From the production team:
Some may well be wondering about that cute lil red dragon/dino on the cover to this issue. To those "in the know" (including MONSTER! founder Tim Paxton), cartoonist Vernon Grant's slim 1972 softcover comics volume A MONSTER IS LOOSE! IN TOKYO marked a key point in the understanding and acceptance of Japanese "kaiju eiga" (basically, giant monster movies) here in the West.
For this issue, dedicated pop-cultural paleontologist Stephen R. Bissette gives us Part 1 of his two-part personal testimonial to Grant, "the man who introduced 'kaiju" to America," alighting on other aspects of monster/popular culture along the way.
Elsewhere, the academically studious-to-a-fault John L. Vellutini contributes a sequel to his epic article on Indonesian horror cinema, "The Ties That Bind" (which we ran in M! #21); this month John ties up whatever loose ends of errata/addenda he has unearthed since last month.
In addition, the mighty Eric Messina enthusiastically champions the cause of usual puppet master Gerry Anderson's mid-'90s live-action sci-fi/crime hybrid SPACE PRECINCT, a critter-filled series which is generally -- and in Eric's considered opinion, unfairly -- held in low esteem even by the staunchest adherents of Anderson's canon.
With similar enthusiasm, the ever-knowledgeable John Harrison covers a bunch of the more monsterific episodes of the cult '60s pulp sci-fi show, LOST IN SPACE.
For the sake of something "different," the seemingly tireless and super-prolific Troy Howarth conducts an entertaining interview with up 'n" coming young indie/underground moviemaker Joshua Kennedy, whose latest SOV ventures are DRACULA A.D. 2015 and THE VESUVIUS XPERIMENT.
Then there's "How To Make a Monster," the first installment of fellow indie filmmaker Mike T. Lyddon's on-set coverage of his upcoming D.I.Y. creature feature, FIRST MAN ON MARS.
Also in this super-stuffed issue, freelance author Stephen D. Sullivan covers a number of the best podcasts out there pertaining to monster movies, while Matthew E. Banks takes a look at massive pop culture icon Bela Lugosi's forays into vampire cinema, which came fewer and farther between than you might expect, considering his rep.
Our larger-than-usual review section includes write-ups on such diverse filmic fare as KIDS VS MONSTERS (2015), DR. ORLOFF'S INVISIBLE MONSTER (1970), MEET THE APPLEGATES (1990), IT! (1967), HOUSE ON BARE MOUNTAIN (1962), FRANKENSTEIN: DAY OF THE BEAST (2011), the Mexi-monster masterpiece SHIP OF MONSTERS (1960), plus more besides. Oh, and Tim P. covers another clutch of ultra-obscure Hindi horrors, too!
Color cover, B&W inside. 114 pages. 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. Intended for mature readers, in our opinion.
Shipping Note: This paperback weighs substantially more than a magazine, so depending what if any other items are ordered, we may choose to ship it via Media Mail.
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