A pot-pourri of stuff here. My mind is a cluttered loft so I'll just babble.
I'm currently reading a paperback called Wolfen by Whitley Strieber. A classic 70's horror wolf tome I remember seeing the film years ago. It described a race of super-wolves living in the ruins of 70's New York. These creatures were hidden from humans whilst also feeding on them: vagrants, winos and strays. The problems start when two cops are half eaten.
The book touches on native American folklore and the high-rise men working on the 'steel'. The invisible beasts stalking humanity remind me of Covid-19 to be honest and I find the idea of urban decay harbouring a secret really interesting. As you'd expect the book goes into more detail and is a proper good read. Haver you seen the film or read the book?
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I wonder if this oddest of years will be remembered by collectors as a good one? Certainly toy fairs have sadly bit the dust but has Ebay taken their place? Have space-toy collections prospered this year? What's your experience?
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I've just been reading about the oceans of Ganymede. They are ..... layered! Yep, maybe three oceans, each 100km deep, one on top of the other like a stack of pancakes! The mind boggles!
How amazing it would be to glide and sail through these vast seas in sleek chrome ships. I seem to recall a book I read as a teenager which featured subs whizzing through Pliocene oceans. The idea fascinated me. It was called The Many-Coloured Land by Julian May, whom I had assumed was a man but was actually a woman. I had all three books but don't think I read them all, something I ought to rectify. This was the iconic cover of the paperback. Have you read it?
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Mammoth skulls, with those huge curling tusks are quite primeval things. Mammoths in general really. I remember some fabulous art of the La Brea Tar Pits when I was a kid and stared at it for ages, its epic struggle of a trapped woolly mammoth and a roaring sabre-toothed tiger. For the life of me I can't recall where I saw it. Does it ring any bells readers?
Thought it might be the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Tar Pit Kit Woodsy, but that's got a vulture hovering over the mammoth, not a sabre tooth.
ReplyDeleteMish.
I love that box art Mish. Epic!
DeleteA veritable smorgasbord of delights to twerk at our memories. The Wolfen does not conjure any response from my brain cells, although I have been an avid reader of horror scifi and fantasy since I read the (unremembered number)th Pan book of horror stories back in 1970ish. Julian May - dingdingding- yes I've read the Saga of the Exiles, the tomes sit amongst my 650+ collection. Definitely worth reading.
ReplyDeleteClonk clonk clonk. Sabretooth and wooly mammoth. Yes I've seen it somewhere too, but cant remember where either. Was it a book on fossils or similar?
Finally we come to collecting in this peculiar year. As an Ebayist its been weird. There were bargains to be had early on (although prices on the whole have gone up since last year). I picked up JR21 TB3s for as little as £6. Dinkys seem to have doubled in price since last year. A couple of Cherilea space pods with 4 spacemen sold for £147!! ( I must admit I was not overly impressed with them back in 1970, but obviously now wish I had kept mine. I think mine ended up going to a carboot in 1990s) However there seems to be alot more 1960s stuff about. Maybe people have been clearing out their lofts and attics?
I love those Pan Horror Stories too Timmy and my parents had loads in the house in the Sixties. The covers were fantastic! The sabre too and mammoth could have been a book cover or a picture inside one, yep. As for those Cherilea space pods, I have a horror stpry too. I did a toy fair with a friend and he asked me to ID his toys beforehand. I mistakenly ID'd 2 items as Swoppets as I'd not seen them before. they went for peanuts to a very well known dealer also standing at the fair. Yes, they were Mechanoids and my friend didn't speak to me for a while!
DeleteCould this artwork be one of Charles Knight's? He was an American artist who did prehistoric murals for many of the major museums in the U.S. His La Brea mural sounds like what you are searching for.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip bri. Its not Charles Knight but I love his art. I recall so many from the books I had as a kid. Superb work. I have a feeling I'm getting two pictures mixed up, a wooly mammoth and a smilodon. Maybe the How and Why Prehistoric Mammals cover.
DeleteThis mammoth/sabretooth is really bugging me! The image I recall is tbe mammoth stuck in the goo, back end under, up to somewhere between elbow and shoulder at front. Head raised, trunk raised. Behind is a large rock with sabre tooth roaring away on top. Will have to go thru my old "Treasury of..." etc books. Mad, its driving me mad I tell you....Mwahahahahaàaa
DeleteIts a mammoth problem Timmy!
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