I Am Legend (52/54) - 1st Corgi British edition (1956)

While I have referenced the British editions of I Am Legend from Corgi in a prior post, I have not yet featured any of those in this series, an oversight I will correct today.

Corgi (Look for the Corgi dog — your guarantee of quality) released the first British edition of the novel in 1956, two years after its debut from Gold Medal in the US, and a year after their neighbors to the South released the first foreign translation. 

The first edition cover art, by John Richards, would introduce a concept that would carry over much more prominently in the next several Corgi reprints: a staked woman — possibly Neville's wife, Virginia:

While at first glance the covers to these 1960 and 1962 editions appear to be the same painting (artist unknown), upon closer examination it is easy to spot differences in the details. It's not clear if it's actually the same artwork painted over, or a completely different painting. In one of my greatest I Am Legend regrets, I did not take advantage of an opportunity to purchase the cover painting for the 1962 paperback (underneath which may have been the painting on the left) for what now seems to be a paltry sum of $1200. In the early days of the internet, well before eBay and Amazon, it was listed for sale by a UK seller in a bookselling forum (along with a copy of the book). I held out thinking the price might eventually be reduced; unfortunately it sold before that ever happened (after which I developed an appreciation for the difference between can I afford to and can I afford NOT to). It's particularly painful in that I imagine a closer inspection of the original artwork might have answered this long-standing question (one that I was completely unaware of at the time, having not yet acquired — or even seen — a copy of the 1960 paperback). I hope that someday the artwork will turn up on again the secondary market, even though the chances of it selling at a similar price are highly unlikely.

It's also worth pointing out that two years prior to this cover, John Richards painted the cover to the Creature from the Black Lagoon novelization!

Richards had painted quite a number of other classic sci-fi titles, including several by Ray Bradbury, and later on, two of Matheson's short story collections. I'll wrap up this post highlighting an interesting similarity between his 1955 cover to Bradbury's The Illustrated Man and Matheson's collection, The Shores of Space:

We're in the final month of I Am 54, but hang in there as we wind down our celebration of the 70th anniversaries of I Am Legend, Godzilla, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Check back next week for another item from the I Am Legend Archive as we countdown to the final entries in this series!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (51/54) - Rubie's Universal Monsters Creature from the Black Lagoon Pet Costume (2022)

 

Though I don't own a dog, I did briefly own this Creature from the Black Lagoon pet costume.

I bought it specifically for my pal Muggsy Parker Schow, who I knew would never forgive me for the indignity — so I was quite pleased when his Mom sent me this photo of Muggsy in the Creature costume. I personally think he rocks the outfit.

photo by Kerry A. Fitzmaurice

We're in the final month of I Am 54, but hang in there as we wind down our celebration of the 70th anniversaries of I Am Legend, Godzilla, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Check back next week for another item from my Creature collection as we countdown to the final entries in this series!

Godzilla (51/54) - Super7 Toho Super Cyborg Mechagodzilla (2023)

Merry Mechagodzilla Christmas!

Though I've reiterated my preference for the Kiryu-style Mechagodzilla from the Millennium era, there are a few instances where I've been impressed with a Showa-era rendition. This 11" Super7 transparent 'Super Cyborg' version is one of those. 

He features removable plates on his arms, legs, and chest, though you can see the inner workings through the clear exterior. 

For a figure this size, he's reasonably articulated in the shoulders, hips and neck, and even has an opening mouth to offer up that classic Mechagodzilla smile!

We're in the final month of I Am 54, but hang in there as we wind down our celebration of the 70th anniversaries of I Am Legend, Godzilla, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Check back next week for another item from my Godzilla collection as we countdown to the final entries in this series!

