SHOCK MONSTER EEE! BOOK NOW ON SALE

Look what's bubbling over in the cauldron here at the Mysterious Mansion -- the MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD 2011 BLOG BOOK!

Not quite a Year Book, and not exactly a Fear Book -- it's an EEE! BOOK -- and it's all yours for just 99 cents and a few mouse clicks. That's right -- a measly 99 cents!

So what do you get for your hard-earned almost-a-buck, you may ask? Just check out these features:

• Over 600 jam-packed monster-size pages!
• Comes with every Blog post from 2011, in chronological order!
• A vast storehouse of knowledge from some of the most brilliant minds and scholarly scholars in the known (and unknown) monsterverse!
• The complete and unedited text is accompanied by all the scans, photos and illustrations from the original post!
• Includes a Table of Contents with hyperlinks to each post title so you can easily search for and read any post without scrolling through screen after screen to find what you're looking for!
• All in a convenient downloadable PDF format to read on your computer, tablet, or any other device that can read PDF files, whenever you want!

I'm sure you're asking by now: Wow! How do I get my copy of the MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD 2011 BLOG BOOK? It's really easy! All you have to do is follow these simple steps:

• Click on the "ORDER NOW" link shown below and open the email assistant.
• Simply type in "Blog Book" in the subject line and send.
• I'll email you back an electronic invoice that describes your payment options (PayPal or credit card).
• Please be patient, folks -- I'm doing this low-tech, so it may take a little while for me to manually process your request.
• After you send your payment, I will email you a link with easy instructions on how to download your EEE! BOOK from the file host. That's it!

ORDER NOW!

By purchasing this EEE! BOOK you are also donating to the coffins . . . er, coffers of the Mysterious Mansion so that more monster stuff can be purchased for review and to be shared with readers of MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD just like you!

 

But wait! That's not all -- 10% of all proceeds go to help support the Transylvanian Tourist Board (they are still in need of a new horse to pull the tour wagon)! 

IMPORTANT! Always use the latest version of Adobe Reader when viewing PDF files.

Thanks for supporting MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD!

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SHOCK MONSTER!

"Never trim a mask while wearing it." - Don Post

Few icons from the "Ghoulden Age" of the 60's Monster Craze has transfixed a generation of Monster Kids like the ubiquitous image of the "Shock Monster". Designed and created by Keith Ward, a popular ad man and children's book illustrator of the day, the Topstone  company unleashed an entire line of affordable costume masks that found sales traction in the back pages of magazines like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, and were quickly propelled into legendary status. If you could spare the allowance money, here were one or two dollar items that could turn you into a ghoul, a vampire, a witch -- even a "Gooney", a "Battered Pug" (deep-fried dog?), a "Spasm", or how about a "Ubangi"? When they announced their "over the top" mask line -- man, did they ever mean it!



A Topstone catalogue page.


While the image itself (drawn by Ward for the Topstone catalogue) was indelible, the Shock Monster went by a few different names, like "Horor Zombie", or just plain "Horror", depending on which 'zine or catalogue was selling it. The name seemed to eventually settle into Shock Monster, and that's what we know it by today.

The Shock Monster mask has been resurrected by industrious garage and pro sculptors who either couldn't find an original to own, or just couldn't afford one to begin with. Some versions aim for authenticity while some amplify some of the more outrageous details that the mask is famous for.

THE MONSTER TIMES Vol. 1. No. 6 (April 1972).

In 2011, Don Post Studios released their own version of the Shock Monster mask. Now, for about 25 bucks, you can have one of the better versions of this Monster Craze legend. It's also made from a lot more durable material than the original so it can remain proudly displayed on a shelf for years to come.

The mask is up for a Rondo Award in the "Best Toy, Model or Collectible" category. As soon as I heard about it, I was on the Amazon website buying one. The results are shown here. But -- be forwarned -- and prepare yourself to be shocked!

The mask arrived with the obligatory care and safety tag. What bummed me out was the statement that it should be worn by adults only. Who are they kidding? And to anybody silly enough to try, they also warn against swimming with it!

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