CLASSIC KING KONG ACTION FIGURE

New from action figure maker NECA is this brand new version of the classic 1933 King Kong. Widely available on the web and sells for less than 25 bucks!

Product Description

NECA is excited to add another kaiju to its collection. At long last King Kong will be joining NECA's action figure line!

King Kong is an original take on the classic gorilla, with super detailed hair and battle wounds across the body and head sculpts.

This massive figure stands at 8" tall with over 30 points of articulation. Included with the figure are 2 heads with varied expressions, a pair of open hands, and closed fist hands. Window box packaging with opening 5th panel front cover.

Product Features

• 8 inches (20.32cm)
• Based on King Kong
• Made of plastic
• Over 30 points of articulation
• Window box packaging with opening 5th panel front cover

Box Contents

• King Kong figure
• 2 Heads with varied expressions
• Pair of open hands
• Closed fist hands

RON COBB'S WARREN MAGAZINE COVERS

While not as visually spectacular as Basil Gogos' best, Ron Cobb's covers for various Warren Publications were nevertheless striking, especially his re-working of the movie poster for HORROR HOTEL (FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #40) and the grim visage from DR. BLOOD'S COFFIN (FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #45).

Here is presented the complete gallery of Ron Cobb's cover work for FAMOUS MONSTERS, MONSTER WORLD and CREEPY. As you can see, the CREEPY and MONSTER WORLD #3 covers are recycled from earlier issues of FM. One wonders if Warren paid him both times . . .

ON THE COBB . . .

Today's post is a continuation of a celebration of Ron Cobb's life and work. This is an interview that he did for the July 20-26, 1968 issue of LOS ANGELES FREE PRESS upon the publication of his book, MAH FELLOW AMERICANS.

RON COBB'S CULTURAL LEGACY

On any given Sunday, readers of WOM have seen in the "Apocalypse Soon" column, the satirically portentous cartoons of Ron Cobb from the pages of the LOS ANGELES FREE PRESS. The "Freep" was a politically radical weekly paper that was widely read in the 1960's and reached a circulation of almost 100,000. I would often shell out 25-cents and pull out a copy from the many newspaper boxes around town (remember those?). I always looked forward to the Cobb cartoon in each issue, and took influence from him and Robert Crumb's work in ZAP COMICS for my own drawings, where I manged to get a few of my cartoons published in "The King's Courier", my high school newspaper.

Mr. Cobb passed away in Sydney Australia on his birthday on Monday of this week from dementia. He was 83-years old. Cobb had no formal art training but he was talented enough to be hired at the age of 18 as an in-betweener for Walt Disney's animated films. He progressed as a breakdown artist for SLEEPING BEAUTY (the last Disney animated movie that used hand-drawn inked cells). This experience prepped him for his later career when he drew storyboards and designs for films such as STAR WARS, ALIEN, CONAN THE BARBARIAN (he designed the "Atlantean Sword" and the "Father's Sword"). Cobb also designed the album cover for the Jefferson Airplane's LP, "After Bathing at Baxters" (1967). During his work with the Freep, Cobb designed the now world-famous ecology logo (seen above).

He will be remembered by us monster fans for having painted several covers for FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, as well as LP covers for Verne Langdon's DR. DRUIDS HAUNTED SEANCE and POE WITH PIPES, narrated by John Carradine.

Ron Cobb's cartoons for the L.A. FREE PRESS during the 1960's were often politically-charged and controversial. Some of the themes resonate again today.

Be sure to check back here at WOM next Tuesday, for a complete gallery of Ron Cobb's Warren covers.

THE FUTURE OF HORROR FILMS . . . IN 1933

 

After the financial successes of horror films in 1932, Grant Jackson asks in his article for the January 1933 issue of MOVIE CLASSIC, what's next? To answer that question, he covers five movies: THE MUMMY, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, KING KONG, THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (known then as "The Wax Museum") and THE MASK OF FU MANCHU. This is a rather unique article as generally individual movies were covered, or individual actors, such as Boris Karloff were interviewed in the fan magazines of the day; it is unusual that horror films were collectively discussed as a "genre". A bonus is the generous addition of photos that accompany the article.

