Disguise your identity!

That kid is on his way to see "Caligula" and nobody will be the wiser......

The Top Coolest Monster Toys of the 1970's

With October 31st a day away, it's prime time to launch another Top Ten List, this time it's (in my humble opinion of course) the top ten coolest Monster Toys of the 1970s.

Being undead seems to be a big boon in the toy world.

Even though the seventies were a far cry from the Monster merchandising boom of the mid sixties (which really was a golden age except for the lack of action figures), it wasn't exactly a drought either.

Classic monsters such as Frankenstein and Godzilla were still flourishing on late night TV and on Saturday morning with shows like "The Monster Squad", "Hilarious House of Frightenstein" and "The Groovie Ghoulies", it was still a great time to be a monster kid. Here are ten of the best reasons to be a monster kid in the 1970's:

Click Here to read the Article

Did I miss your favorite? Rest assured that one was #11. [/lie]

Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces

In 1975, Kenner produced a doll that was the brain child of special effects artist/director/writer Alan Ormsby who directed the film "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" and authored the classic scolastic book Movie Monsters which probably spawned a legion of Monster kids by itself.

Hugo was a great concept, a puppet version of Lon Chaney sr, complete with makeup kit so you could give him hundreds of combinations of creepy disguises. As a bonus (?) the Hugo puppet on it's own was creepier than ten ventriloquist dummies, his unusual stare had him featured in Pee Wee Herman's original act and on the popular "Uncle Floyd Show".

DVD DAY

Two big TV classics are out today, first is the complete box set to the Man from U.N.C.L.E series. It took me a long time but I eventually grew to love this wild sixties spy series that started a national craze. The series goes from straight to breezy to downright campy and all of it is enjoyable.

Lots of stars in this series as well from Yvonne Craig (a boyhood crush I never recovered from) to Sonny and Cher, even James Doohan as a baddie.

The other big release is one of the most seminal series of the 1970's in the release of the complete box set to the Incredible Hulk series. This long running classic show sent a nation into "Hulk Mania" and just by running through some of the toy archives on the site, you can see how big an impact this series had.

I recently rewatched the pilot movie and it still holds up, eventually the show's formula tends to grind but it's still a classic.

Two More Trading Cards

Card #6 should come as no shock to anyone, seeing as how much space I have devoted to Evel Knievel on the site. It almost felt like obligation to make it, so I did it early rather than later. It is arguably the most famous 70's toy I've done thus far.

Number 7 is probably a surprise, Hugo isn't something I've only featured in passing but he's a pretty iconic character. This card was devised mostly because of Hugo's biggest fan, Rob Chatlin asked me to do it. Rob has been a gigantic help to PS from day one, providing many scans I wouldn't have otherwise. He planted the bug in my ear and I'm really happy with the results, thanks Rob!

I have one more card to reveal but the thunderstorm outside has shut me down 3 times and I'm a little fed up right now.....