Creature from the Black Lagoon (21/54) - Aurora Glow-in-the-Dark Model Kit Box (1970)

 
Much like my Aurora Godzilla Glow box, I always had a nostalgic desire to own an original Aurora Creature Glow box. I already owned several Creature reproduction kits in the tall and skinny box variations (like the earlier original Aurora kits), but since they had never reissued the Creature in the square Aurora-style box, the only way to go was to find an original.

Fortunately, like Godzilla, I found a great deal on a Creature box, along with a built-up, painted kit (in pieces). That's his head up in the top photo.

There have been some recent Aurora reissues with square boxes — the Mummy, the Wolfman, the Phantom, the Forgotten Prisoner, King Kong and Godzilla. And should they get around to reissuing a glow creature in a square box, you can rest assured that I'll add that to the collection too, as I've long wanted to rebuild a glow version of the original creature (almost as much as I'd love to build a glow Aurora Monsters of the Movies creature kit)!

Be sure to check back next week for another item from my Creature collection!

Godzilla (20/54) - Bandai Godzilla -1.0 Theater Exclusive (2023)

I really enjoyed Godzilla -1.0, and saw it theatrically three times (once in IMAX, once in Dolby Cinema — my preferred presentation — and once, as Godzilla -1.0/C in black and white).

The Godzilla -1.0 design harkened back to my favorites from the Heisei era, so it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I'd be picking up some -1.0 Godzillas. I did start with the standard issue Bandai vinyl figure, but as soon as I caught a glimpse of the theater exclusive, in blue with silver flecks, I had to acquire one of those as well.

Here you can see the comparison of the regular and theater exclusive coloring, side-by-side.

And of course the variation in the ever-present tags (which I rarely remove) for the regular and theater exclusive vinyls.

Check back next week for more from my Godzilla collection!

 

I Am Legend (20/54) - Kyūketsuki (Vampire), Hayakawa (1958)

When I started collecting international editions of I Am Legend, I was working from a list of five books listed in the 1984 booklet Richard Matheson: He Is Legend (which specified two German editions, a Spanish edition from Argentina, and two editions from Japan). The earliest Japanese edition was titled Kyūketsuki (Vampire), translated by Komimasa Tanaka and published by Hayakawa in 1958. Despite that, it also includes the original title in English on the cover, making it easier for Gajin like me to spot. In those pre-internet days, the odds of my finding a Japanese translation were slim to none.

Fortunately, as with Mundo de Vampiros, I was able to acquire one of a handful of hand-signed editions that originated in the collection of Richard Matheson (one of the complimentary copies received from the publisher). This was a particularly rewarding find, given that it was (a) an edition on my want list, and (b) one that I expected would likely be absent from my growing archive. 

I thought it was interesting that the three Japanese characters that translate to "vampire" are individually (according to Google's translation) "suck," "blood," and "ghost."

Because this wasn't a retail copy, the book even has the original Hayakawa sales slip in it still. From what I've observed, these tipped in sheets are often removed when the book is sold (there's a handy tab that sticks out at the top for easy removal.

The back cover features a duotone photo of (a well-read copy of) the 1957 2nd printing of the Gold Medal paperback and the Hayakawa book number (3005).

Most of the details on the Gold Medal cover (including the words SECOND BIG PRINTING, printed in black text on a red background) are lost in the reproduction.

This first Japanese edition was reprinted at least twice; on June 25, 1960, and June 30, 1963. (I have a copy of the latter reprint in the archive.)

Check back next week for another item from the I Am Legend Archive!

 

Creature from the Black Lagoon (20/54) - Crestwood House Monster Series Hardcover (1981)

Going to the library was a favorite pastime growing up. Pretty early on, I discovered there was a tonlot of cool stuff outside the confines of the children's room (where I did find and enjoy the cool picture books on monster movies, as well as the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Aztecs). As soon as I learned the Dewey Decimal System, my regular haunt in the library was scouring the shelves in section 791.437.

But before that time, I, like many a monster kid, would check out a stack of Crestwood House titles in their Monster Series — the first generation of which had matching orange trade dress that I could spot on the shelf from across the room. And of course the Creature from the Black Lagoon volume was my personal favorite.

When I started working for B.Dalton in the summer of 1987, the first book I bought with my employee discount was one that jumped out at me from the dump in the front of the store the day I interviewed for the job, Robert R. McCammon's Swan Song.

But when I found out that one of the things we could do in the store was special order books, the first book I ordered was the Crestwood House Creature from the Black Lagoon. In hindsight, I wish I had gone ahead and ordered the whole series, but I'm thankful I ordered the one I did, even if it was the 1982 reprint.

Historians take note — my pal and Creature expert/aficionado David J. Schow points out that one of the behind the scenes photos in the book is believed to be unpublished elsewhere.

The following photo is a personal favorite of mine — the Creature reaching through the porthole while a terrified Kay Lawrence looks on. But it was early in their relationship. She just hadn't gotten to know him yet.

Gotta love the amazing line-up in the Monster Series. In addition to the all-stars you would suspect, the bench goes pretty deep when you've got The Deadly Mantis on the roster!

Check back next week for more from my Creature collection!

Godzilla (19/54) - Far East Monsters Light & Sound Destroy All Monsters Godzilla (2007)

One can never have too may Godzilla figures that offer up his trademark roar, let alone one that lights up as well!

Godzilla was part of a series of figures from DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968), and although a second — KING GHIDORAH — was released, I failed to pick him up when he was available (and affordable). Still, I'm quite satisfied with my DAM Godzilla!

Check out his light and sound feature in action below!

Come back next week for another item from the Godzilla collection!

I Am Legend (19/54) - Original John Stewart illustrations from Ich Bin Legende, Heyne Books (1982)

There have been certain editions of I Am Legend that I have been aware of but unable to source for a number of years. One such edition was the second German translation from 1982, featuring a unique, if inappropriate, cover by Michael Hasted.

Originally published by Heyne Books in 1963 (and subsequently reprinted in 1970) under the title Ich Der Letzte Mensch (I, The Last Man), when translated by Werner Gronwald the date of the story was shifted from 1976 to 1986. In 1982, a new translation was created by Lore Strassl, under the more direct translation of the title, Ich Bin Legende. It's interesting to note that this edition references the prior German edition as an abridged version (which is not referenced anywhere in 1963 release), although both books contain 21 chapters and would appear to be complete. Strassl set the dates back to those from the original novel (1976), and one other notable difference between the two translations for the final line — Ich bin eine legende (I am a legend) in the former, and ich bin legende (I am legend) in the latter. The lack of the article was clearly a deliberate choice of Matheson, and therefore a more accurate translation.

When I finally procured a copy of this elusive edition through abebooks, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it also featured 12 interior illustrations by artist John Stewart, a British artist who provided illustrations to numerous science fiction novels published by Heyne Books. 

In 2019, a lot of five of the twelve illustrations Stewart created for the book went up for auction, and thankfully, I was able to acquire them. I'd love to find the remaining seven pieces to complete the collection, but am happy to have any examples of original published I Am Legend artwork in the archive.

It's particularly cool that in addition to signing and dating each piece, Stewart annotated the reverse of each piece with the number in sequence, the book title and author, and best of all, the quoted line from the book which he was illustrating (along with a chapter/page reference).

Now, if you're anything like me, the first thing you wanted to do after seeing the artist annotations was confirm which edition of the book he had used for reference. I didn't know at the time that Stewart was British, or I would have likely started checking my Corgi editions. It didn't take long to determine that the quotes were all present on the pages mentioned in the Bantam paperback edition. In retrospect, given my recent discovery about that book's availability in the UK, it makes perfect sense why he would have used what was otherwise assumed to be a US paperback of the novel as his reference.

For the record, following this 1982 edition, the book would remain out of print in Germany until 2008(!); that edition being only the fourth time the book has been published in Germany (with no subsequent editions to date). And unlike nearly every other country that released the book in the wake of the 2007 film adaptation with a Will Smith image on the cover, Heyne instead chose to use the manipulated James Thiesen artwork, with initial copies featuring a hype sticker noting, "now in the cinema." 

Be sure to check back next week for another item from the I Am Legend Archive!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (19/54) - NECA San Diego ComicCon Exclusive 7" Glow-in-the-Dark Creature (2023)

Last summer, NECA released a 7" Creature on a retro Remco-styled cardback as a San Diego ComicCon Exclusive. I pre-ordered it blindly, before I even knew what the figure or packaging would look like, and upon receipt, I kicked myself for not ordering two. I'd love to free this guy from his blister-packed prison to pose him in all his glowing glory, but the re-use of the Remco card art was a brilliant touch, and I wouldn't feel right removing him from the card so long as this is my only example. 

Kudos to NECA for going with the Remco cardback design as well (which I was never a big fan of on the Remco figures, but I feel is perfectly appropriate to mimic here).

Look at that luxurious glow effect in action!

 Come back next week for another item from my Creature collection!