Oddly enough, three of the five films were actually released in late 1932 (THE MASK OF FU MANCHU on November 5, THE MUMMY on December 22 and ISLAND OF LOST SOULS on December 26), so it's quite likely that the author wrote the article during the same time for publication after the first of the year.

Ironically, other than Universal's THE BLACK CAT and in late 1933, THE INVISIBLE MAN, the future of horror films as optimistically described in the this article turned out not so promising. As a matter of fact, they would take a bit of a nose dive over the next year until WEREWOLF OF LONDON, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and a handful of others would signal the end of the classic "pre-code" Hollywood era.

Jack Pierce adds finishing touches before the camera rolls.

NEW KARLOFF DOCUMENTARY

 
Realized through Kickstarter, what promises to be the definitive documentary about Boris Karloff is heading our way. The folks at Movieweb.com elaborate:

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster 5-Minute Trailer Pays Tribute to Horror Legend

Guillermo Del Toro, John Landis, Joe Dante, Christopher Plummer, and more are featured in the Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster trailer.

by Kevin Burwick | September 10, 2020 | movieweb.com

The trailer for Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster has arrived. The 5-minutes of documentary footage covers a wide range of the Hollywood legend's long career, but begins with Frankenstein. Karloff is horror royalty after playing the role of Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 movie, along with Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein. He even played Imhotep in 1932's The Mummy. Karloff is also best-known as the voice of the Grinch in the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster delves into Boris Karloff and his long career with commentary by a wide range of fans, friends, and family. Guillermo Del Toro, John Landis, Joe Dante, Christopher Plummer, Peter Bogdanovich, Ron Perlman, Leonard Maltin, Sir Christopher Frayling, Sara Karloff, Gregory Mank, Roger Corman, Stephanie Powers, Ian Ogilvy, Norman Jewison, Orson Bean, Kevin Brownlow, Carloline Munro, Stephen Jacobs, Dick Miller, Peter Asher, Virginia Bates, Nehemiah Persoff, David J Skal, Donald F. Glut, Derek Malcolm, Bernie Coleman, Lee Grant, Rick Goldschmidt, Stuart Hersh, Miles Kreuger, Valerie Yaros, H.M.Wynant, Diane Aubry, Anthony Pratt, Renee Glynne, Sharyn Moffett, Neil Pettigrew, Ruth Shiel, Courtlandt Hull, Ron Simon, Jaymz Bee, Thomas Hamilton, Ron MacCloskey and many more all appear in the documentary. As of now, there is no release date set for the movie.

Guillermo del Toro is not shy about his praise for Boris Karloff. In the trailer for Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster, del Toro calls Karloff's take on Frankenstein's monster his "messiah." The 1931 movie had a profound effect on the director, who identified with the outsider status of Karloff's confused and abused monster. Del Toro claims that the movie and Karloff's performance have seeped into everything that he's ever done.

Boris Karloff was the character actor who became a star, as we learn in Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster. He had well over 80 roles before he stepped up to play Frankenstein's monster in 1931. His movies after Frankenstein were praised and then he started a highly regarded stint as a television personality, who was regarded as everyone's favorite uncle. While not acting on TV or on the big screen, he would dress like Santa Claus and deliver presents to disabled children in a Baltimore hospital at Christmas time.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster sets out to show that there was a lot more to Boris Karloff than just his horror legend status, while also embracing and celebrating it at the same time. Karloff was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for Street his big screen work, and another for his television work. The United States Postal Service even honored the actor with a Frankenstein's monster stamp in 1997. You can check out the trailer for Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster above, thanks to the Son of Frenzi YouTube channel.

FRANKIE'S FRIDAY FUNNIES NO. 187

CELEBRATE THE SUPER HEROES! (PART 2)