MK80 - Draft Introduction

Hello to all of you friends, supporters, and people who clicked on this by accident. When I first started this blog, I mentioned I wanted to include drafts of things I'm working on to get some feedback. Well this is one of those drafts of a thing.

As most of you know, I'm a fan of the 1960s Monster Kid era.  My first book on the history of Don Post Studios was tied into that era and I have read every book and watched every documentary on the era.  I came along at the tail end of it though, so I've always had to look at it as a historian rather than a first hand participant.  One fact these books and documentaries always include, and I have never agreed with, is that the Monster Kid era ended for good in 1977 when Star Wars triggered the sci-fi boom.  I've always seen it is as a mere lull between waves.  I thought it was about time that someone took a look back at the role of monsters in 1980s pop culture because there are significant parallells between the two waves, or two eras if you prefer.  The more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to see it done.  

As most of you also know, my latest book, the first volume of the history of Distortions Unlimited, is tied up in production limbo and the second volume on hold indefinitely.  That's left me with a bit of time on my hands so I figured I'd start working on an outline and an introduction.  Rather than write something dry and academic, which has never been my style, I'm thinking of writing this in the first person and sharing some personal anecdotes along the way.  A lot more objective information than a memoir, but more personal than a history textbook.       

This is where you guys come in. I'm going to share the first draft of my introduction here and ask you for some feedback.  I know the grammar and sentence structure needs work.  I'm just trying to get ideas onto paper at this point.  Do you guys think this is even a good idea?  Should I forget it and go back to writing about rubber monster heads?  I'm also open to suggestions for a title.   

Here it is...I'm looking forward to your feedback:

It all began in October of 1957.  Screen Gems, the television subsidy of Columbia Pictures, released the Shock Theater package of 52 pre-1948 Universal Classic horror movies for television syndication.  Shock Theater was an instant success, with viewership in 5 key markets (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco Philadelphia, and San Antonio) reporting a boost in ratings ranging from 35% to 1,125%.  The following year, Screen Gems released the Son of Shock Theater package added another 20 films from both Universal and Columbia.

Seemingly overnight, children across America were obsessed with monsters.  Every weekend evening, they would be glued to their televisions to watch horror movies, often introduced by their local horror host.  The job of the horror host was twofold.  First, they had to make the horror kid-friendly and remind the parents that it was all clean fun.  Second, and more importantly, they had to pad out the film's presentation to a standard time slot given that these films varied in time from just under an hour to over an hour and a half. 

This explosion in the popularity of monsters was a phenomenon which did not go unnoticed.  Within several years, these children had Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, Aurora model kits of the classic monsters, and monster masks which let them become their favorite monsters.  Through the 1960s, the number of products to enthrall the hordes of monster-loving kids grew exponentially.  These kids were, and are still, known as Monster Kids.

Today, we have a number of books and documentaries about the Monster Kid phenomenon that started in the '50s and peaked in the '60s.  These all present the Monster Kid phenomenon as something that was permanently extinguished as quickly as it began with the release of Star Wars in May of 1977, which saw Dracula and Van Helsing  replaced in children's imaginations by Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.  Being a kid in 1977, I remember how obsessed we all were with Star Wars.  Even Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, the religious text of Monster Kids everywhere, was filled with Star Wars articles that we devoured.

Did Star Wars usher in a sci-fi boom that displaced horror as the popular genre among kids and teenagers?  Yes, absolutely.  But did it actually spell the end of  Monster Kid-dom?  Not a chance!

  

We Monster Kids of the '80s have generally been looked down upon and dismissed by the first wave of Monster Kids.  Every single book and documentary about the Monster Kid phenomenon treats it as a one shot deal that ended in 1977.  I don't buy into that.  If we've learned anything from horror movies, it's that monsters never stay dead.  The late 1970s sci-fi boom was not the end, but a lull between waves.  It's time that the second wave was acknowledged and this book is hopefully the first of many to tell our story.

Our monsters were different than the classics, in that they weren't tragic characters we empathized with and felt sorry for.  In the early to mid 1970s, before Star Wars came along, horror began to shift towards grittier, more realistic movies.  Films like The Last House on the Left and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre introduced moviegoers to monsters who were ruthless, soulless killers who terrified us as we watched them on the screen then stalked us in our nightmares.  Our horror movies in the '80s were marked by special effects sequences that made our movie viewing experiences akin to watching a magic show where the fun was in trying to figure out the tricks.  Special effects artists, almost all of whom were first wave Monster Kids themselves, became our idols.        

