Monthly Archives: November 2014

Putting Gothic Back In Fairy Tales

Gothic Fairy Tales

If you grew up on Disney cartoons like I did, you are probably blissfully unaware of the more sinister original versions of fairy tales. A true old fashioned fairy tale is gothically dark. Rape, incest, mutilation, monsters…that was the stuff of real fairy tales. These stories were not meant to entertain 5-year-old little girls (like the Disney movies do), but instead to stir the thoughts and emotions of older readers who are just becoming aware of the existence of evil in the world around them. In an early version of Cinderella, the story begins with a king whose dying wife has a baby girl. After 15 years, the king is lonely and can’t find anyone to marry. So he decides to alter the law and marry his own daughter. (Ewww!) The 15 year-old girl decides to run away from home and find’s refuge in a merchants home were the Cinderella story as we know it begins. Not exactly something you would want to share with your young child right? So I guess I can applaud Disney for cleaning up these stories for younger audiences, but as an adult it’s fun to explore the darker grittier stories of the originals. Continue reading

Lego Celebrates Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary

Ghostbusters Lego

Can you believe it? The movie Ghostbusters is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary this year! I know, right? Where did the time go! As part of that celebration, Lego just released an awesome Ghostbusters Ecto-1 toy set. So cool!!! As I was casually browsing at the Puzzle Zoo toy store in Santa Monica, I was shocked to see this set sitting up on the shelf next to an equally cool Back To The Future Lego set. I don’t usually get compulsive when it comes to shopping (especially for toys), but all rules were broken when I saw this set and I bought it on the spot. I had heard a rumor about a Ghostbusters Lego toy awhile back, but never thought it would actually go to market. Well I’m glad it did! As I started researching how this set came to be, I was surprised to find out about other awesome sets that haven’t made it yet and a whole system where anyone creative enough to build something can bring their Lego creation to life for others to buy! Continue reading

Get Your Monster Supplies Here

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies

There is a curious little shop on a street in London called Hoxton Street Monster Supplies. Sounds interesting right? They have a variety of jars and cans for sale with creepy names like “Salt Made From The Tears of Sorrow” and “Old Fashioned Brain Jam”. Kind of reminds me of something from the world of Harry Potter. If you’re looking for a can of The Heebie-Jeebies, you can find it at Hoxton’s. I wanted to find out the history on this cool little shop. The below two paragraphs sum up exactly what they are all about. Continue reading

Artist Review: Mike “Soz” Sosnowski

Dancing In The Graveyard

I love finding new monster artists! Today we present you the art of Mike Sosnowski. The artwork above is titled “Dancing In The Graveyard”. I first saw Mike’s work at the Son Of Monsterpalooza convention back in 2013. According to his website, Mike works as a storyboard artist and has done work on such notable projects as “He-man and the Masters of the Universe”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Ferngulley: The Last Rain Forest”, “The Land Before Time”, “Tom and Jerry”, and Steven Spielberg’s hit show “Toonsyvania”. Mike specializes in monster artwork such as the print below which are available for sale on his website. Continue reading