Creature from the Black Lagoon (48/54) - Famous Movie Monsters: Meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon (2005)

Much like Crestwood House 24 years earlier, Rosen published Meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon with the young horror fan in mind. Bound in hardcover for library durability, the book ups the ante on the Crestwood volume through the use of color.

It's a nicely designed book, with a filmography, glossary, and bibliography encouraging further exploration for the budding Creature fan.

And kudos to author Brent Peterson for not only mentioning Tom Weaver's MagicImage Film Book, the Carl Dreadstone novelization, and even Ian Thorne's Crestwood House volume!

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

Godzilla (48/54) - Godzilla Store Hedorah Strawberry Chocolate Version (2024)

I don't know that I ever would have expected to add a Smog Monster (Hedorah) to my Godzilla collection, but when I came across this Bandai Movie Monster Series Godzilla Store limited edition of Hedorah in a 'Strawberry Chocolate' Version, I couldn't pass it up. 

Why a "chocolatey" brown and "strawberry" red colorway? Who knows. But I think it looks really cool.

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

I Am Legend (48/54) - A Última Esperança sobre a Terra (1984)

I previously highlighted the first Brazilian Portuguese translation of I Am Legend, Mundo de Vampiros from 1958. The next known to me would not arrive until 1981, as part of Francisco Alves' Masters of Horror and Fantasy series, under the direct translation Eu Sou a Lenda. The cover creatures almost prefigure the infected from the Will Smith film; and while Neville is not represented, it's worth noting that the dog is!

I was surprised that just three years later, the same publisher would reissue the same translation under a different title: A Última Esperança sobre a Terra (The Last Hope on Earth). That was the title used for The Omega Man in Brazil, so it would seem they were going for a broader audience with the new edition. It's interesting that despite the new title, the cover art (by Antonio Jeremias) is not evocative of the Heston film at all — to me it looks like James Franciscus as Neville and a Claudia Cardinale as Ruth? And what's with the Russian architecture on the skyline? All that said, it is one of the more eye-catching cover paintings on a foreign edition.

 

Cover art and title notwithstanding, the two editions are otherwise nearly identical. The blurb on the back is actually a passage from the ending of the novel — SPOILER ALERT!

And as these copies came to me by way of Matheson's personal archive, both are signed by the author.

It's also interesting to note that the copyright page explicitly states that the books are not to be sold in Portugal or Portuguese-speaking countries — strange given that Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking country!

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

Creature from the Black Lagoon (47/54) - Hot Wheels Low Flow (2012)

According to the Hot Wheels Wiki:

The Low Flow is a '50s-styled Bus casting which has a strong resemblance to the Surfin' School Bus, however this one lacks surfboards and has a sleek and exaggerated rear slope and decorative outer bodywork. Like the Similar Surfin' School Bus, the front fascia also features a moulded badge that bears some resemblance to the logo of the New Flyer Bus Company, a Canadian Bus manufacturer based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

In 2012, as part of a Universal Monsters licensing crossover, the Low Flow was given a Creature-themed paint job.

For the record, while this is the only Hot Wheels/Creature crossover, it's far from the only time the Creature has teamed up with a 1:64 scale automobile...

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

Godzilla (47/54) - The History of Godzilla Cassette Tapes, Volume 1 and 2 (1984)

Acquired at the same time as the SFX of Godzilla showcased last week, these History of Godzilla cassettes feature excerpts from the soundtracks of the Showa-era films. 

What's unique about these is that in addition to containing two key tracks from the soundtrack for each film featured, they also contain the soundtrack for the trailer for each film. Sadly, I only have Volumes 1 & 2 of the three volume set that make up the totality of the 15 Showa-era films. 

Volume 1 Track Listing:

Excerpts of the soundtracks from the following movies:

    A1 - Akira Ifukube - Gojira / Godzilla (1954)

    A2 - Masaru Sato - Gojira no gyakushû / Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

    A3 - Akira Ifukube - Kingu Kongu tai Gojira / King Kong Vs Godzilla (1962)

    B1 - Akira Ifukube - Mosura tai Gojira / Mothra Vs Godzilla (1964)

    B2 - Akira Ifukube - San daikaijû: Chikyû saidai no kessen / Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Volume 2 Track Listing:

Excerpts of the soundtracks from the following movies:

    A1 Great Monster War / Monster Zero (1965)

    A2 Great Duel in the South Sea / Godzilla vs the Sea Monster (1966)

    A3 Son of Godzilla (1967)

    B1 All-out monster attack / Destroy All Monsters (1968)

    B2 All Monsters Attack / Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

I'm afraid I didn't have any luck finding copies of these collections on YouTube!

 Check back next week for another item from my Godzilla collection — and Happy Thanksgiving!

I Am Legend (47/54) - New York City Film Premiere Belstaff promotional display (2007)

This large folding double-sided tabletop display is from the New York premiere party for I Am Legend. 

As noted in last week's post, the New York premiere party was put on in association with Belstaff.

Will Smith's Robert Neville wears a Belstaff jacket and carries a Belstaff messenger bag in the film. For the record, I was not compelled to procure either of those rather expensive items following their appearance in the film. 