Where television was the piece of technology that fed the first wave of Monster Kids, we had the VCR.  Most of us received our education in horror movies from our local mom & pop video store.  How many times did we discover something we loved only because the horror movie we wanted was already rented out?  If you have ever stood in a small video store, looking at all the VHS covers, frantically trying to make up your mind while your parents told you it was time to go, this book is for you.

Thanks to MTV, we watched Michael Jackson dance with zombies and listened to Freddy Krueger rapping.  We pored over issues of Fangoria magazine and both of Tom Savini's Grande Illusions books (we are still patiently waiting for Book III, Tom).  We faced a purple Jason Voorhees  on our Nintendo only to be repeatedly told that we and our friends were dead.  Most of you reading this will be silently nodding and agreeing with me when I say that the '80s were a great time to be a kid who loved monsters.  Join me for a trip down memory lane as we revisit these days and proudly say "We're the Monster Kids of the '80s and this is our story".

           

   

Original Uncropped Phantom Photo

In 1965, Don Post Studios’ Universal Horrors line represented the ultimate in monster masks.  To show off this line, Verne Langdon took one copy of each of the masks and personally finished them with a unique paint and hair scheme.  He had them professionally photographed by J. Barry Herron, a photographer who would go on to a career as a cinematographer and director of photography in the motion picture industry.  The 11x14 prints were then framed and hung on the office walls at Don Post Studios.

Shortly after the offices were decorated with these prints, publisher Jim Matthews attended at Don Post Studios to discuss advertising Don Post masks in a new magazine he was launching called Modern Monsters.  Upon seeing the framed photos, Matthews recognized the potential to do something commercial with the photos.  His initial idea was to sell prints, however Verne had the idea of creating a calendar instead.  This became the now famous 1966 calendar and also why the Universal Horrors masks are referred to as the "Calendar Masks".

Some of the original photographs from the walls of DPS are still floating around in private collections.  I own the original Creature photo, which is looking a bit worse for wear and definitely showing its age.

In researching the book, I would often come across scans of B&W copies of the photos but was never sure where they originally came from.  Some of these were B&W copies of the photos we're all familiar with, while some were alternate takes.  An example is this Frankenstein, which has the hand visible across the chest.  When compared to the calendar photo, too much of the chest is visible in the calendar photo for it to simply have been cropped out.  I suppose it could have been airbrushed out, but it is more likely Herron told Don Post Jr. (who was the model in the Herron photos) to lower his hand then snapped another photo.

I was browsing on Ebay of all places for mask photos when I came across this familiar face: 

I was just looking at the calendar Phantom photo just the other day, comparing it to a custom painted mask I had received as part of a project to complete a set of calendar replica masks. If there's any interest I can share those here with you too.  Anyway, I noticed the Phantom hand in the photo and did not recall seeing it in the calendar photo.  I went back and double checked the calendar and confirmed it had been cropped off at the bottom of the costume's V neck.  

I went into my own archives (which, as you can imagine, are quite extensive from researching the book) and looked to see if I had this uncropped image anywhere.  I had lots of photos from the Herron shoot and was confident I had seen them all, but this one was nowhere to be found.  

I saved the image and tried cropping it to see if it matched the calendar photo. I'll let you be the judge:

Next comes the question if it's an original photo or a print and where it's been for the last 50+ years.  Both questions are answered by looking at the back of the photo:

The Barry J Herron stamp shows it is an original photo from his studio, and the initials FJA indicate this photo was in the archives of Forrest J Ackerman, the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland.  There was a very close relationship between Warren Publishing (publishers of FM) and Don Post Studios at the time.  This is where I move away from fact and into the realm of speculation, but I can easily see Forry asking for copies of the photos for inclusion in future issues of FM.  Since the magazine was published in black and white, he would not have needed color photos which would explain why he had B&W copies.  I recall seeing some calendar photos in FM, but never this one in particular.  I could have easily missed or forgotten it, or he may have gotten the complete set and only used a few.    

    

This discovery just goes to show that there lots of treasures out there to still be discovered.  There is still a lot of new information to learn in this hobby, probably one of the reasons I love it so much.

