I'M BANKING ON THIS CREATURE!

Coming our way this October is a line of super cool monster coin banks. At a list price of about 20 bucks, these are sure to be hot sellers. Here's the 411 from Diamond:

"A Diamond Select Release! The second release [the first is the Frankenstein monster] in DST's new line of vinyl banks was a no-brainer. After all, if you were going to make an 8-inch bust featuring highly detailed sculpts and paint, what monster would you want to see done right? The Creature from the Black Lagoon, of course! The scaly mer-monster has never looked better than in this detailed bank, and if you turn him around you can insert your loose change in a slot behind his gills. He's the next evolution in banks!"

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DIE FILME VON JACK ARNOLD IST SEHR GUT!

Guten Morgen, meine Freunde!

Close on the heels of the recent reissue of the 1954 Vargo Statten-penned novelization of the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON from Dreamhaven Books, comes a lavishly-illustrated retrospective of the director of the film. Written by Peter Osteried, DIE FILME VON JACK ARNOLD: KÖNIG DES PHANTASTISCHEN FILMS (The Films of Jack Arnold: The King of Fantastic Films), has been published and released in Germany by MPW Book. A "Sachbuch" (non-fiction book), it covers Jack Arnold's ouevre and is immediately noticable as a result of its generous and striking visual content.

I only wish now that I had kept up with my German! I acquired a working knowledge of the language years ago, and, after years of disuse, have unfortunately retained only the basics.

Author Osteried has provided MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD with samples and I have to say that the design is perfect for the subject matter. To those visitors to this blog who read German, the book comes with two covers and may be purchased by clicking HERE.

In order to see just how beautiful a book this is, following are a few pages from the section of the Universal Pictures' 1958 science-gone-wild film, MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS.

And, if all this hasn't fired up your ancient Devonian blood yet, then start looking for an exclusive interview with Peter Osteried, author of THE FILMS OF JACK ARNOLD, coming soon right here at MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD!

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NEWSFLASH! CREATURE NOVEL NOW AVAILABLE!

The highly anticipated CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON novel by sci-fi author Vargo Statten is now available for order. There's a trade paperback, a hardback, and a special, Ltd. edition hardcover signed by both Ricou Browning and Julie Adams! KREEEGAHHHHH!!!

Order yours HERE from DREAMHAVEN BOOKS.

Click HERE for the MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD post that covers the story of this rare book.

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DO THE MONSTER MASK! REEL CREATURE

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Universal's THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. The character is wholly unique in a pantheon filled with psychos, supernatural beings, and atomic mutations. Creatch is simply a living survivor of the Devonian age, left alone in his Black Lagoon until he is disturbed by a team of scientists.

There have been a number of over-the-head Halloween masks devoted to The Creature. This one, by Reel Creature, is particularly well done. It retails for $299.

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CREATURE NOVEL UPDATE

If you've been waiting in rapt anticipation for the reprint edition of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON novel to finally appear, then you'll want to read this. Since the publication date had passed, I inquired to DREAMHAVEN BOOKS, the publisher of the rare (and expensive) Vargo Statten movie novelization. I heard back from a nice fellow by the name of Greg, who explained:

"Well, it all depends on Universal. Now they're giving us problems over the photo section we included. Even though it's clearly stated in the contracts (which they drafted) they don't like it. So it's been pushed back a bit further, hopefully in November."

Thanks, Greg, for the update. MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD will keep readers posted.

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RARE "CREATURE" NOVEL TO BE REPRINTED



The Bob Eggleton cover for the reprint
TPB edition from Dreamhaven Books.

 It is not uncommon to see novelizations of movies based on original stories appear around the time of their release. Nevertheless, it's hard to believe that back around 1954, there was even one published for THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Oddly enough, only printed in Great Britain by Dragon Publications, London, the book today is so rare (extremely scarce according to other bibliophiles) that you will find it difficult to see one of the few offered for sale for under $2,000. The price goes up from there, to the current highest-paid price of $6,600!

Written by "Vargo Statten", this was the pen name of one John Russell Fearn (1908 - 1960), a British author who, writing under a number of pseudonyms, is commonly attributed the distinction of fueling the fire of science-fiction and pulp story popularity throughout England. He was also one of the first British writers to have his stories printed in the American pulps of the day.

According to WIKI, "Fearn was a prolific writer who wrote Westerns and crime fiction as well as science fiction. His writing appeared under numerous pseudonyms. He wrote series like Adam Quirke, Clayton Drew, Golden Amazon, and Herbert. At times these drew on the pulp traditions of Edgar Rice Burroughs. His work received praise for its vividness, but criticism, being deemed "unpolished"."

A view of the hardbound edition's spine.

As an attestation of the book's "pulp worthiness", the following is copy written on the hardback edition book jacket flap:

“This amazing story is based on the film of the same title by permission of Universal International Pictures.

This startling book is a masterpiece of tension and excitement. Innocence is at peril and a beast is at large . . . 

Simply fascinating from the beginning to the end.”


An example of the paperbound edition.



The 176-page book was released in both hardbound and paperbound editions. The hardbound copies obviously demand higher prices, and conditions run mostly in the "Good" range. After all, these were the popular novels of the day, and it's amazing that even a few are left in any condition.

It seems at least one became available for Dreamhaven Books in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because they are reprinting it in a new, trade paperback edition! Lucky for us, the much more affordable $20 book is due to go on sale next month.




From Amazon UK




From Amazon UK




From Amazon UK




Christi's Auction Copy



James Cahill Rare Books copy.



L.W. Currey, Inc. copy.




News item from Dreamhaven Books.




Dreamhaven Books title description.

  

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