MOONBASE CENTRAL: October 2019

Thursday, 31 October 2019

SO HOW WAS YOUR HALLOWEEN?

So how has your Halloween gone? is it still happenning?

What did you eat? Did you dress up?

Pictures for tomorrow please!

SWAMP THINGIN' THIS HALLOWEEN

DC's manky monster Swamp Thing has always fascinated me. The toys too. Kenner made a range of plastic figures like this [pic on an auction]:

Checking his Kenner action figures online old Swampy has a basic facial likeness to our old Harryhausen chum Ymir from the 20 Million miles to Earth.

Palmer plastics and Diener Rubbers were producing decent toy monster figures way back. Diener's Ymir would go well with Swamp Thing.

In fact their Tree Trunk Monster eraser really could be Swamp Thing!

Where did Wrightson-Wein get their inspiration for Swamp Thing from?

Anyone know?

HALLOWEEN AT CASTLE DEATHSTAR: TONIGHT'S MONSTER MOVIE

A little bit of macabre Moonbase mayhem for Halloween.

There's fell deeds and skulduggery down at the Castle!

TRICK OR TREAT?

Do kids go trick or treating near you? Is it still popular?

What's your experience of this Halloween tradition?

ITS IN THE TREES!

My fave monster film scene ever!

What's yours?

FIRSTY FOR MORE MONSTERS? HOWSABOUT SECONDS?

Another first, or in this case second issue of legendary status, was and is issue 2 of the British poster magazine Monster Mag.

I adored Monster Mag and had all of the posters on my bedroom wall. I still have some of the mags in my boxes in the attic!

But, like most MM fans, I never had issue 2. Alas, deemed too strong for young British sensibilities, Her Majesty's Customs destroyed the lot when they arrived from the printers overseas.

And so issue 2 of Monster Mag became like the proverbial rocking horse doo doo.

That is until erstwhile publishers Dez Skinn and Roger Cook regrouped and re-published issue 2!

Here's the admittedly rather grim cover:

You can read all about another fan's sentimental journey to acquire Issue 2 and how he went on to interview Mr. Skinn https://www.classic-monsters.com/monster-mag-relaunches-reprint-issue-2-worlds-rarest-film-magazine/.

You can also read about all of Dez Skinn's Monster Mags and how to get hold of these gruesome tomes on his own website http://dezskinn.com/quality-shop-1/#MM2

Did you or do you have any Monster Mags readers?

Happy Hallowscream!

GOING TRICK OR TREATING WITH BAT-GIRL

CREEPY OLD BOARD GAMES 3: KRESKIN'S ESP

CREEPY OLD GAMES 2: GREEN GHOST

FIRSTY FOR MONSTERS?

There's something about firsts.

In the world of horror mags and comics two publications claw their way up well... first!

With Creepy in the bag and making waves, Warren publishing launched Eerie onto a monster-hungry youth in the 1965/6 and trademarked the name with a mock-up 200 print first issue, containing just three stories.

This revolutionary starter was an "ashcan" created solely to get the name in the system and thus the obscure and mythical Eerie issue 1 is called the Ashcan issue by collectors.

I certainly don't have one and I've never seen one in the flesh but if you google it there are various blogs - like Zombo's closet - with scans of what are purported to be ashcan pages. Occasionally copies turn up on auction sites commanding large sums. I wonder if its easy to establish if these are all genuine?

Anyways, here's the black and white cover I saw on Ebay sometime:

You ever seen one readers?

Another monstrous first to follow for All Hallows Eve!

HANDS DOWN

THE DENIZENS OF MONSTER BASE, NEW JERSEY

Hi Woodsy.

It's a cold, grey day in the Pine Barrens and the denizens of Monster Base are stirring once again, perhaps in anticipation of All Hallows Eve. Maybe afterwards they'll settle down for a long Winter's hibernation...or WILL they?

Brian F

NJ USA

ITS........

PROCESSION OF THE DAMNED BY TONY K

Traditionally overshadowed by a graveyard of Vampires and Werewolves, the humble Zombie has stumbled back into pop-culture favour with a ferocious following. Telly addicts know it's impossible to flick through Sky or Netflix without bumping into the walking dead.

They're confusing, they're diverse... and they're everywhere. Beyond being sort of dead, or infected, and having questionable table manners, there's no precise benchmark to define what constitutes being a pop-culture zombie.

The slow moving, lovable types from George Romero's 1968, 'Night of the Living Dead', are certainly out of vogue with honest Joe public. We live in a cynical world where a modern audience requires a modern Zombie - a zombie that's as fast and aggressive as the times we live in.

Fast moving Zombies show up in films like, '28 Days Later', 'World War Z' and Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of 'Dawn of the Dead'. Not only are modern zombies physically dynamic, some are tactically astute, such as the terrifying SS zombies resurrected and reanimated in movies like, 'Outpost' and its creepy successors.

Don't feel disheartened though, not all zombies are bad. Some can be funny. Zom Coms such as, 'Night of the Living Dorks', 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Zombie Strippers''... yep, that's right, 'Zombie Strippers', squirt humour over the gore and make us giggle.

On the subject of zombies, myself and Mrs. K were somewhat taken aback when we found ourselves on Glastonbury's High Street, in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Our chilled visit to this Avalonian hippy-town turned in to a frightful fight for survival... okay, maybe not quite a frightful fight for survival, but an entertaining afternoon, nonetheless.

It seemed the local zombie community were celebrating their cultural 'Zombieness', with collective hobbling, wobbling and limping along the High Street.

Disguised as a charitable fund raiser, the zombie gathering was actually an exercise to distance themselves from the poor PR they generally receive. Often dehumanised and disenfranchised, maybe it was their way of raising awareness that zombies are people as well... or were people once, I guess.

The Glasto Zombie tour de force was a colourful spectacle of improvised street theatre, imagination and contagious creative carnage. Many locals and day tripping tourists turned out to join the fun and show their support for this social minority.

The Zombies themselves were happy, chatty and approachable, coping well with the attention they were receiving. Poses were struck and photos were taken in exchange for a bag of prime offal. These weren't the snotty, snarling, maniacs you see on telly or read about in comics... or novels, if you're more grown up.

In fact, the gathering was a family event, with junior zombies dragging loose limbs behind proudly rotting parents. Thankfully I wasn't mistaken for one of the participants on this occasion.

The zombies gathered in a happy blend of age, nationality and gender. There was no prejudice or divide amongst the zombie fraternity. They were happy to be united and together, even with their physical flaws and mental failings, which made them just a little more human.

Every strata of their society was accounted for. A variety of zombie doctors and nurses where in attendance to care for the sick and infirm. There was even a zombie vicar hoping for a better afterlife... and who could blame him.

It was a walk of solidarity and inclusion. All manner of monster was welcome, including curiously colourful incarnations, such as the scary rabbit-headed girl on roller skates and the dapper monochrome skeletal Romeo and Juliet who clearly stepped out of the psychedelic sixties.

It was getting late... I was getting tired, or maybe I was just hallucinating... it was Glasto after all. I thought I recognized the Town Crier with his green coat and Jack Sparrow tricorn hat... he was smiling at me... wasn't he a villain from a childhood episode of Scooby Doo?

I was right, wasn't I! My better half shuck her head, took the car keys off me, and with a shove said it was time to leave.

Happy Halloween!

TONY K

Youtube Link - Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClQcUyhoxTg