formation. It should come as no surprize that the series is considered a cult classic, and that it's become somewhat hard to find. I lucked into 8 hardcover 2nd printings recently, and it got me all excited again. The slim individual titles are like chapter books that follow Monster as he moves to the city, finds a home, a friend, and a magic umbrella, amoung other things. The official checklist is: Monster Comes to the City, Monster Looks for a House, Monster Cleans His House, Monster Looks for a Friend, Monster Meets Lady Monster, Monster and the Magic Umbrella, Monster Goes to the Museum, Monster on the Bus, Monster Goes to School, Monster Has a Party, and Monster Goes to the Zoo. It's impossible to deduce how much these early readers (along with the work of Sendak and Mayer) impressed me as a child, or how much they guided my future development, but I wouldn't underestimate the influence. I loved Monster then, and I sure love Monsters now!

Millie Merch

Well, it's been a couple of years since I last tortured you all with words and pictures of Millie the Lovable Monster, the sweetest creep ever to crawl across a comics page. I'm just sick enough to dig her, and I'm delighted to say that I recently aquired what is most likely the only ancillary Millie product... a die-cut colouring book from 1963! With all-new interior art draw by creator Bill Woggon, no less! The images roughly follow the stories from the comics in sequence, in case you're interested. Here are a couple of samples...

Cute Creeps

Those of you who've been following my sporadic posting on all things monster-kid-ish know I have a soft spot for Things created by weird young minds. I totally dig a good monster doodle with a fresh perspective. Along those lines, The Guardian recently held a monster drawing contest, and here are the winners. The Hairgobbler above is by Reef Dorr, 7, and is descibed thusly, "It is 25mm long. It is very hairy. This creature flies around, landing on middle-aged men’s heads. It crawls around to either the forehead or the crown, then uses the pincer on its tail to pull out the hairs. Then it eats all the hairs up! And this is the reason men go bald." Wonderful! And I just love the UK children's ubiquitous use of watercolors... very old-school.

It's Alive! And it's a good read!

One of the best books I read last year was Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock. Really captivating overview of the phenomenon that is Frankenstein's Monster, with thoughtful and thought-provoking insights into the shifting pop culture that continues to remake the thing in it's own image. I was particularly fascinated with Mary Shelly's personal history and it's relationship to the novel, and by the feminist connections to the work and it's final acceptance as 'good' gothic literature. I think it's a terrific companion piece to David J. Skal's work... and highly recommend it to Monsterama readers. "This is our monster," writes Susan Tyler Hitchcock. "To know him is to know ourselves." More from the publisher...

A Kid And His Cryptid

I really don't care what all the cynical critics are saying, I think the Water Horse is a wonderful film. Simple, classic story with sumptuous visuals and nice performances. Of course, I am a cryptid-obsessed father of two, so I might be the bullseye of the target market, but so what. It's full of crypto-nods to 'authentic' Nessie lore, and the monster is just wonderful (aren't they all, though?). At least I'm not the only one who likes it...

A Year Of Saturdays

The latest edition of the legendary, off-model, Cartoon Network Calendar is out, and I just can't believe my guys are in it. Drawn in a Kamandi-ish King Kirby style by the super-awesome J. Ortiz, no less! Now it's really official... I've joined the illustrious CN line-up. Happy New Year!

Have A Ghoul Yule

Remember to help out a monster this Christmas.

Dear Santa...

... I want North American Region Code DVD's with English subtitles of last years' Nekome Kozo (Cat-Eyed Boy) based on the maga by Umezz, and the live action Kitaro movie, please. And all of these Shigeru Mizuki toys. Thank you.

Manoo Manoo... Shazzbutt!

Got some time off? Looking for something cool to peruse online? I humbly reccommend this Jack Kirby Monster blog, chock full of early Marvel monster action, including nice scans of a slew of never before reprinted stories. Rare and Rampaging!

Monster Toys For Girls And Boys

I've been a busy guy lately. Had a really great trip down to Mattel Toys HQ in El Segundo last week. Great bunch of people with jobs at least as fun as mine. It's official... Mattel will be doing our Secret Saturdays action figure line, and it's going to be awesome. Too bad we have to wait until Fall 2009 for the first wave... Merry Christmas 2009, everybody! One of the Cartoon Network Consumer Products team members I had in my corner for the presentation was Rick Blanco, who also just happens to paint creepy pictures in his spare time. We had a chat during the break about Leonard Nimoy's In Search Of... TV series that inspired and disturbed us both as youngsters. 'Leonard Searching' (pictured above) is described on his site thusly... "This painting is a bit of an homage to my childhood. In the late 1970's/early 80's there was a show called "In Search Of," which was hosted by Leonard Nimoy. This show used to investigate mythological, supernatural or cryptozoological subjects and even though much of it was over the top conjecture, it gave me the creeps while keeping me enthralled the whole time. I'll always remember the raw grainy footage of the Sasquatch looking over its shoulder as it stomped back into the forest. Here little Leonard has gone searching for his ball or a new friend and winds up with both."

