Monsters. Those things that as a child scared us, gave us nightmares and provided us with so many hours of fun. If you were like me you grew up on monsters. I was never into playing (or watching for that matter) sports of any kind. My Saturday afternoons were spent in front of the television trying to draw in with rabbit ears channel 56 out of Boston, Massachusetts, with their weekly Creature Double Feature show. In the safety of daylight I was thrilled week after week with giant bugs, Godzilla and all of the Universal and Hammer classics.

For as long as I can remember monsters have been a part of my life. I have always preferred them over “monsters” such as Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. Though movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th have their rightful place, to me it was monsters like the Creature From The Black Lagoon and Godzilla that were most influential. Perhaps it is because serial killers are too real whereas the Creature and Godzilla help fuel your imagination to suspend disbelief.

It’s not very often that a book comes along that helps bring back so many memories, of not only my childhood but even those created just a few weeks or months ago. When they do though, it is guaranteed to be a hit in my eyes. This is the case with Pete Von Sholly’s book “History Of Monsters.”

This is not a movie guide but more of a loving tribute by an artist who obviously grew up like I did watching monster movies. Not only has he recreated some of our favorite movie monsters (including the aforementioned Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees) but he takes it a step further to include monsters from mythology and cryptozoology.

Each page, a work of art in itself, features a collage of dozens of monsters and a chart on the opposite page telling you where each monster came from and the year it originated from.  If anyone is hesitant to pay the $29.95 suggested price for a book that is only 50 pages long, don’t be. A lot of work went into this book and it is worth every penny.

What makes this book even more fun is that each collection of monsters can be placed end-to-end with each other, creating a huge montage of monsters never before attempted (and will probably never be attempted again).

Pete Von Sholly, like so many of us, is a monster kid. His story is very similar to each of ours and he has now shared his love with the world. He is a storyboard artist for the movies and his style is original and fresh. He captures each monster perfectly and there is so much information in each collage, that you will find yourself coming back to this book again and again. And if a book can do that, then it is totally worth it!

To order your very own copy (and you know you want to) just click HERE!

~David Albaugh