Christmas 1975 - Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces

Of all my childhood Christmas traditions, one I really miss is spending the afternoon and evening of the 23rd with my grandparents.  Dad would go to work as normal in the morning and come home at lunch.  Mom and I would load into the car with tons of presents for everyone and head to my grandparents' apartment.  Mom and I visited with my grandparents for the afternoon while Dad went back to work.  It was only 3-4 hours, but with presents taunting me from under the tree, those afternoons seemed like an eternity.  When Dad finally did arrive, it was time for presents. 

It was December 23, 1975...42 years ago today...when  I first met Hugo, the Man of 1000 Faces.  I hadn't been aware of Hugo and had no idea this toy existed but, even at such a young age, I watched monster movies from the '30s and '40s and '50s sci-fi b-movies every Saturday morning on a tv station we picked up from Buffalo.  Far from being afraid of the monsters, I was always asking my parents how the monsters were made.  When Hugo came out, my parents (correctly) thought it would be the perfect toy for me and went out of their way to try and keep me away from any advertisements so it would be a surprise.  While I don't recall this, my mom tells me I lost all interest in opening any other presents after Hugo.

Here's happy Lee with his new best friend.  The Santa was my Dad's gifts.  He started building model kits of cars when they first hit shelves in the late '50s and still does them to this day. The boxes that formed Santa were filled with kits and supplies:

        

Just for fun, here are some of the advertisements for Hugo that came out in 1975:

                                                 

                                          

Hugo, like so many other wonderful childhood treasures, was eventually lost to the process of growing up.  What was once the centerpiece of my Christmas eventually lost its magic and became an old toy in a box that was either thrown out or donated.  This is where I consider myself lucky.  In my adulthood, I managed to rediscover that magic of childhood where so many people never do.  Thanks to a combination of Ebay and disposable income, I've been able to buy back some of my childhood.  I had to spend a pretty penny, but I found a Hugo that had never been used so all his accessories are still sealed in their packages and Hugo himself is in brand-new condition.

Hugo and his accessories were sculpted by special effects artist Alan Ormsby.  While best known for 1972's Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, many monster kids in my age range know him best for his book Movie Monsters which so many of us got through the Scholastic Book Club at our schools.  It was a favorite book of mine and I still have my original copy:

Between Hugo and the book, I felt a certain kinship with Ormsby which is borne out by the fact we had similar (bad) taste in pants in the early '70s:

                                       

As an epilogue to this ghost of Christmas past, I finally got to meet Alan Ormsby at a convention several years ago and had him sign both my book and my Hugo.  You may think the image of a grown man walking around a hotel in Burbank carrying Hugo is somewhat ridiculous.  You would be correct, but at least my Hugo is signed now:

Happy 53rd to the Universal Horrors Line

There are a lot of little things I want to talk about, but before I get into anything I just wanted to point out it was 53 years ago this month that the world got its first look at Don Post Studios' Universal Horrors line.  These masks are still referred to as the Calendar Masks due to their use in a 1966 calendar.  I won't talk about the calendar here as that's a story for another day.   

The relationship between Don Post Studios and Universal Studios goes back to 1948 when Don obtained the license to produce masks of the Frankenstein monster.  While Don was never really a monster fan, he came to become quite fond of Frankie over the years, seeing him as another member of the line along with the clowns, animals, and old people.  When Don forgot to make a payment to Universal under the licensing agreement, he was quite surprised that Universal never reminded him.  After that, he "forgot" the next several payments to see if Universal would come looking for their money and they did not.

Fast forward to 1963 when Verne Langdon purchased part of Don Post Studios.  It was Verne who transformed Don Post Studios from a novelty mask company to a monster mask company.  The first step in that transformation was the Hollywood Horrors line. This line-up consisted of six masks; Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, Mr. Hyde, the Frankenstein Monster, and the Phantom of the Opera.  All 6 were sculpted by Pat Newman, a sculptress who had followed the Posts from Chicago to Los Angeles after WWII.       

