1992 Morris Masks Exclusives

This colorful and cartoonish assortment of masks was made available exclusively through Morris Costumes in the early 90's. The majority of the masks pictured were designed by Dominick Alvarez and were originally created at Alvarez Wax, while the "Sutured" mask was a David Smith creation that would later appear in the Death Studios' line-up. Most of these were higher priced masks with decent quality. Many years ago I owned a copy of the "Sutured" and the Uncle Creepy inspired "Dreg" which were used in my yard displays and haunts for years. Both were over sized masks that were beautifully sculpted. However, the "Raganarok" mask was always my favorite of the group...

Check out the mask gallery on the AWM site for some nice production shots of many of these masks and more, like this one of the "Melting Man"...

Image Source: Alvarez Wax

Marquez Collection

Thursday night was one of the good ones. I had the pleasure of throwing back a few cocktails  at my favorite local watering hole, Chef Shangri la with a fellow mask collector and friend who lives a few short blocks away from Shangri la.

Mr. Marquez, who is a frequent contributor on the HMA and UMA, where he is known as "EYES", has a stunning collection of classic monsters masks. The masks mainly vary between Don Post Studios, Henry Alvarez, and Tony Pitocco pieces. I was absolutely floored by this array of vintage and high-end custom finished rubber...

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Monsterpalooza 2012 Photos - Part 1

Now that the dust has settled and I've had a chance to get back into the regular flow of things, it's time to get down to sorting through the photos from Monsterpalooza 2012. One week ago today dealers and collectors alike began to arrive at the Burbank Marriott Convention center a day early to get ready for the big event.

Thursday began by hooking up with some old friends, and meeting a few new friends. We took the short trip to South Pasadena to check out the Myers house and the ol' stomping grounds of John Carpenter's Halloween...

The Myers House as it sits today

While checking out the house, we gave a local mask collector a call hoping to catch a glimpse of an original 1975 Don Post Kirk mask. We were not disappointed...

In addition to the original Kirk, we also got to check out an HMK Kirk...

The rest of Thursday afternoon and evening was spent catching up with more friends, throwing back a few libations, and sneaking the occasional peek at the assembly of the Monsterpalooza Museum. Here's a few pics of the Henry Alvarez tribute from the Museum...

Stay tuned creeps, over the next few days I'll get more pics posted...

R.I.P., Henry Alvarez

The mask, monster, and art world lost one of it's great talents late Monday evening. Henry Alvarez was often described as a "master sculptor". One look at his work and it's obvious why. Henry, you will be missed by many. Your legacy will live in your art forever. Rest in Peace.

Cinema Secrets Dracula Monster Masks

This ad, for the Cinema Secrets produced Bram Stoker's Dracula masks, was scanned from the June 1994 issue of Fango (#133). The series featured 4 deluxe versions of Dracula (Bat, Wolf, Old Age, and Vampire) and 3 standard versions (Bat, Wolf, and Old Age).

As far as mass produced masks of the 90's go, the deluxe editions were all among the finest crafted collector's editions to show up in catalogs and store shelves. The series was expertly sculpted by Henry Alvarez and the finishing work was awfully impressive too...

Cinema Secrets Dracula Masks

Henry Alvarez Article - Chiller Theatre #3

Friday's post on the Alvarez sculpted Predator was the inspiration behind today's post. While not a mask maker, Henry Alvarez is a master sculptor and several of his sculpts have been immortalized as latex monster masks. Chiller Theater #3 featured a great article on Henry and his work...