New Book: VXX Monster Masks

[vayapues]

JUST OUT: A beautiful full color, 174-page volume about the work of fabled monster-mask maker Darrell Vidaurri, aka VXX.

Before just about anyone else, VXX was tackling the beloved old-school imagery of our baby-boomer monster-kid childhoods: expired movie monsters, old monster mag icons, and (dearest to his heart) EC horror comics. The trick is that, for nearly 25 years, all VXX's masks have been issued in small hand-cast, hand-painted batches, so they are hard to acquire or see outside of individual collections. By default, this book's the next best thing to being there. Hundreds of pix & illustrations; personal commentaries on every single piece by VXX himself; bio/appreciation by FX artist Kevin Meaux; cool, colorful illos by Justin Jarrell; monster-friendly design by Chris Mayrides.

Can only be ordered here: https://www.blurb.com/b/11625343-the-vxx-book-of-masks

[Wolfman]

Awesome! May have to order this. I have 5 of Darrell’s masks, and may consider parting with one of them. The Lagoon Monster.

JP

[Sir Masksalot]

Well, they've certainly been quiet about it. I never even knew it was coming.
Thanks for the heads-up, vayapues. Do you have a copy yet?

I've got a few VXXFX masks and I'm keeping them all!

[Hepcat]

Wow! Cool book!

 

[vayapues]

Esteemed Sir Masksalot, my copy shd be in by Fri, hoo-hah!

Meanwhile, I was lucky enuf to view little snippets of the book. Fotos & illos look to be as neat as you'd imagine them to be. The long appreciation by Kevin Meaux is also great -- sharing a bit of BG about Darrell & putting that VXX magic into historical & artistic context.

[Dr.Terror]

There needs to be a book about the Don Post uni monsters given this much care, attention, and presentation. 

[Sir Masksalot]

'Just received my copy, great seeing all the familiar scary faces we've known and "loathed" for years!

[Dr.Terror]

Would love to see a book like this about the Tharps.

[MonsterBaker666]

There needs to be a book about the Don Post uni monsters given this much care, attention, and presentation.

Yeah, there was a big book concerning the Don Post masks, pretty big, but a lot of  the photos were of the masks today, falling apart and all that.  There were a lot of publicity photos during the time they were made, some in B&W, some in color, but a lot of those pics probably are gone with the wind.  I LOVED the images on that first Famous Monster full color back page ad and SO wanted the original smooth Glenn Strange Frankenstein mask...and the Wolf Man...and their hands...and, well, all of them.  Sure would be nice to see those photos in an 8x10 or larger size.  and so sad that some of the masks were never properly photographed, if at all, such as the Zacherle mask.  Would love to see what that actually looked like.

[vayapues]

MonsterBaker, the Don Post Zacherley mask was advertised in a couple early Famous Monsters (1960-61) using, it's worth noting, a retouched foto of the real Zach. As far as I know (someone correct me if I'm wrong), this mask never actually saw the light of day, as things turned out. (What happened to those FM readers who ordered the damn thing??) What was the problem? Rights issues? DP decided Zach was too regional a personality to turn a decent profit?

But I understand that the same Zach sculpt or face casting -- the basis of the would-be early 60s mask -- was strangely exhumed in 1977 as a 150-line (3/4 face) Frankenstein mask, of all things, with added scar, electrodes, & some lazily-inscribed wrinkles. (I wouldn't be surprised if they were carved right into the plaster casting.) I bought one on eBay a few years ago, just cuz it seems to be the closest thing to that proposd DP Zach we'll ever have. Can you see the resemblance, below? Geez, they didn't even revise Zach's trademark parted hair!

   

[Dr.Terror]

The Zach mask was released around 1960.

[vayapues]

Did u ever see a pic of it, Dr T? I never have, & I don't know of anyone that has, either. That's why I think it was stillborn (i.e. unreleased).

[vayapues]

UPDATE: 2nd PRINTING! (From publisher's website)

The VXX Book Of Masks is entering its 2nd printing. The coveted 1st edition is now out of print and can only be found on the secondary market.

We took this opportunity to implement a few updates. New VXX masks and some Topstone masks that were absent from the first print have been included. A Monster Photo Gallery, showcasing unpublished pix, is now featured at the end of the book. Christopher Mayrides has penned a new introduction. VXX has expanded his intro to the mask section. Lee Kaplan wrote the Foreword. Justin Jarrell has provided a gorgeous new cover illustration, with VXX's 1st-edition cover art reprinted inside. (Justin also created color drawings of the newly-added masks.) Evil Wilhelm's appreciation is now incorporated into the book. In an effort to offer varied perspectives on the back cover, we have solicited new endorsements from Bill Leach, editor and publisher of the EC fanzine Horror from The Crypt Of Fear, and monster mask collector extraordinaire Bobby Guthrie. Eric Austin's inspired writing remains.

If you missed the book the first time around, this is another opportunity to acquire a copy. For VXX completists, there's additional content to enjoy.

This edition will be the final, definitive one. Available to purchase at this link: https://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/10119325/797e57bbcc9f7855327c15d10aaabc2744b63b57

[Sir Masksalot]

UPDATE: 2nd PRINTING! (From publisher's website)

The VXX Book Of Masks

'Awesome news, put me down for one! How the heck do you find out so soon?
I haven't seen it advertised anywhere 



 

[Hepcat]

Are you vayapues somehow involved in the publishing of this book?