kitsch

Mike Bell takes classic monsters - Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, Bride of Frankenstein - and turns them into kitschy goodness.

Whether it's a fez and shriner car (right), or a martini glass and smoking jacket, the monsters of old are given a hip update.

Look through his galleries for more monster goodies (and be sure to peek in the Tiki section if you're into that sort of thing).

More about Mike:

Born and raised at the Jersey Shore – Mike Bell’s art blends an aura of nostalgia and humor, combined with vivid color and a combination of influences. Japanese cartoons, classic monsters, vintage toys, punk rock, carnivalesque images, MAD magazine and Big Daddy Roth are among the cultural forces that have shaped his art. The juxtaposition of counter culture imagery with modern day influences are the blueprint for Mike’s canvases.

The only downside to the site: could not find a way to turn off the music.

The other day I was reminded of an old cartoon called Roger Ramjet. I then fell down the Internet rabbit-hole, looking for a copy of the theme song.

I found the theme song, but I also found out the creators - Gene Moss and Jim Thurman - created another show called Shrimpenstein.

Moss took on the role of Dr. Von Schtick, and Thurman provided voices for other characters. Shrimpenstein himself was a little Frankenstein monster ventriloquist dummy.

Shrimpenstein, being a small, local tv show from California in the mid 1960's, reminds me of another little show produced in my neck of the woods: The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Both are low budget kitsch.

I can blame metalchick666 over at Skulls and Bacon for introducing me to a treasure trove of pointless gadgets I must have and am in danger of wasting money on. I'd followed the link that lead to the cute monster bandages I would proudly wear, and decided to explore the site some more.

It was then I realized Archie McPhee ("Eating Brains and Taking Names for 25 years" - an actual slogan that came up on-screen) is home to endless streams of kitsch and subculture! Including, but not limited to, this fantastic remote control zombie.

And I kept looking. Deeper and deeper I tumbled, loving the tv dinner napkins and other retro gear. But I'll focus on the darker goodies for this post.

Look at that image. I feel like a budding paleontologist spying a treasured dinosaur fossil for the first time. It's like documenting the history of haunting.

That is a classic example of the Captain Company collection. This one is courtesy of toyranch's flickr account where he has kindly shared a tremendous collection of these vintage ads.

So what is (or sadly, was) this Captain Company? Here's a very simple history from someone who just missed this cultural gemstone.

Horror movies really hit their stride in the livingrooms of the late 1950's, and UHF stations entertained audiences with classic films. Riding the monster popularity wave into the 1960's and 1970's was Famous Monster's of Filmland Magazine, in the back of which you would find Captain Company ads.

Captain company was a Philadelphia-based mail order business, and the merchandising arm of Warren Publishing. It specialized in horror movie related products including masks, model kits, rings, posters, Super 8mm films...you name it.

Look at him. Perfection. The epitome of sauciness. No one could hold a candle to Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter. It's unthinkable that someone would even try to reinvent the iconic character on screen a second time. I mean, who would be that stupid?

MTV. MTV is that stupid. MTV who packages cool like it was cheaply made fake tanning cream (it's just like an authentic tan, except it costs more, and makes you orange and totally lame).

Only MTV, in partnership with producers from Fox Television Studios (another seemingly endless creator of American mainstream television trash), could look at a cult classic and think "Hey, I am sure we can make some money off someone else's genius by completely bastardizing the original and turning it into our pre-packaged, mindless fame machine, hack-filled product". Considering the fact that the success of the Rocky Horror Picture Show was a fluke made possible by underground followings, what makes them think they can generate the same type of fan base and financial windfall that has taken 30 years to accumulate?

Ok creepy kiddies, and all you monster-crazed collectors, have I got a fun website for you. It's called Mad-Monsters.com, and it's filled with some visual treats.

Let's start with the magazine covers. The section is sorted into 30 categories, each one represented with an image from that collection. You click on the cover of choice, and it leads you to additional images. Titles include Famous Monsters, Horror Tales, Tomb of Dracula, and Modern Monsters (to name but a few).

If you like those, you'll appreciate the movie posters as well. There are vintage selections such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and some cult classics like Blackula and Astro Zombies ("See astro space laboratory. See brutal mutants menace beautiful girls").

Want more movie images? You got it. There are 13 movie titles that each have 30 or so movie stills to choose from.

If you were a kid growing up in Canada after 1970, chances are you can recognize the images shown here. 'The Hilarious House of Frightenstein' was a little show produced in Hamilton, Ontario. It did get some American exposure but it certainly wasn't as widespread south of the border. Frightenstrein was the brainchild of Billy Van who played almost all of the characters that appeared in the show.

Personally, I liked to watch Grizzelda the Ghastly Gourmet, and felt bad every time Igor was denied a new pet. I'd wait for the Gorilla sketch to see it get pelted with ping-pong balls in new and creative ways.

Raymond Castile, reporter and documentary film producer ('In Love with Toys', 1995), has put together a collection of classic monster toys and masks from the 1960's to the 1990's. Hundreds of photographs await you on The Gallery of Monster Toys, many showing items that can make a ghoul drool.

Prompted by the threat of these collections being forgotten, Castile has gathered images to remind us of what was, including Mego toys and masks by Don Post.

When asked what his favourite toy was, Castile picked the AHI Creature from the Black Lagoon action figure (specifically, the 'male' version with the wider waist).

If you reach the end of his catalogue and haven't run out of steam, go to his links page and start monster hunting all over again.

How is it possible that I can't remember this movie? I was a child in the 80's. I loved Halloween. I must have seen it. And yet...

While perusing Facebook Halloween groups (a tale I will share with you in the next blog), I came across one dedicated to "The Worst Witch", a British T.V. film made in 1986 starring Tim Curry and Charlotte Rae (better known as Mrs. Garrett from 'The Facts of Life').

Think 'female version of Harry Potter'. Based on a children's book about a young female witch who has gone to Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, the plot centres around Mildred Hubble's inability to be a successful sorceress.

I broke from my usual behaviour of avoiding corporate chains who suck the life essence from all living things within a 100 mile radius, and found myself at Walmart with my boyfriend, Yetch. While I am still convinced this store is the secret portal to the inner circle of hell, I must admit I'm glad I went.

I found a double feature classic horror DVD for $1.00 amid all the mainstream-homogeny in the cavernous discount bins. Admittedly, they are not top quality films but considering it would cost me more than 50¢ to burn a movie to disc myself, how could I pass it up?

First is 'Atom Age Vampire' (1960) by Italian director Anton Giulio Majano. The original title was 'Seddok, l'erede di Satana' which actually means something like 'Seddok, Satan's heir'; where the vampire reference in the North American title came from is beyond me, since there are no vampires in the movie at all.