So far as this Monster Kid was concerned, December 25, 1978 would rank as my finest Christmas haul EVER! Not only did I receive my STAR WARS Creature Cantina along with its monster denizens, but also a big green monster I’d long been pining for. No, not The Incredible Hulk…I’m referring to the infamous Stretch Monster!
Special thanks to Matthew Medlen for sharing his photos from the huge Chicago gathering of fans…
Lou Ferrigno a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk!
In the earlier days of this site, I attended The 2010 Chicago Wizard Con (story HERE) and was not a happy camper. Granted the intense crowds did give me a bit of satisfaction knowing that, in the 15 years since I’d quit collecting comics, us geeks had clearly inherited the earth. Unfortunately, this was tempered by my perception of us fans being treated like cattle along with having to deal with their pampered celebrities. This is the first year I attended C2E2 (Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo) and it was a last minute decision. Still recovering from Horrorhound (and, yes, we still have much more to discuss regarding that event) I had requested my C2E2 Press Pass late in the game and was surprised when it arrived last week. The event was HUGE and took place at The McCormick Place in Chicago.
Back in October of 2007, TV Horror Hostess – Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, debuted her FOX Reality TV show “The Search for the Next Elvira.” The premise of the show was for attractive young contestants to don their own slinky, black dresses while displaying their own hosting skills via a televised competition. Though technically a “reality” game show, this was no “Survivor” nor “Donald Trump’s Apprentice.” The show never took itself too seriously and the “camp” factor was about as high as the very films Elvira had been famous for hosting. Losing contestants scream in terror as they are “disintegrated” in a cavalcade of computerized fire and brimstone.
I just returned from the FRIGHT NIGHT convention in Kentucky but wanted to wrap up this event before delving into that one. I attended the VIP party there as well but, it was so horrendous, I couldn’t make a blog out of it if I tried. Let’s just say that the one I describe below was 1,000 times better and showed that sometimes the “new kids on the block” could teach a thing or two to the older ones!
Saturday was a busy day at DAYS OF THE DEAD and, as the doors to the main convention halls closed, I tiredly dragged myself up to my room. I took a shower and, as I was organizing all the materials I’d acquired during the day, was jarred by the ringing of my cell phone. Upon answering, I soon heard the monotone voice of Illinois Public Access host, Count Gregula, asking what I was up to. After revealing that I had no plans for the evening (save zoning out in front of TV) Gregula asked the question that every horror conventioneer longs to hear, “Would you like to attend the VIP party with us?”
If you are a mask collector then more than likely you have heard the name David Lady at least once (and more than likely you actually know him and have either talked to him on the phone or have e-mailed with him). When I first became aware of David it was in the late 1980’s. At the time the big mask companies were Don Post Studios, Distortions Unlimited and Be Something Studios. Though I bought masks from all 3 companies, a trend was starting to develop where what you got greatly differed from what you were ordering from their catalogs. So, I started to look for other options and found companies like Death Studios and one of my all time favorites, the now defunct House Of Horror Studios. In my quest to find better quality masks I came across a group called The Halloween Society. This society, run by Ron Magid, Dante Renta, Guy Thorpe and yes, David Lady, introduced me to a whole new area of collecting…an area I was unaware of. Apparently there were artists out there creating limited edition masks and busts of all of the great monsters I grew up on and it was through The Halloween Society’s magazine “The Halloween Gazette” that I started to see these pieces being offered.
Terror from Beyond the Dave 