Delinquent Teens

Well now, this is certainly a surprise! The Teen Titans story I did with Bob Haney and the Allreds many a moon ago is finally going to see print next January. Too bad Mr. Haney, the creator of the original Titans, isn't alive to see it. I talk all about the book to Jen Contino over at The Pulse. "Featuring the original Teen Titans: Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Speedy and Aqualad! Classic Teen Titans writer Bob Haney sends the Titans into space to rescue President John F. Kennedy in this story illustrated by Jay Stephens (The Land of Nod) & Mike Allred (Madman, X-Statix)! Meet new alien races, witness a startling betrayal, and more! It's a secret space adventure that couldn't be told...'til now!"

The Veil Thins...

The best of Boos to you and yous.

Mummy Mania!

If you're in the Vermont area this afternoon, get on over to
The Henry Sheldon Museum for Mummy Mania! Egyptian Mummies and How They Were Made, where kids can practice the ancient Egyptian technique of mummification on a toy or doll. The embalming bash runs from 1 to 3 p.m. beginning with a talk by mummy expert S.J. Wolfe, followed by mummy making, creating a Halloween mummy mask, hieroglyphics lessons, and an episode of my cartoon Tutenstein. Wolfe also discusses the context surrounding a mummy of a small boy acquired by the museum.

The Upright Beast

The Paranormal Database is an astoundingly thorough and well-conceived site devoted to strange goings-on in the United Kingdom, and I've been spending a few hours of research there recently. With a little digging around, you'll find reference to Sherwood Forest's cryptid, the 'Upright Beast'... also known as The Sherwood Thing or the British Werewolf. (From The Evening Post, November 28th, 2002) An eight foot, hairy man-beast with red glowing eyes is said to be on the prowl... the 'Sherwood Forest Thing'. Beast watcher Chris Mullins says: "I believe it's feasible. Wildmen could still exist in our time. Notts and Derbyshire are known for their underground caves and catacombs, explored and unexplored, and the woods could conceal a lot." This same creature has been spotted throughout the weird and wonderous Nottinghamshire region where it has garnered some other local nicknames, including 'The Fiskerton Phantom'.

It's Never Too Late

... But you really ought to hurry if you want to grab a great costume, decoration, or prop for Halloween. Fright Catalog has some spectacular stuff, and a handy shipping time estimate right on the site (North Americans can get stuff in 24 hrs!). And if you're in the London area this weekend, it's not too late to haul your carcass to The 12th International Halloween Festival at Queen Mary College, Mile End Road, from 12noon-8pm. Tarot readers, a Pagan craft market,lectures, and workshops... sounds like a party to me!

All Sorts Of Souls

The bad news is that I'm too busy this year to post up any sort of Hallowe'en storm here on MONSTERAMA. The good news is that I don't need to! Branded In The 80's, John Rozum, Neato Coolville, Plastic Pumpkins, and Secret Fun Spot are all contributing daily holiday posts for what they're calling '31 Days Of Halloween', and it's more monstrous mish-mash than you fiends can probably digest in one mere month! But don't take my word for it.. go look! And you'd better get busy... we're already 18 days in.

Saturdays Are Back!

Well, it's official... my cartoon series is going to be called THE SECRET SATURDAYS after all! Thanks a million to all you wonderful monster fans for supporting me during the 'wrong name days' as that dark period of my life shall forever be called. Kudos to the Cartoon Network for making a great choice.

Clap for the Kappa

It's sort of surprising that Japan's Kappa... cute creeps that appear as half-turtle, half-hominid river spirits... aren't better known outside of their native haunt considering how hugely popular they are there. I mean, the Kappa is probably Japan's most famous monster. From the great Shigeru Mizuki's adorably weird Sanpei the Kappa to the classic brushy comic strip work of Kon Shimizu (Kappa Tengoku, Kowataro the Kappa, etc.) which became the spokesmonsters of Kizakura Sake for many decades, Kappa are a big part of Japanese pop culture. Not that these river-dwelling pranksters are a modern phenomenon, though... no, sir! Kappa are venerable Yokai, and have been a part of Japanese folklore for centuries. I was just re-watching Miike's The Great Yokai War again, and loving the depiction of Kawataro the Kappa (named for the Shimizu character? See responses...). Frankly, you can't have a Yokai movie (from the Yokai Monsters trilogy from the 1960's, to the recent monsterpiece Kibakichi) without a Kappa! This guy Kyoichi Shimazaki, AKA Ghostman, has some really wonderful effects makeup and behind the scenes images on his site, including the stunning Kappa creation pictured below. Wish I knew what it was created for, but I can't read Japanese.Follow the links and discover the Kappa, my friends. But don't get too close to the water!

Motley Ghosts

Ahhh, the month of October. Harvest season and the time of Samhain. Takes me back to Merry Old England and her grand tradition of silly spectres (ok, it's a bit of a stretch, but stay with me). Paul at The Cobwebbed Room has loads of scans from the Fleetway monster comics I loved as a kid. And remember The Ghosts Of Motley Hall? Those were the days, my fiends...