CRYPTOLOGY NO. 5 NOW SHIPPING

The latest issue of TwoMorrows' CRYPTOLOGY is now available. Edited by Peter "It Came From the Tomb" Normanton, issue #5 is another spectacular, full-color tome packed to the coffin lid with retro creep culture.

Here's the 411 from editor Normanton:

“If you thought you heard the rattle of bones, you were right! This time ’round, I, the Cryptologist, have dug up a few skeletons in the closet of my creepy little magazine. We have the Ghost Rider, from comic books through until his incarnation on the cinema screen! There are skulls aplenty on the covers dating back to the pulps, Martin Goodman’s Atlas Digests, and horror comics from the pre-Code era! We unearth Hy Fleishman’s hideous skeleton covers from the 1950s, along with a few of the stories he drew. “Toys from the Crypt” examines Walt Disney’s skeletons, vintage Pirates of the Caribbean models of the 1970s, plus Last Gasp’s Skull Comics and the films of William Castle. If that’s not enough, our Killer B department has exhumed a few skull and bones classics: House on Haunted Hill, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake and The Skull! And don’t forget our Hammertime section. So roll the bones for a magazine made especially for you retro horror fans, by Leese, Voger, the Kronenbergs, and editor Peter Normanton!”

But wait -- that's not all! There's more good news: Earlier this year I was fortunate to land a spot on the writing staff of CRYPTOLOGY. My first article, "Hoist High the Skull and Crossbones! The Pirates of the Caribbean, From Theme Park Ride to Model Kits" appears in this issue's "Toys From the Crypt" department. I've got another one in the pipeline for a later issue and two more articles for the future. Needless to say, I'm very excited to be a part of this excellent publication from TwoMorrows and Peter Normanton. I'll keep you posted on any new developments.

To see a 22-page preview go HERE.

To order go HERE.

BEWARE, THE FIRE-BREATHING TURTLE!

Released in 1966 in the U.S., GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE was the stateside version of GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER released in Japan the previous year. The American cast included Albert "Dr. Cyclops" Dekker and Brian "Quatermass" Donlevy.

Sleeping peacefully for millions of years, Gamera is awakened by an atomic explosion. Needless to say, it's ticked, and taking a cue from Godzilla, wreaks havoc on Tokyo. Despite working in a shoddy studio with outdated equipment, the mean-looking, fanged terrapin did pretty well at the box office, spawning the sequel, GAMERA VS. BARUGON.

The following excerpt is from a special Gamera issue of Draculina Publishing's ORIENTAL CINEMA (Vol. 3 No. 6, 1995). Without getting too deep in the weeds, the title of this 'zine may seem startling to some of WoM's more sensitive readers; it ceased publishing in 2009 after 23 issues, which was before the U.S. federal government removed the term "oriental" from its official documents in 2016. In the United States, the "O" word became a "derogatory, offensive outdated racial slur when referring to people of Asian descent and is legally prohibited in federal documents. The term carries negative historical associations with Eurocentric perspectives, racial discrimination, and imperialistic views of Asian countries, rather than simply meaning 'eastern'". Hey, don't look at me, I got this straight from Google's AI assistant.

All social politics aside, OC's Gamera special includes lots of information on the terrifying turtle, such as articles on Daiei, the also ran Japanese company (that got left in the dust by studios such as Toho) that spawned it, the trials and tribulations of filming it, as well as Gamera films that were released over the ensuing years.

Tan Yun Yee.

GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE stills:

GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE U.S. Trailer:

PLANET OF THE APES DELUXE LOBBY CARDS

While we're on the subject of apes, here's a complete set of deluxe color lobby cards from PLANET OF THE APES from 1968, the ending of which shocked the hell out of a certain young teenage monster kid.

The original size of each card measures 7.5" x 10".

PLANET OF THE APES trailer: