Monday, August 24, 2009

G-FAN Magazine #69 "Half Human; All Good"

The best issues of G-FAN strike a balance between film analysis, topical, well-researched articles, reporting on actual events and film releases, fan fiction, art, and reaction (via letters), reviews, collectible showcases, model-making intructionals, and more that I am probably forgetting. Issue 69 gets that balance exceptionally right.
One of the first thing that grabs the reader's attention is the monster concept art for Godzilla: Final Wars. With the advantage of hindsight, one can see that the concepts and the finished products were remarkably close.
Tom Tvrdik begins a four-part series describing the process of creating the first American Greetings/Carlton Godzilla ornament.
Armand Vaquer's account of the G-Tour of Japan was awe-inspiring. Any one day of G-Tour would have held the thrill of a lifetime for G-fans. Could there be a G-Tour 2?
"A Monster for All Seasons" by David Annandale does as good a job as I've seen of analyzing the symbolic value of Godzilla, which successfully explains the negative reaction to Zilla/GINO.
The centerpiece of the issue is Peter H. Brothers' "Abominable Snowman/Half Human" article. It is an exhaustive, definitive treatment of a truly hidden classic, and is accompanied by production stills as well as stills from the film itself.
Brett Homenick interviews Loren Coleman, with respect to his stated appreciation of "Half Human." In fact, Mr. Coleman credits "Half Human" with sparking his interest in cryptozoology, which he has since introduced into popular culture with more gusto than any other author or researcher. This is a special article for me, because I have been a Loren Coleman fan ever since picking up a copy of Mysterious America in the late 1980s and learning that we are both from Decatur, Illinois.
"Battles of G-Fantis" is dynamic and imaginative, Steve Agin ushers us through his hall of toy treats, and David McRobie's "The Globe Meter" is a whirlwind trip around the world of kaiju-related viewing.
And there is even more intriguing reading to be found in issue 69, such as a spotlight on Chibi Goji Toys, a heavily illustrated wrap-up of G-Fest XI, a Gorgo article by the always-cogent Allen A. Debus, artistic work by Joylon Yates and a rebuttal to Roger Ebert's dismissive review of Gojira (Godzilla 1954) by M.G. Keller.
G-FAN 69 is J.D. Lees and friends "firing on all cylinders" to deliver intellegent, horizon-expanding coverage of the Godzilla phenomenon in all its permutations. There is no filler whatsoever in this great 82-pager, and it would serve as an excellent introduction to G-FAN for the uninitiated.

Want more Loren Coleman info? Visit http://cryptomundo.com for breaking news and analysis of our weird world and the hidden creatures that inhabit it!

5 comments:

  1. Glad you liked the issue and my write-up on G-TOUR. Will there be another? Tours take a while to plan and timing is everything. We'll see. JD's kids are bugging him to do another.

    Also, I've added your blog to my blog link list. I've some G-TOUR items there as well.

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  2. Well, I know that a child's persistence can move mountains--so it sounds like there's hope for a future G-TOUR!

    Thanks for adding me to your links--that's very kind of you.

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  3. Thank you for enjoying my books, which have been shared with you in a parallel universe far, far away populated by Godzillas and Decaturites!

    Appreciation,
    Loren

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  4. Thanks so much for your comments, Loren. By the way, I've updated the original post to give a link to Cryptomundo.com.

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  5. BTW, my post-Jan 2013 blog is now www.cryptozoonews.com

    Thank you again for this new piece.

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