In 1964, Langdon was contacted by David Hammond, the head of Universal’s Merchandising Department.  In addition to renewing their existing license, Hammond also wanted Don Post Studios to produce masks for their new tv show The Munsters.  Armed with the renewed license for the Universal monsters, Langdon set out to release what would be the ultimate monster masks.  Later that year, Pat Newman sculpted the line that would replace the Hollywood Horrors.  In the December issue of Genii: The Conjuror’s Magazine the world got its first look at the Universal Horrors line.  The two page spread featured a letter “From the desk of Don Post” introducing the new line and emphasizing the Universal connection and the use of original movie molds.  The letter featured a photo of Don Sr. wearing Verne Langdon’s Dracula cape and leaning on a casket, and was signed “Don Post”, however the copy was written entirely by Langdon.  The other page featured an illustration of the Frankenstein Monster against a lightning filled night sky, surrounded by small photos of the ten masks that made up the Universal Horrors line.  The ten included Dracula, the Creature From the Black Lagoon, the Frankenstein Monster, the Mad Doctor, Mr. Hyde, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback, and the Mole Man. 

The co-operation from Universal was quite significant during this period.  Rather than simply allowing Don Post Studios to use the likenesses of their monsters, Universal also gave Post access to their make-up department.   As indicated in the advertisement, Post was given access to any of the molds he wanted.  In 1964, these molds were all stored inside sound stage 28, in a loft several stories above the stage where Lon Chaney Sr. filmed Phantom of the Opera in 1925.  To retrieve the molds, Don Sr., Verne, and Universal’s make-up department head Bud Westmore had to lower the molds using a system of ropes and pulleys.

Of the ten masks released in the Universal Horrors line, only the Mole Man and the Creature From the Black Lagoon used the movie molds for their entire run.  The first version of the Frankenstein Monster in the Universal Horrors line was made by making a mold from a prop head that was created for a dummy used in the climactic scene of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein where the monster, set aflame, falls through a pier.  This mask was too small and did not fit properly, so Langdon had Pat Newman sculpt a new version, which is the one seen in the calendar.  The Mr. Hyde was also initially released using the mold from the mask as seen in 1953’s Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.  There were two masks used for the movie; one for Boris Karloff and one for his stunt double.  The problem was that Karloff’s mask was only a ½ mask and his stunt double had a small head so his mask was too small.  The Karloff ½ mask was claypressed and the back of the head filled out for the Post mask.  It was still on the small side and was resculpted by Pat Newman within the year.

The masks themselves were extremely high quality and found themselves making cameo appearances in episodes of popular television shows at the time.  The most popular of these is the McHale's Navy episode "The Vampire of Taratupa".  The episode featured the Mummy, Hunchback, Phantom, Wolf Man, and (briefly) the Creature From the Black Lagoon.

Most of us know the Universal Horrors line from the advertisements in the back of Famous Monsters.  Not being born until 1972, I missed a lot of issues when they first came out.  Fortunately, even in Canada, issues from the 1960s were readily available and I got caught up rather quickly.  Like many monster kids, old issues of FM were my monster education and the mask ads were my first exposure to Don Post Studios.  Most of the advertisements featured the calendar photos of masks which weren't really accurate as Verne custom finished those copies for a series of photos (did I mention the calendar was a topic for another day?). 

This advertisement, known as the "sweater ad", shows the copies as they were actually produced. Yes, the Wolf Man was painted green. I've seen an original and confirmed it.

Let's be honest, the calendar masks are huge to mask nerds like me (and probably you as well if you're still reading this) so this isn't the last you'll hear of them from me.  I just wanted to point out that it was 53 years ago this month that they were announced.  Everything else is my mind bouncing around like an 8 year old looking for a popsicle. 

The Edmunds Zombie

I've been gone for a while, finishing the Distortions Unlimited book, and now it's time to get back to having some fun.

The Distortions book could have easily been 500-600 pages, however I was capped at 300 which means a lot of material was either abbreviated or cut altogether.  One of the stories that had to be abbreviated was the tale of the Edmunds Zombie.

For years, collectors have been tantalized by this photograph from the early 1980s, which shows a mask on the wall (directly above the Methuselah sculpture that Ed's working on) that resembles the iconic Zombie mask sculpted by Verne Langdon.

Writing the book gave me the opportunity to ask Ed about this mask during one of our many conversations.  When it comes to collecting, I'm more of a Don Post Studios guy than a Distortions guy.  That being said, I had a lot more fun writing the Distortions book than the DPS book for one reason.  Where Don Post Jr. saw himself as running the family business and would have been equally content if Don Post Studios made golf carts, Ed Edmunds is a monster kid through and through.  Like the majority of you reading this blog, he grew up on a steady diet of monster movies and reading Famous Monsters magazine.  It was through FM that Ed became aware of the Langdon Zombie.

