I know that collecting books can be a slightly obsessive, especially when you are an equally obsessive horror movie fan. For me, there is always that never-ending quest for knowledge about the films we love. Whether they are the old classics to even newer films. I strongly believe that the more you know about a film, you will see it in a different light, no matter the quality of the actual finished product.

Of course, the Universal horror films of the ’30s that were really the start of the film genre, and while they are all around the hundred-year anniversary mark, we seem to continue to get more books on the subject. And while my wallet and my bookshelves might complain, I do not!

The latest edition that I just saw was the new book by Christopher Lock, called The Invisible Man: The Complete History of the 1933 Horror Classic, which just came out. I had recently read Lock’s book on The Bride of Frankenstein, and thoroughly enjoyed it, finding a lot of interesting information in there. So, when I saw this one, I knew I would be adding it to my library. Plus, this might be the first book to cover James Whale’s 1933 adaption of the H.G. Wells novel. I have several books on the Universal Classics, but not on only this particular film. I know there is one by Philip J. Riley, but that is just on an early version of the script when Boris Karloff was attached to the project. According the blub on this new volume by Lock, it is the “only in-depth book in publication solely dedicated to this iconic film; from conception, to production, and beyond.”

The book covers a biography of H.G. Wells himself, the author of the original story, and how the story became adapted into a film. Like most of those early Universal films, the real horror is how long it took to finally start production. From figuring out how to make a man invisible on screen, to even the casting of the actor that really wouldn’t be seen in the movie! It goes into detail about the making of it, but also the reception and the legacy of the film and characters.

Back in 2020, I’m sure it would have been helpful had I had this when I wrote a retrospective of the film for HorrorHound magazine!

Like The Mummy, the Invisible Man is a character that had a lot of . . . less than stellar sequels, but yet the original, as well as the character himself, is something that I’ve always found fascinating. With Claude Rains leading the way, the film really gives you a look inside a great man slowly going mad. And let’s not forget the incredible work of John P. Fulton, who was able to create ways to turn Rains invisible.

Only priced at $25 and 450 pages, if it is anything like his Bride book, it is well worth the investment. I am really looking forward to adding this to my library and eventually digging into it!