I Am Legend (51/54) - Tony Gleeson Framed Cover Art Print #3/50 (1995)

 

Tony Gleeson's art for the Science Fiction Book Club Hardcover was the first literal artistic representation of I Am Legend that I was exposed to; compared to the more abstract Walker hardcover the Santa Clara library had. I imagine the inclusion of the bonfire in the background provided another subconscious link to Night of the Living Dead. In 1995, while in Los Angeles for the annual paperback show, we stopped by Dark Delicacies and I saw this piece on display — signed by the artist and numbered out of 50 copies. 

We're in the final month of I Am 54, but hang in there as we wind down our celebration of the 70th anniversaries of I Am Legend, Godzilla, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Check back next week for another item from the I Am Legend Archive as we countdown to the final entries in this series!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (50/54) - Diamond Select Kay Lawrence figure (2010)

In 2010, Diamond select released a Creature figure that included a Kay Lawrence figure. While the Creature sculpt left a bit to be desired, they did a decent job with Kay — particularly for a mass produced (if not articulated) figure. 

While not a dead-on likeness of Julie Adams, it could have been much, much worse. For the first (and only) such figure to date, I think it's nice — and again, nicer than the Creature she was paired with!

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

Godzilla (50/54) - Godzilla Vinyl Wars Godzilla vs Destoroyah figures (2015, 2016, 2018)

The Godzilla Vinyl Wars series of figures are highly collectible reproductions of Japan's classic Sofubi (Japanese soft vinyl toys). The three in my collection are exclusives offered through Diamond Distributors; each a variations of Godzilla as he appears in 1995's Godzilla vs Destoroyah.

Godzilla vs Destoroyah (roaring version) [2016]

Godzillla vs Destoroyah (closed mouth version) [2018]

Godzilla vs Destoroyah (Meltdown version) [2015]

Be here next week for another item from my Godzilla collection!

I Am Legend (50/54) - Soy Leyenda (1960)

The first Spanish language translation (by Manuel Figueroa) of I Am Legend arrived in 1960 from Minotauro in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

One of the readers of this edition was undoubtedly Mario Gómez Martín — a student filmmaker at the Escuela Oficial de Cinematografía (EOC) who in 1967 shot a 36-minute reasonably faithful adaptation of the novel. Some of the visuals suggest that Martín may have also seen El último hombre sobre la Tierra (The Last Man on Earth). The film surfaced online for a limited time in 2020, in Spanish only. I was able to translate the onscreen titles and some of the dialogue, and employed someone to assist with the translation of the remainder of the dialogue. All so I could do as detailed a write-up as possible of the adaptation for bare•bones. 

Fortunately, I wasn't the only one to secure a copy in that limited window, and the short film is now available for viewing on YouTube with English subtitles. It's worth checking out for the sequences that Martín captures Matheson's text so faithfully.

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

Creature from the Black Lagoon (49/54) - X-Plus Revenge of the Creature 1/8 Scale Model (2023)

In 2023, X-Plus delivered the first styrene kit of the Creature from his second feature film. (It's all in the chains.)

While I have yet to build the kit (you can see it's still in the original shrinkwrap!), X-Plus did a commendable job both with the packaging and the sculpt.  Sure, a retro Bama-style painting might have been a cool touch, but it's also great when they can capture a nice photo of the actual kit you'll be building. Unfortunately for me, the promotional image below does not reflect how my feeble attempt to paint the kit will turn out...

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

Godzilla (49/54) - Bandai #8 1/350 Special Effects Collection King Ghidorah '64 Model Kit (1984)

Before today, the world's most famous three-headed monster has been neglected in this series. In looking to include him before I wrapped things up, I chose a personal favorite from the collection.

I own far more models than I'll probably get around to building... but this particular Bandai King Ghidorah kit (or Kinggidrah, according to the packaging) is one that I built and painted years ago — although to be fair, as it was molded in gold, I only felt obligated to paint the details on the heads.

The kit came with multiple options — including tails for standing (as I chose to build it), or in flying mode. 

The kit also includes a Starman figure, who in my case remains on the sprue, unassembled. 

 Be here next week for another item from my Godzilla collection!