Fun article about Don Post Studios as featured in the debut issue of Modern Monster #1 from April 1966, plus an ad from the back pages of the same issue. Umm, is this really an article though? I mean, it's not even listed in the table of contents which now makes me think that maybe the entire "article" itself is just an ad as well. Not that it matters, and either way you slice it, the mid 60's was a primo era to not only be a monster kid, --but to also be a Don Post mask collector!
Here's an oddball fairy tale freak-out from the August - September 1953 issue of Jack the Giant Killer #1, published by Bimfort, Inc. and, according to GCD, this is the one and only comic that Bimfort ever produced. It's a funny little back-up filler story with some silly supernatural moments, not to mention an ending that'll leave you all wet! So hang onto your shivers, and try to control them sufferin' shakes! It's time for--
Another big monster score this week: a 30+ inch tall Don Post Frankenstein prop from the early 90's. I actually have a few of these larger size, seemingly hand painted, squishy foam prop toys or whatever they are (a werewolf, a witch, and a ghost girl too, though I'm not sure if those were actually made by Don Post or not but are of the same exact material.) This one still had the DP "care sheet" card attached, and googlin' around I see they also made a Halloween Michael Myers... but I think Frankie here takes the cake, looking aggravated as Hell at not only being alive again, but then also having to stand around outside and get his goddamn picture taken in 100 degree midwest heat by yours truly! And as you can see in the last photo as well, the backside of him is rough and unfinished, as if pulled raw right out of the mold (my ghost girl is like that too), for no ifs ands or buts, essential prime time leanin' against the wall action!
Found this really neat midcentury marble maze game yesterday made by Hasbro, highlighted with spooky fun background artwork featuring giants, devils, ghosts, man eating plants, red witches, blood lakes, and more! Test your skill and coordination (and your nerves!) as you guide your marble around the macabre maze, but don't fall into any of the deadly traps --"Shark Lake" seems like a particularly bad place to wind up! The very last image below I found online and shows what the original packaging looked like.
Found buried deep within the assorted 68 page mix of The Owl superhero action, Andy Panda, Smokey Stover, and even Ellery Queen mysteries, Gabby Scoops was a somewhat overlooked Golden Age filler series about an adventurous reporter featured in Crackajack Funnies. And in today's post, we find goofy Gabby here in his very last issue appearance, sort of taking a walk right out of his own story and letting temporary cutie pie sidekick, Joyce Jilren, stretch her legs for a bit in the lead. You don't really have to know much more than that about any of it to fully enjoy the funny old time art stylings in the script or visuals, --heck, even the stereotypes and rather brisk page length lend a certain sort of fast paced, crude charm to this unique looking, fun little oddity of the 40's era. From the October 1941 issue of Crackajack Funnies #40.
Wait a sec... didn't I just post about shrunken heads last month? Yep, I sure did. But that was about the fun 70's Vincent Price Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture kit for kids (if you missed it CLICK HERE.) Now today's post is a little more on the dark and macabre side, though no less fun! See, I recently started a new job and was pleasantly surprised to discover that one of my craftier co-workers makes incredibly life-like (is that even the right word?) tsantsas! Goat skin, horse hair, chicken bones, and a whole lot of similar, ancient Jivaro headhunter / headshrinker techniques are applied to create one of Earth's most unpleasantly awful Amazonian realities-- the shrunken human head! AIEEEEE!!! *GAG! Sorry. And to say much more about the ghastly creation of my new trophy would also be an infringement upon my co-workers own secret techniques-- believe it, or not! Please be warned as you scroll down, that while this shrunken head is of course not real, it is indeed still extremely unnerving, and oh-so awesomely gruesome! And CLICK HERE if you want to read a wonderfully weird tale about this exact same thing, --NOW PLAYING at THOIA!
Here's a super neat midcentury Coca Cola advertising sign display I saw in a mid-MO antique mall a few months back. I meant to post these pix a while ago too, but they simply got lost on my desktop until now. Thrilling 3D effect, and everything is slickly die-cut, plus the combination of food photography and illustrated astro space kid (with real antennas!) makes for some extra kitschy fun. It's huge too-- even on its stand it was taller than me by at least a foot or two! That ice cold bottle of bubbly Coke sure looks refreshing, now can anyone identify the alien food dishes?
Sounds silly, but this is actually a clever, though incredibly simple, spatter free, midcentury cooking concept: a specifically shaped piece of glass with a handle on one side to press your bacon flat while sizzlin' it up in a frying pan. Personally, I like my bacon to look like a curly wurly roller coaster, and if this didn't say Sunset Speciality Co. on the bacony last image, I'd swear this was absolutely made by Ronco. Cute booklet artwork though, and of course works wonders for other foods too. Iron your bacon-- TODAY!