Ed was enthralled with the mask from the first time he saw it. Unfortunately, within a very short period of time the mask turned up in the ads with a "Sold Out" banner.  Like many of us, he waited and waited for the mask to be available again, but it wasn't to be.  What we know now is that, after the initial run of less than 30 orders, the masks were produced and that was the end of the Zombie.  There was no intention to produce any more.  The reason the mask kept appearing in advertisements was simple.  When the advertisement was laid out, there was a single spot left blank so the Zombie was inserted with the "Sold Out" banner as a space filler.

At the time, Ed was a teenager in Long Grove, IL, and had been learning how to make masks.  When the Langdon Zombie didn't become available, he decided to try his hand at making his own version of the Zombie.  The mask accompanied Ed from Long Grove, to Pueblo, CO, and on to Greeley where Distortions was founded.  The mask was captured in the above photograph in Distortions' early days, however it eventually disappeared as the decades passed and Distortions moved several times.  The mask wasn't rediscovered until the summer of 2017 when Ed found it buried in a desk drawer when he was looking for something for the book.  It's looking worse for wear these days, however it is a one of a kind example of Ed's pre-Distortions work and is likely the first ever Langdon Zombie Tribute mask.

As an interesting side note, in the 1980s, Ed discussed licensing the Zombie to be produced as a Distortions mask.  Verne was agreeable but set the price at $5000 which Ed thought quite high.  At the time, Ed was spending licensing money of masks that were widely known for appearing in films.  Where Ed didn't see the Zombie having that mass appeal, he couldn't justify spending the money.  While he didn't license the Zombie, he did pay tribute to Verne's icon in choosing the color scheme for the Distortions Zombie in the late 1990s.    

                   

Happy Halloween

We're just a few short hours from Halloween, so I figured it would be a perfect time to reminisce about a few Halloweens past. 

Halloween night, 1976

Back in the '70s, practically nobody did anything  in my neighborhood in terms of Halloween decorating.  There was one exception though.  There was this one couple who used to prop up a few patio stones in the yard as tombstones and the wife would dress as a witch and run around the roof cackling at us kids.  It wasn't much, but to my child's mind it was amazing.  One year in particular stands out where she really got into it.  So much, in fact, that she ended up taking a header off of the roof and breaking her leg.  I really loved it and thought these were the coolest adults on the planet.

I remembered that when I got too old to go trick or treating and, after a few years of moping because my friends were still going out, I began to get into decorating our house to make it fun for the kids.  Fast forward to when I'm in my early 20s and decorating my parents' house for the kids.  One year I was setting up decorations when this same couple, the witch had long stopped her cackling routine, came walking by and we started talking.  I told them how much I really appreciated what they did when no-one else was celebrating Halloween and how I still remembered that one year when she had her fall.  As soon as I mentioned it, she turned beet red and he started laughing so hard I thought he was going to keel over.  That was when I learned the true story of what happened that Halloween night.

It turned out it spending several hours on the roof in a witch costume was somewhat chilly, so she decided to bring a little something with her to keep warm.  Yes, she was taking a little nip here and there between groups of trick or treaters while she was doing her routine.  By the time I got to their house that year, she was completely hammered and that was why she was so into it (and also why she fell).  So, as it turns out, I spend tons of money and effort every year because I was inspired by some drunk chick. 

Another year that comes to mind is the year I decided to be Freddy Krueger in a costume contest.  In the mid-80s, there were no Freddy masks available and I did not yet have a copy of Dick Smith's book.  I was left to improvise and try to figure out the make-up on my own.  On top of that, I had a budget of $0.00 so I had to improvise with whatever I could scrounge from around the house.

First came the costume.  I found an old green sweater in the basement that was naturally aged (read as dirty).  Some of you will recall that Raiders of the Lost Ark spurred a very brief revival of fedoras.  My dad bought one but never wore it, so it became part of my costume.  Next up was Freddy's signature glove.  I found some old plastic railing covers from our pool and cut the blades from that and spray-painted them silver.  They were taped to my fingers with masking tape, while I cut slits in the fingertips of an old glove to wear.                

