Illusive Concepts - Universal Studios Monster Masks

Mario Chiodo's Illusive Concepts released the company's first round of the Universal Studios Monster Masks in 1991. Illusive Concepts would release more Universal Monster Masks over the next several years of varying design and quality.

These masks were quite large in size, and thicker than any mass produced masks on the market at the time, and possibly ever produced. The sculptures were very impressive, although the paint schemes were sometimes questionable.

Aside from appearing in the White Zombie video for "More Human Than Human", the Creature from the Black Lagoon pictured in this ad is my personal favorite mass produced Creature mask. Here's a pic of my Creature that I scored back in '94 and touched up the eyes and mouth:

Brady Bunch Slumber Caper (Part 2)

Here's a quick follow up to Fridays post. I made a tidy little edit featuring just the clips that masks appear in. In addition here's a few pics of the Phantom, Frank and Creature masks...



In addition, here are the ads I have featuring the 100 Line Don Post masks used in the episode...

Don Post 100 Line Ad

Don Post 100 Line Monster Masks

Check out the Blood Curdling Blog of Monster Masks first post on the Slumber Caper for more monster mask goodness.

Brady Bunch - The Slumber Caper

Anyone who grew up in the 70s is sure to  remember this classic season 2 episode of the Brady Bunch that originally aired back on October 7th 1970. "The Slumber Caper" featured some excellent close up shots of budget Don Post Frankenstein, Phantom, and Creature masks.  On top of the excellent mask bits, the blinking skull in the refrigerator is a favorite of mine that brings back so many early Halloween memories. Albeit brief, there are 3-4 minutes of this episode that remind me of the love and joy of a good scare in a rubber monster mask!

The episode can be found on YouTube in 3 parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 . Part two is really the only one that features mask shots, which begin at 5 minutes and 35 seconds through the clip, with another excellent bit at 6:47.

Here's an ad featuring the 100 Line Don Post masks used in the episode...

Be sure to check out the Blood Curdling Blog of Monster Masks second post on the Slumber Caper.

The Masks of Famous Monsters - Issue #1

Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine was an absolute treasure trove of early mask history. By combing through the 191 issues published between 1958-1983, it's possible to gain a good understanding of the decades of evolution and history of Don Post Studios and Topstone monster masks.

I'm planning to start a once or twice a month series of posts that will eventually cover any mask related articles or ads that appear in through out the entire life span of the magazine. All said, it may take a while to get through them all, but we'll have one heck of an archive when it's all done!

With that, it's only appropriate to start back at the beginning with issue #1. Issue one featured the classic Don Post Studios "Authentic" Frankenstein's Monster Mask not only on the cover with the lovely Marion Moore, but throughout the issue as well.

Micheal Langlois Imaginative Creations Mask Ad

Combing through the pages of classified ads of magazines in the 80s and 90s occasionally yielded a pleasant surprise in the form of a mask ad.  As the case with most headhunters, I was always happy to find one of these hidden little gems at the end of a horror mag. 

 The surprise was a little sweeter if the ads contained some photos like this classified ad from Fangoria #8 of October 1980 featuring three aliens from Micheal Langlois. I have personally never seen any of Michael's work, but I was blown away by these creature designs when I ran into this ad a few nights ago.

Don Post 1983 Universal Monsters - Faces to Remember Part 2

Now this is some of the good stuff here... I received some emails a few days ago containing these beautiful hi-resolution scans 1983 Don Post Universal Studios reissues. These images absolutely knocked my socks off as I've never seen a copy of the 1983 catalog. My only exposure to these dapper dressed ghouls was the black and white "Faces to Remember" ad I posted last week.

Big thanks Billy for sending these over, and putting a big smile on my face when I opened up those emails!

Don Post Creature from the Black Lagoon Mask

Don Post 1983 Karloff Frankenstein Mask

Don Post White Phantom of the Opera Mask

Don Post Sargoth Mask

Steve Neil Article - Fangoria #24

Issue #24 of Fangoria featured a nice article on Steve Neil who made and sold masks through his company Extraterrestrial Transformations. The article focuses more on Neil's FX background, and less on masks, but it's a nice piece of history on a long time mask maker.

Neil's Seemore Mask shown in center top and a Rick Stratton Heavy Metal top right

Mask Ads - Creepy #6 and 7

This is our 4th post featuring the mask ads that appeared in vintage issues of Creepy Magazine. I'm going to try make a monthly Creepy mask related post a habit around here.

Issue #6 was the first issue to feature a full page ad for the CREEPY MASK. Right there on the back cover in full color! The CREEPY mask was available in two formats: the "Fabulous" CREEPY mask for a mere $4.95, and the Super Fantastic DeLuxe Model CREEPY mask with real hair for $14.95. Yes indeed, it was almost alive!

Full page Don Post CREEPY mask ad

Creepy #7

Issue #7, released in February 1965,  had a lot going for it. First, this stunning cover from Frank Frazetta. Easily among my favorite illustrations of all time!

 Second, a full page ad for the Don Post Studios Calendar Masks was featured on page 65. While I've posted a few Calendar Mask ads, this particular variation has not yet made an appearance here yet.

Black and White Don Post Studios Calendar Mask Ad

 And once again, the full page CREEPY mask ad would appear on the back cover. This ad is a definite variation as the text differs from issue #6.

Variant text full page Don Post CREEPY mask ad

Distortions Unlimited - Monster Mask Ad

The Distortions Unlimited "Nightmares" ad didn't actually feature any of the five Nightmare monster masks, but it did showcase some late 80's classics like Syngenor, Rotted Vampire, Andromeda, and Death. And who could forget Adult and Baby Stinky "as featured on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show"?

While this ad is relatively easy to find online, and in appeared in a number of publications, it hasn't appeared here until now. This particular scan came from Gorezone #3 published in September of 1988.

Distortions Unlimited Article

How about a little Distortions love, heh? It's been a while since we've had a Distortions Unlimited themed post, so I aim to rectify that over the next few days. Here's a short one page article from Rue Morgue 24. While the article doesn't make a single mention of Distortions former mask making glory, it does an excellent job of describing the company's current state of affairs.

Yellow Phantom Mask

 I had a flawed copy of the FMCP Phantom laying around the studio, and decided to do a custom paint job based on my blog avatar yesterday.

 Three copies came out of the molds this past winter with pitted foreheads. I couldn't sell these flawed copies with the regular edition. So rather than pitching 'em in the trash, I decided to have some fun. I kinda the like the really minimal color palate and the rough retro feel!

 

Pictured above are my three FMCP Phantoms. The Purple copy is #13 from the series.  I painted this copy as a one-off for a Halloween themed art show at the Tattoo Factory in Chicago last year. The green copy is the paint master featuring the standard paint scheme. And at the right is the Yellow Phantom copy. The spots on the forehead can be seen relative to the others.