 

But I do appreciate this display piece!

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

Creature from the Black Lagoon (46/54) - Minimates Box Set (2010)

Looking something like Lego Mini-figs, but with significantly more articulation (a whopping 14 points of articulation — according to the packaging!), Minimates were produced for many licensees — with over 3000 Minimates documented in the Minimate Database!

The boxed set of four Minimate figures includes the Creature, a glow-in-the-dark variant (shocking, I know), Dr. Reed and Kay Lawrence. 

While interesting enough to add to the collection when the price was right, as you can see, I've kept them sealed in their Minimate Sarcophagus...

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

Godzilla (46/54) - Sound Effect of Godzilla Cassette Tapes, Volume I and II (1984)

This is a very cool pair of cassette tapes chock-full of great Godzilla sounds. The cassettes are in illustrated slipcovers...

And feature fold-out inserts (in Japanese, of course). 

Volume I Track Listing (and enjoy on YouTube):

Godzilla (1:24)

A1a     cry/longest

A1b     cry/long

A1c     cry/short

A1d     growl

A1e     suffering

A1f     scream

A1g     footsteps

A1h     radioactivity

A1i     hand

A1j     tail

Minilla (1:44)

A2a     scream

A2b     birth cry

A2c     No, no

A2d     anger

A2e     sadness

A2f     sweet voice

A2g    scream

A2h    surprise

A2i     radioactivity

Mothra (0:38)

A3a     Adult insect/call

A3b     Adult/Flight sound

A3c     Adult/wings

A3d     Larva/Crying

A3e     Larva / Thread spitting sound <A type / B type> ~ Larva / action <A type / B type>

Radon (1:22)

A4a     cry

A4b     Flight sound/approach, passing sound, flight, wing sound

Anguirus (0:20)

A5a     cry/long

A5b     cry/short

Jet Jaguar (1:26)

A6a     voice/life size

A6b     Voice/Giant size

Tank (1:29)

A7a     running sound/A type

A7b     Running sound/B type

A7c     firearm attack sound

Fighter (1:09)

A8a     flight sound/start, 2 types of passing sounds

A8b     In-flight sound

A8c     missile launch sound

Submarine (0:42)

A9a     navigation sound

A9b     Detection sound <A type/B type>

A9c     sonar sound

A9d     alarm sound

Helicopter & explosion sound (0:59)

A10a     Passing sound

A10b     in flight <A type/B type>

A10c     Various explosion sounds

A10d     Various destruction sounds

Undersea warship = Goten (4:00)

B1a     Underwater passing sound

B1b     engine sound

B1c     rising sound

B1d     Air passing sound

B1e     internal sound

B1f     cold wire gun firing sound

B1g     submarine beam launch sound

B1h     alarm buzzer

B1i     search sound

Earth Defense Force Alpha (1:05)

B2a     passing sound

B2b     in flight

B2c     in-flight sound

B2d     electron gun firing sound

α & Kurosame (1:08)

B3a     α・Underwater passing sound

B3b     control room noise

B3c     Air passing sound

B3d     in-flight sound

B3e     Barrier

B3f     Kurosame/underwater passing sound

B3g     engine sound

B3h     Laser <A/B type>, main gun firing sound, torpedo firing sound, underwater missile firing sound

B4     Storm & Lightning 1:42

B5     Earthquake 0:53

B6     Volcanic eruption sound & rumble 1:22

Situation drama by B7 SE (sound effects) (Scourge in the Pacific ~ Godzilla Landing ~ To the Sea) 0:32

Volume II Track Listing (and enjoy on YouTube):

A1 King Ghidorah 1:24

A2 King Kong 1:44

A3 Giant Octopus 0:38

A4 Varan 1:22

A5 Magma 0:20

A6 Dogora 1:26

A7 Matango 1:29

A8 Baragon And Frankenstein 1:09

A9 Sanda And Gaira 0:42

A10 Ebirah 0:59

A11 Gorosaurus 0:28

A12 Kamakiras And Kumonga 1:19

A13 Ganime, Gezora, Kameba - YOG 1:35

A14 Gabara 1:11

A15 Hedorah 4:36

A16 Gigan 0:49

A17 Megalon 0:59

A18 King Shisar 1:20

A19 Titanosaurus 0:26

B1 MechaGodzilla 4:00

B2 MechaniKong 1:05

B3 Moguera 1:08

B4 Transmitto-Machine 1:42

B5 Human Gas 0:53

B6 Mysterian Dome 1:22

B7 Maser Tank Firing Sounds 0:32

B8 A-Cycle Light Ray 0:40

B9 UFO Flying Sounds 4:16

B10 Situation Dramas Utilizing Sound Effects 8:42

As cool as these are, there's a definite downside to them being on cassette. To avoid burnout by repetition, these sorts of things really benefit from the random access of a CD, or even needle-drops on vinyl. It's challenging to sit through several similar variations of a monster's call before being able to get to the next. Still, a very cool and unique collectible!

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