For those Jaws fans that live in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, author Michael A. Smith will be doing a book signing at the My Happy Place Comic Book Store in Crystal Lake, IL, on November 28th, between 11am and 1pm. If you’re a fan of Jaws 2, then I think you’ll enjoy this book. You’ll learn a lot about the making of this film, as well as learning about the version of the film that never came to be.
For all the information, you can check out the comic book’s website HERE.
TV Horror fans of the 80s can remember when this series appeared and being surprised that it wasn’t about the famous franchise that the title was from. But it didn’t take long for Friday the 13th: The Series to draw a following. Sure, the episodes were hit and miss, but overall, the series was entertaining. And now, thanks to author Alyse Wax and BearManor Media, you can learn all about this series and the people behind it in the new book Curious Goods – Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series.
In this book, that is just over 400 pages, covers the complete run, going through each of the 72 episodes. Wax has interviewed more than 60 people involved with the series, such as directors, actors, writers, producers, and more. The book also contains close to 50 behind the scenes photos from the cast and crew that have never been published before…until now.
Expect to hear some great stories from people like the creator Frank Mancuso, actors Louise Robey, John LeMay, and Steve Monarque, production people like Jim Henshaw, Marc Scott Zicree, Tim Bond, Armand Mastroianni, Tom McLoughlin, and more. The book comes in both hardcover ($36.95) and softcover ($26.95) formats.
If you are a fan of this series, then you have already probably ordered your copy of this book before even reading this. Unless of course, you hadn’t heard about it. But then…now you have. So place your order now! You can get all the info from BearManor’s site by clicking HERE.
Just in case you’re waiting, volume 2 of this incredible series is at the printers. I made sure I a copy of the first volume (which is still available, so order now!) and was blown away by the quality. Then again, I have always been really impressed with the work that Peveril Publishing has put out.
Volumen 2 will cover the 1930s, with all the wonderful Universal monsters that made their mark all those years ago, along with other cinematic terrors from other studios. This volume has 256 pages, with tons of color images throughout it.
If you haven’t picked up the first volume yet, now is your chance to get both at the same time. Like the first one, this one is only going to be released in a 500 limited edition set. Once they are gone, they are gone for good. Or you’ll have to pay an arm and a leg on the secondary market. So why wait…order NOW!
For all the info, head over to Peveril Publishing HERE.
Since we just posted our review of Troy Howarth’s earlier book, so what better time then to make mention that his newest book is now out and ready for you to order your copy for your own collection. There are two different versions of the book, so depending on your taste and how much money you want to spend, it is up to you to decide. There will be the standard edition, where the photos will all be in black in white. But there is also a full color version, which will show off the glorious color from the stills, posters, and everything else. Obviously, I would recommend that version.
But in a rare case, it will actually be cheaper to order the book directly from the publisher than getting it from Amazon! I know that seems impossible, but check it out. For the standard black and white edition, you can get it from Amazon for $27. But if you go to Midnight Marquee, this normally $30 price tag has a special sale price of only $18! For those who really want all the glorious color photos, then instead of paying $67.50 on Amazon, you can get these from Midnight Marquee for only $45, which is $25 off their normal price of $70. So show these small press publishers that they matter and take the time and effort and order directly from them instead of going through Amazon. Everybody wins here!
Let’s face it…I spend a lot of money on books. With over 800 titles in my personal library, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t look upon my bookshelves and admire the beauty laid out upon the shelves. Like with any library, there many titles that I could easily pull out and get lost for an hour just paging through them, reading bits and pieces, taking in the glorious photos and illustrations. I’ve always considered that to be one of the joys of having a book collection. It’s like an open doorway to who knows where.
Most of the titles I have in my library are just standard reference books, filled with the knowledge that I know the author(s) spent a lot of time doing research and planning, even before they actually started putting pen to paper…or fingers to keyboard. I give a lot of credit to most authors that take the time and effort to go through all this work. I say “most authors” because I’ve run across a few other the years that need to double check some of their facts. But that is for another rant.
But there are some titles out there where the authors and publishers have gone far beyond being just a collection of opinions, facts, and photos, making it truly a work of art. Editions that can suck you in, even if it is just admiring the craftsmanship put into the book. From the design to the layout, it is an incredible journey you take once you pull it off your shelf. This physical medium is still a very important one, and one where I feel some of the beauty and charm of an actual book would be lost in the digital format. Especially the ones that seem to go above and beyond just publishing a book. They really do create a piece of art.
