Creature from the Black Lagoon (45/54) - Funko Mystery Minis Blind Box Creature (2015)

Blind boxes. I hate 'em. If you're not familiar with the concept, it's a chance-based purchase (i.e. gambling) within a known subset of products. In this case, Universal Monster figures. As much as I liked this Creature, I didn't want to buy endless boxes in the hopes of snagging what was obviously going to be the most popular figure. Fortunately, I was able to pick one up at a toy show for less than the cost of two boxes! If only it were always so easy and cost-effective!

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

Godzilla (45/54) - Criterion Showa Era Blu Ray Collection (2019)

No Godzilla collection would be complete without the Criterion Showa Era (1954-1975) Blu Ray collection.

While a horrible fit for the shelves, the oversized book-style packaging is very nicely illustrated.

It's hard to complain about what's included, it isn't quite definitive, particularly for the fan who grew up watching the US dubs of the films on television. Some films, such as the original Godzilla and King Kong vs Godzilla, are present in both their Japanese and US versions. And while some of the films do include US dubs in addition to subtitles, not all do, and those that do are not always the dubs audiences will be familiar with. But it's a small price to pay to have Godzilla's first 15 outings in high-definition!

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

I Am Legend (45/54) - Author signed extract: "THE OMEGA MAN — A Modern Allegory of Love and Plague" from the Journal of Orgonomy (1980)

You never know exactly what you'll find searching on eBay. Several years ago, this Omega Man-associated item caught my eye. 

It's a saddle-stitched extract of an article published in the Journal of Orgonomy titled "The Omega Man — A Modern Allegory of Love and Plague" by John M. Bell. What made it even more interesting was the fact that it was inscribed by the author. 

According to orgonomy.org, Orgonomy is the natural science of orgone energy and its functions. "This energy obeys certain laws, and Wilhelm Reich described the functions of the energy and its effects very specifically."

Um, okay? So not exactly, "'Biowar Pathology Parameters in Urban and Semi-urban Environment,' Journal of Military Medicine, June, 1974, 'Incremental Effects Countermeasures to Toxic Agents in Liquid Systems Delivery' Microbiological Letters,' January, 1975." (And shame on you if you don't get the reference!)

If you're intrigued, as I was, I invite you to read the article, which is available in its entirety here!

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

Creature from the Black Lagoon - (44/54) Halloween Cards (2020)

Universal monsters on greeting cards aren't exactly uncommon, but this particular card featuring the Creature from the Black Lagoon and foil highlights is a personal favorite!

As a bonus, here's a Halloween card that I received from Vonna as an anniversary card (timed perfectly since we were married on Halloween weekend, 1997). 

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

Godzilla (44/54) - Shinji NIshikawa 60th Anniversary Bullmark Button (2014)

Yes, we just celebrated the 70th anniversary of Godzilla last weekend, but today we're showcasing an item going back 10 years. 

It's a pinback button celebrating 60 years of Godzilla from 2014, with art by Shinji Nishikawa.

As a bonus, here's a Godzilla pin I've had even longer!

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

I Am Legend (44/54) - I Am Legend Film Cast and Crew Hats (2006)

I got my first I Am Legend crew hat, with a cool IAL logo, from the same crew member from whom I purchased all of my screenplay revisions. I subsequently picked up a second that still had the original tag.

Years later, I came across a Panavision New York hat with the embroidered title, and couldn't pass it up. 

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

Happy 70th Birthday Godzilla (43/54) - Clear Card Collection (2024)

In honor of Godzilla's 70th Birthday, I thought I'd focus on a very cool new trading card set from Japan that I recently added to my collection.

Technically, the packs and packaging all refer to Clear Card Collection Gum — and sure enough, you'll find a stick of gum in every pack of two cards. Each 16 card box also contains a bonus Box card (I don't know how many Box cards there are, as the one I opened was #1).

While I knew each box contained 16 packs of 2 cards, and that there were 32 cards in the set, I didn't want to take it for granted that each box contained a complete set, so I purchased a few, just to be safe. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did in fact receive a complete set in the first box I opened (plus the bonus Box card). Best of all, the cards exceeded my expectation. I didn't realize they were clear cards, printed on transparent plastic. In the photos below, I purposefully held the cards so you could see my fingers behind the card, and get a clear sense of how the transparency was handled.

It's a great set of cards, with both classic and cool images spanning the length of the Big G's career.

The only question that remains is whether I open the extra boxes I procured in order to assemble a set of the Box cards, or if I should be satisfied with the complete set and one Box card that I've opened.

Check back on Wednesday for another item from my Godzilla collection!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (43/54) - Super7 Visible Creature Model Kit (2022)

Our clever friends at Super7 came up with another interesting idea in 2022. They re-issued the classic Aurora Creature model kit in clear plastic, and added interior 'guts' a la the classic Visible Man kit of years past.

To be fair, it's not exactly the same as the Visible Man, which had an internal skeleton and separate organs you built and populated within his accessible body cavity, but they do earn points for effort. 

And who's going to argue their claim of the kit including REAL MONSTER GUTS anyway?

Here's a look at said guts!

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

Godzilla (42/454) - Godzilla vs Biollante Japanese B2 poster (1989)

I am a huge fan of artist Noriyoshi Ohrai's advance poster art for the Heisei era films. While I don't yet have any of those originals in my collection, I do have the Japanese release poster for Godzilla vs Biollante (measuring 20 1/4" x 28 5/8").

Is it any wonder why Biollante is one of my favorite kaiju?

Check back on Sunday for our special Godzilla Birthday post!

I Am Legend (43/54) - 1975: Occhi Bianchi Sul Planeta Terra Italian Photobusta Set (1971)

The Italian title for The Omega Man was 1975: Occhi Bianchi Sul Planeta Terra (1975: White Eyes on Planet Earth) — obviously taking a cue from the contacts worn by the actors portraying 'The Family' in the film. 

In Italy, the 'photobusta' is similar to the American lobby card, only much larger (~18x26). Released in sets of 8 (and occasionally more) images, and often, despite the films being advertised being shot in color, using colorized black and white photos. 

Of course an inadvertent result of this colorization is the suggestion that Matthias is wearing a bright red cloak, like the bedspread above!

Photobustas often contain multiple images — in the case of some films (including The Omega Man), multiple images are spliced together in such a way that is not obvious to someone who hasn't seen the original stills.

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