Product Description: • The first monograph dedicated to the World's most famous monster artist. • Introduction by Rockstar and The Devil’s Rejects horror film director, Rob Zombie. • Profusely illustrated with over 150 color and 50 black & white illustrations. • Full-color on 160 heavy, glossy-stock pages • Endorsed by the families of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney. • Features commentary from the artist, his contemporaries and noted film professionals.
The Famous Monster Movie Art of Basil Gogos is a celebration of the career of the acknowledged master of film monster portrait art. To many fans of classic horror movies, the name Basil Gogos is as familiar as that of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi or Vincent Price. Gogos' paintings are as iconic as his subjects. This long-overdue retrospective features high-quality reproductions of many of his most famous paintings as well as many previously unpublished paintings and drawings of classic film creatures and actors. Gogos' early work in men's adventure magazine and paperback book art will also be examined as well as his works in movie posters and other areas. An in-depth career-spanning interview with the artist will accompany the illustrations and tributes by other artists and film professionals inspired by Gogos' powerful images. The book will feature an introduction by rock star, movie director and horror collector Rob Zombie.
The "monster craze" among baby-boomers, sparked by the release of Universal Studios' horror classics to television in the late '50s, gave birth to a new phenomenon -- the monster magazine. Famous Monsters of Filmland, filled with monster photos and articles on horror movies and their stars, was the premier publication for young horror film fans.
Issues of the new magazine practically leapt off the newsstand shelves and into kids' hands due in no small way to their striking cover paintings by Basil Gogos. Like a Bizarro world Norman Rockwell, his stylish portraits of horror film characters and stars were seen on magazine covers throughout the '60s and '70s. Gogos' interpretations of movie monsters like Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Phantom of the Opera, breathed new life into the old black and white images. His amazing use of color and bold, impressionistic brushwork gave a sense of both excitement and sophistication to his paintings which has never been matched.
Gogos' legend as the world's greatest movie monster artist has only grown over the years. His original Famous Monsters cover paintings are highly sought-after and are in the collections of many filmmakers and rock stars on whom he made a lasting impression. In recent years he has been in much demand by producers wishing to capture the unforgettable look and feel of the classic monster art of the '60s. CD and DVD covers, movie posters, trading cards, book covers and new monster magazines continue to keep Basil Gogos the world's greatest monster artist.
Incredible! This book is an awesome book. I remember reading Famous Monsters of Filmland back in the 60s. The quality printing of this book is incredible. I love that they had printed a hard bound version. It's well worth the money. The color of the paintings pop right of the page.
THE BEST ART FROM THE BEST ARTIST First of all...Like so many reviewers before me have said; almost every boy that grew up in the '50s & '60s anxiously collected our 35 cents every month so we could go to the local candy store & buy the latest issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland. This magazine became our bible & 4E Ackerman became our surrogate father. More than 45 years have passed; but I can still remember those magnificent covers as though it were yesterday. Basil Gogos painted the cover of the Gorgo issue which had a blue background & also the Vincent Price issue which had a white background,etc. This Book displays all of Basil Gogos outstanding cover art which graced the cover of FM for so many years. Don't take my word for it...ask Stephen King, Rick Baker, George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg, John Landis, Rob Zombie & a host of others..This book is an absolute delight for the senses & like fine art is meant to be treasured,
love it !! this book is great.Very happy to included this one in my collection.Already have a tattoo planed of bride of frankenstein.
Gorgeous Book I'm in agreement with another reviewer that mentioned the book could have been better written. That being said, it is well worth the price for all the fantastic paintings and drawings. A must for every fan of horror and sci-fi art.
Nice Packaging, not much substance Even without text, this book would've earned 4 stars, just for the impressiveness of Gogos' work. Within this book are large, crystal-clear repros of his most famous monster cover paintings, as well as samples of his illustration work. The only setback for this book is its lack of depth in the text. It seems that whoever was sent to interview Basil didn't ask too many questions, didn't want to really know too much about him except for his general acheivements, and didn't ask him for a demonstration of how he works. Among all of the great pics, some candid ones of the artist would've been nice, most notably a pic of his studio. Still, the images are so rich in color and character. Worth it!