BARBARA CARRERA ON THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU

Not your average bear for obvious reasons.

MONSTERS CAN TURN UP IN the least likely of places. They can also turn up in the least likely of magazines, too.

Take a now-obscure side project of PENTHOUSE magazine mogul Bob Guccione, for instance. Long-dead VIVA: The International Magazine for Women, premiered in 1973 and saw its last issue published in 1980. Marketed for "adult women", it focused on female's fantasies and other groovy and sexy topics that came gushing out of the publishing world's coke-addled brains (and noses) when the 70s were full of swingers . . . er, full swing.

But here's where the monsters come in. The August 1977 issue included a pictorial travelogue of sorts that covered the -- at the time -- almost-released AIP-produced, MGM-distributed THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. This, the second of 3 film versions (so far) from H.G. Wells' classic novel, was cast heavy with stars such as Michael York, Nigel Davenport and Richard Basehart. Burt Lancaster played Dr. Moreau (a tidge better than the gawd-awful Brando version -- but both not even close to the Charles Laughton portrayal).

(Pictured above left: There oughta be a law! Some lucky Humanimal(TM) has the pleasure of posing in an intimate embrace with the cook-an-egg-on-the-sidwalk hot Barbara Carrera.)

The movie's not too bad, but despite all the publicity and hype it fairly flopped at the box office (it cost $6,000,000 to make), mostly, I think, because of a lousy script. It wasn't because of the high-quality special makeup effects designed and created by Messrs. John Chambers and Tom Burman, either. And it definitely wasn't because of the onscreen prescence of the scorching hot Nicaraguan beauty, Barbara Carrera, in a role made especially for her in only her fourth film.

The article was written and photographed for obvious publicity reasons. The location was not on Dr. Moreau's island, however. Davis Bay on St. Croix, Virgin Islands is still pretty remote and exotic, though. While the monsters are impressive, I'd have to say that Miss Carrera steals the show, however.

In a move that was one part pride of ownership, one-part corporate exclusivity, and a dash of Hollywood ego, Dr. Moreau's creatures, known as "manimals" to us Monster Kids raised on Forry's formula bottle filled with FAMOUS MONSTERS, the appliance-laden actors were trademarked with the term, Humanimals(TM)!

BONUS! Included here are a trio of test shots from the development phase of "Humanimals(TM)" Michael York (color shot) and Sayer of the Law Richard Basehart (B&W shots). They were up for bid at a recent iCollector online auction.

EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS! The MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD "Horror Hotties" page is now officially open. All red-blooded males and other hearty sorts are welcome to view it HERE. However, if you are even remotely offended by gratuitous images of Scream Queens sans their costumes, then DO NOT click on the link and you'll stay right here.

THE PULP MILL: HARD CASE CRIME

There are few ironies in the calculating world of book publishing. One of them, though, is the persistence of tradition. I don't read many of what are called "popular fiction" books these days. Frankly, I find the truncated versions of trade paperbacks that are supposed to pass for mass market paperbacks unwieldy, and frankly, a waste of paper. Color me conspiratorial, but I think it's just an excuse to charge more money for them.

Hard Case Crime is an imprint that was originally slow to catch on. It started up as a reprint house for those old 50's and 60's hardboiled detective novels that were oh-so-popular at the time. Girasol Collectibles has been publishing pulp fiction from the likes of The Shadow, Doc Savage, and The Whisperer for some time with a certain measure of success. After a few titles, Hard Case began to publish new "hard" crime fiction. And, guess what? It caught on. Even Stephen King has contributed to the line.

On its way to 100 titles, and with a house style of cover art and design that makes it hard to distinguish it from its forebearers, Hard Case Crime is not going to replace popular fiction by any stretch of the imagination, but it does show there is still a market for the old style detective thriller that filled most of the paperback spinner racks in drug stores. That there remains interest in a seemingly lost genre (and one could argue the same for monster movie magazines) of regular-sized paperback novels in the days of the iPad and Kindle is indeed ironic.

The December 2011 issue of PENTHOUSE magazine celebrates the continuation of a tradition that has hung on by its tough, greased-stained fingernails to persist in a world gone mad with social right-sizing.