So I wanted to take a moment of your time to cover a few titles that I think fit into this category. I will say that some of these titles were a bit pricy when they first came out, and some go for even a higher price now. But there were a few of these that were pretty reasonably priced and are still accessible. Sure, they can still be a bit expensive, but we are talking about art here, right? And usually, at least in my experience, these kind of books never lose their value, In fact, the value tends to rise over the years. So if when you’re trying to justify the cost, think of it of an investment…that you can actually learn something from!
Thank you to the publishers for taking the time, the chance, the effort, and the money to put out such incredible books.
We had recently received our copy of the first volume of Peveril Publishing’s book series, The Fantastic Films of the Decades and was just blown away by it. The layout is fantastic and am amazed at how much stuff they covered for a decade of silent films. Of course, this is just the first of nine volumes, so there is much more greatness to come, not to mention the chuck out of my bank account this is going to take. But if the rest of the editions are as good as this first one, it will be a well worth investment.
But the fine folks at Peveril didn’t seem to be content with working on this book series, and figured they also need to create something similar for Hammer fans. They have just announced a new 8 volume book series called the Hammer Film Scrapbook Series. Each one of the volumes will cover a particular theme, such as one on their Dracaul films, one on their Frankenstein films, and so on. Below is the complete list:
Back in 2003, Vincent Price: The Art of Fear by Denis Meikle was published. But now, over a decade later, a new expanded and revised edition is coming out from Hemlock Books, under the title Merchant of Menace: The Life and Films of Vincent Price. This new version is almost 400 pages and contains well over 300 illustrations, with 8 pages in color.
This book is a celebration of not just Price’s work but his life as well. It covers all of his films with a lot of information about them. If you’re a fan of Price, then I’m sure you’ll need to add this volumen in your collection, even if you already own the Price of Fear title. I know I will be. Besides, Hemlock always puts out some nice editions.
This is available in both softcover and hardcover editions. For more information, head over to Hemlock Book’s website HERE.
You may wonder why I’m always talking about horror reference books. Is it because that I’m an avid collector of them and hope that my passion for them rub off on you? Or maybe because I feel the need to keep covering this kind of material because not too many other sites out there do? Or maybe just because I still think that these kind of books are a great way to learn more about this genre that we love so much. Maybe it is all of them.
Now that we’ve finished the Karloff book, it is time to move onto something a little different. Our next book that we’ll be diving into is Troy Howarth’s So Deadly, So Perverse Volume 1 1963-1973, which was published by Midnight Marquee eariler this year. Can’t wait to read into this and start adding some giallo titles to my already overflowing list of movies that I want to watch or re-watch. But once we’re done, we’ll have our review up shortly there after.
While it is a bit pricy, every title I’ve gotten from Peveril Publishing has not only been well worth the money, but these are great investments since they will only go up in price. Remember, they are only publishing 500 copies of these so if you miss out, you’ll be paying much more on the secondary market later. They are hardcover editions, filled with plenty of incredible illustrations. Of course, you realize that once you buy the first volume, you’ll have to get them all! I’ve already committed myself to that quest, because I know these will be a valuable edition to my reference library.
Of course, the other great thing about this edition is that it covers the decate of silent films, one that I think most fans tend to ignore unless it is one of the more famous ones. There are some amazing films from this decade, some with more style and impact than some of the films made today.
Head over to their website HERE to order your copy now. Don’t miss out!
If you’re a fan of British horror and have a few reference books around on said genre, then you just might have one by author Jonathan Rigby. I know I have a few of his titles proudly in my library. He’s one of the guys from across the pond that really knows his stuff. Back in 2005, Rigby wrote a book called English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema, which covered the British horror film from pretty much the beginning of film to the current era (at that time…more on that in a bit). Filled with tons of photos, the book covered different eras of the genre, like the early works of Todd Slaughter, moving onward to of course Hammer Films, but many others as well. Certain films are highlighted with cast & crew info, and some quotes about the film, either a review or from someone involved in the film.
In 2007, Rigby put out another edition in what seems to be a series, called American Gothic: Sixty Years of Horror Cinema. It pretty much followed the same format as the previous book, except this one covers films from the states, and has an insert of some color pages, mainly showing poster art. For some reason though, this out-of-print title goes for over $50 on the market. Not sure why, other than maybe it was a small number of books published. But again, worth it if you can find one.
kitleyskrypt.com 