This looks like a pretty cool hardback book shipping this summer from TwoMorrow's Publsihing. This link has 34 sample pages available for viewing.
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1202 (http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1202)
I'm wondering why they chose 1972 as the cutoff year. Not that I mind, since my funeral coach is a 1972.
Looks like it would be fun to browse through. I don't think most people on this board would learn much new, though.
Quote from: Haunted hearse on April 05, 2015, 06:47:13 PM
I'm wondering why they chose 1972 as the cutoff year. Not that I mind, since my funeral coach is a 1972.
That strikes me as a bit strange as well. Monsters were going strong through the mid '70s... after 1976 would be a good point where things really started to change. The big surge (some would say glut) of monster mags would be over after Marvel flooded the newsstands with their (great, BTW) titles. FM was still actually covering mostly
monsters until Star Wars sounded the death knell :'( for that. Monster comics started to slow in the mid '70s.
To The Devil A Daughter (1976) was the last of the classic Hammer horror flicks (it wasn't great but it ended an era). After the Topps Shock Theater set (Hammer images) in the mid '70s that sort of signaled the end of classic monster trading cards except for the 1980's Creature Features (You'll Die Laughing). Local horror host programming was losing steam in the mid '70s (we lost Dr. Shock in Chattanooga around then). Most of the classic gothic horror hit it's stride in the mid '70s and began to wane. Things took a big shift towards sci-fi in '77 thanks to Star Wars.
Yeah, 1972 is a weird year to end on because monsters were still going strong. I still favor the movies, comics, monster mags, TV shows, toys, and trading cards from the mid '70s and before. Most comic dealers have used 1975 or 1976 as the last year they are actively buying comics from, so other people must feel this way too, at least about comics.
Mike, I agree that readers here won't likely learn much, but I thought it looked like a nice package with nice artwork that covers a topic dear to most of our hearts. Some stories I don't mind being told over & over from a fresh perspective.
As far as the year 1972 goes, I guess I can see that year as "the beginning of the end" of the Monster Craze. I consider the issuing of the Aurora monster models in Glow-in-the-Dark variants as the last great push for the monster culture. I'm in agreement with most of you that 1975 or 1976 might really be more appropriate, and we all pretty much agree that the release of "Star Wars" in 1977 was the end of that era and the beginning of the new sci-fi craze.
I have no doubt that the book will be excellent and I plan to get one. TwoMorrows does nice work. I have all of the Comic Book Artist Vol. 1 run, as well as select issues of Back Issue and Alter Ego. I was so impressed with Comic Book Artist #4 that I ordered the limited hardcover edition of The Warren Companion as soon as it was available. Now THAT is a nice book. It was THE Warren tome before Gathering Horror was published, and it's still a great addition to the library of any monster magazine fan.
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Looks cool to me. Can't wait.
Pre ordered and standing buy.