Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Horror Comics and Movie Monsters



Back in the 1950s Horror Comics came under fire.  Parent groups and shrewd politicians jumped on the censorship bandwagon and decided that comic books (especially Horror and Crime titles) were responsible for the corruption of American youth.

As a result the comic book publishers were forced to censorship their titles by watering them down or eliminating them completely.

During the early 1960s comic book publishers discovered a way to print horror stories, albeit in a different medium than comic books.

Since magazines were not under the censorship umbrella Horror magazines cropped up –slowly at first then eventually picking up momentum until a plethora of titles were available-right up to the early 2000s.

Horror Comics In Black and White: A History and Catalog, 1964-2004, written and compiled by Richard J. Arndt and published by  McFarland & Company, chronicles the rebirth of Horror Comics.

The book traces the publication of each magazine including who the writers and artists were, what stories were included, publication dates and other details.

Stephen R. Bissette provides the foreword to this comprehensive compilation of Horror Comics.

When I was a young man I loved watching horror films-the cheesier the better.  The Universal Monster and Hammer Horror films were my favorites.  I read each and every issue of Famous Monsters magazine and bought and built all the Aurora Models starring Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula, the Creature and so forth.

I wasn’t the greatest painter and detailer but my assembled Aurora Models turned out fairly well.  They were no masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination.

For a glimpse at how Monster/Horror Models should be made and assembled check out Movie Monsters in Scale: a Modeler’s Gallery of Science Fiction and Horror Figures and Dioramas, written and compiled by master model-maker Mark C. Glassy.

Mark is a master of assembling models, making his own figures and assembling impressive dioramas.  

Page after page is filled with full-color or black and white photos of models Mark has assembled, augmented and built.

Included with the photos are descriptions of the movies they are based on, who the sculptors and manufacturers of the models are and assembly notes from the author.

Looking through the book it is hard to grasp and realize how much work went into each model from painting to adding accessories.  I am impressed and you will be too.