Next up was the make-up.  There are different ways to learn make-up techniques.  You can learn from books, instruction from someone who knows what they're doing, or you can learn by trying something and failing miserably.  Care to guess which option I went with?  Looking at mom's cosmetics, the pickings were slim.  I grabbed some lipstick and cold cream to make a pink paste on my face, grabbed a bit of charred wood from the fireplace and crushed it up to add a bit of a charred look.  Then I did something that I thought was extremely clever, but was a really dumb idea in hindsight.  I took strips of saran wrap and put them over the make-up, using them to form wrinkles and give it some texture. 

Freddy via trial and error...mostly error

I actually didn't look that bad, considering I did this costume without spending a dime or having the faintest idea of what I was doing.  I headed back to school for the costume contest and shortly before the contest, the perspiration caused my face to start melting off.  There was no way to fix it so I did something that was, in hindsight, brilliant.  I tossed the Fedora, the sweater, and the glove. I messed up my hair and won the contest as The Incredible Melting Man!  Instead of fixing my makeup to match my costume, I changed my costume to fit the makeup.   

Happy Halloween everyone!

          

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The Art of the Halloween Mask - Event Recap

Standing outside the gallery, I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning who had just come down the stairs to see a pile of gifts waiting for him.  Mikey came out to greet us and give us our wristbands.  I was glad to see he didn't appear the slightest bit stressed out or overwhelmed.  In fact, he looked just as excited as I felt that the big night was finally here.  I wondered if I looked that excited, but the thought was fleeting as I was now able to go inside.

Mikey didn't charge for the photo-op.

The first thing that struck me was a huge video screen playing clips of old home movies and video taken at Distortions Unlimited back in the 1980s.  It was also impossible to miss the Halloween-themed music pumping throughout the entire gallery.  Over the course of the evening I noticed that the DJ's playlist contained a lot of obscure, yet fun, songs that I have on my own.  I was also pleasantly surprised that the volume was perfect.  It was loud enough you could always hear and enjoy it, yet I never found myself having to try and talk over it.

On the right hand side, immediately as you enter, you have four photographs by Caitlin Novak featuring masks sculpted by Ed Edmunds, Justin Mabry, and Pete Infelise.  All great masks and Caitlin's photography did them justice.  In front of them was a day-glo witch by John Pinkerton.

Beyond those was the Distortions Unlimited exhibit.  The exhibit consisted of two rows of masks.  The top row were all golden age classic Distortions masks from the late 1970s through the mid 1980s.  The bottom row consisted of the Resurrection Classics line which were updated versions of all the top masks.  Jordu Schell was responsible for this display, not only loaning his vintage masks but also being the sculptor of the Resurrection Series.   

Beyond those was a pair of extremely rare and valuable masks to come out of Distortions.  The first was the HR Giger designed Alien on loan from my friend Dirk Smith, which is the most valuable Distortions mask available if you can find a copy.  The second is the mask of Jack Nicholson from The Shining, on loan from yours truly, which was a private commission limited to only three copies.

There were a number of fantastic high end masks on their own pedastals in the front section of the gallery by artists such as Wayne Anderson, Jordu Schell, and Kristin Philips.

On the left hand wall was a collection of vintage Be Something Studios masks on loan from Mikey's personal collection, along with a few needlepoint renditions of BSS masks by BSS sculptor Bill Ystrom's daughter, Amy.  It was especially neat when Bill Ystrom showed up.  

In front of the BSS display, was Justin Mabry's 7' version of the Jack Davis Frankenstein  

Underneath the video screen was a set of 6 glass cases. The two innermost cases contained the masks of the Halloween films.  The left case contained the factory finished Captain Kirk and modified Michael Myers version that were finished by Rob Tharp for Don Con in November of 2015 and ended up in my personal collection.  There was a current Myers mask produced by Justin Mabry also in the cabinet. The right case contained an original set of Don Post Studios Halloween III masks.

The two cabinets flanking the Halloween movie masks were dedicated to the 1966 Calendar Masks. In addition to original calendars with both variant covers, the cabinets also had Mummy and Creature masks finished as replicas of the calendar photos.  I had loaned these to the exhibit as well along with the December 1964 issue of Genii magazine which contained the advertisement that was the world's first look at the calendar masks.  Unfortunately, space constraints prevented it from being included in the exhibit.

The cabinets on the far left and right contained original copies of all eight Don Post Studios 800 line masks sculpted by Pat Newman and released in 1967.  

Speaking of Pat Newman, one of the highlights of the exhibit was a painting of Pat Newman by Mark Tavares.  He called it "The Queen of Plastiline", which was how Verne Langdon referred to her.     

In the second section of the gallery, I saw something that completely blew me away. Amongst all these fantastic pieces of art by so many talented artists was a two tier display case.  In the bottom was the Don Post Glenn Strange calendar mask that was used as the cover model for the Don Post book, and in the top case was my book.  I know you're going to read this Mikey, and I want you to know you really made my day by including my work as a display piece.

There were two pieces by Norm Cabrera in the exhibit that I have to mention.  The first was his Demonwulf 1981 mask.  I think it could have easily been another of the Nazi Demons in An American Werewolf in London.  The name of his other mask escapes me as I'm writing this, however it has the distinction of being one of two masks that have ever given me the creeps (Tom Spina's Chaney Mummy is the other in case you're wondering).  Just looking at that mask you really felt it looking back at you.  

There were a few cabinets of 1970s Don Post masks on loan from Bob Parigi and also from Mikey's collection.  Joining them was an updated version of Bob Short's Coridian Alien that he did in the '70s, calling it the Coridian Elder.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Of all the brilliant masks on display, that's the one I would have most liked to bring home.

Then again, it would have been hard to say no to the trio supplied by David Smith.  The Lab Chimp is a  new addition, but the Bat and Frankenstein are two designs I've come to think of as iconic in the indie artist mask world.  These were both originally produced in the mid '80s under David's Stroke of Midnight Studios label.  They were again released by Death Studios, as Nightmare and Creature, in the mid '90s.  The finishing on these copies was just astounding.  David had been posting progress photos showing the finishing step-by-step on Instagram leading up to the show.  I'm still in awe when I look at these.

On the wall above the David Smith masks were two paintings by Louie Becker, one of the classic Shock Monster and another collage of vintage and modern classics from Be Something Studios, Don Post Studios, Distortions Unlimited, and Death Studios.

Going back to the wall above the '70s Don Post masks, there was a quartet of masterpieces hanging amongst some beautiful mask related art.  There were three pieces by the uber-talented Casey Love, namely Alien Dead, People Eater, and Parasite. Topping off the quartet was an absolutely stunning witch by Mike Fontaine.  If you're starting to get seasick with all the bouncing from one wall to the other, that's exactly how it was.  Every time you turned around there was something amazing ahead of you that you just had to go see.

I can't forget to mention Jon Fuller had a pair of amazing creations on display as well.

On both walls of the gallery as you entered the second section of the gallery were Caleb Oglesby's Monster Girls portraits.  Those of you who have been clamoring for a Monster Girls book will be glad to know I grilled Caleb on the very question of whether there would be a book on the horizon. I'm extremely pleased to let you all know that the answer is a definite maybe.    

Speaking of upcoming books, Steve Wang was there with five of the paint masters for his Biomorphs line from the early 2000s.  Steve's such a talented artist and a wonderful person.  I'm really looking forward to writing the book about him and his career.

Before I get to Steve's book, I have to finish the book on the life and career of Eric Pigors who also had a really clever art piece at the show.  He had the ideal spot for display, right next to the bar!  Speaking of the bar, I have to acknowledge our bartender for the evening, Eric's friend Justine Goregeous.  She was on her own and did an amazing job considering the vast crowds that came through and, believe me, everybody was thirsty!

My photo was too far away, so I had to steal this from Eric. Shhhh...

Overall, the evening was a great time.  I got to spend some time with old friends as well as some new ones.  I got to meet some artists I look up to.  I even got to finally sign a book for Mikey!  There were some folks there I would have loved to meet, but our paths just didn't cross.

I can't wrap up without recognizing Danny Fuentes, the owner of Lethal Amounts, and thanking him for his assistance and letting my publisher sell copies of the Don Post book at the gallery during the exhibition.

I'm allowed a shameless plug...or two.

    

There could not be any shadow of a doubt in the minds of anyone that was there that the event was a resounding success.  Mikey, along with Fatima, deserve thanks from the entire mask community.  This show was far more than a mere gallery opening.  It was a new high water mark in the industry as the work of so many talented artists was finally being recognized as fine art.  Pop culture history was made that night, and I'm grateful to have been a small part of it.

Have to include this one of Mikey with his awesome Ice Monkey