In a world cursed with irony, it's great to be able to look at something and exclaim, "COOOOOL!"

In IT CAME FROM BOB'S BASEMENT, you are confronted with the most astounding collection of science fiction and monster movie props ever assembled in one place. Page after page of astounding photos are accompanied by Bob Burns's behind-the-scenes insights on the treasures he has accumulated in his personal archive, as well as a look at his own career in and around the Hollywood special effects community.

Features a preface by visual effects master DENNIS MUREN.

Order a copy autographed by Bob Burns and John Michlig HERE

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Face it: the modern male has very little common ground with his fellow man.

Conversations tend to dry up once sports, weather and lawn care issues have been addressed. Next time you find yourself at a loss for small talk with your wife's friend's fiancé, I suggest dropping the name "GI Joe" into the mix. That'll keep things hopping for at least another 45 minutes.

Read an excerpt from the book

San Francisco, California

New York, New York

KING KONG
LOST AND FOUND

UPDATED 1/25/04 with new information.

NEW: Part 1 of my obsessive investigation into the 1976 Paramount remake of Kong. Did the Italian distributor redo Kong art to feature a then-trendy hairstyle for the big ape? We begin with a look at the famous teaser poster by John Berkey

• LOCATED - Original artwork!

(Part 1 of 2)
While today's heroes are most often works of fiction, one had only to turn on the news in the late sixties to see living, breathing examples of valor strapped to the tip of a barely controlled bomb on a Cape Kennedy launch pad.

A smallish, wire-reinforced figure made of bendable rubber with accordion joints, Major Matt Mason was a homage to the acknowledged heroes of the day; NASA and the Gemini astronauts. But then he disappeared - - why?

(Part 2 of 2)
Welcome to the new millennium - - why aren't we vacationing on the moon? Because all the rocket scientists work at Mattel.

And because aliens warned us off of the lunar surface over 30 years ago.

STAR TREK: AMERICAN MYTH

Can the voyages of the Starship Enterprise be looked upon as the basis for our generation's folklore? And, more importantly, how does Shatner's toupee work into all of this?

UPDATE: Stephen E. Whitfield, author of the highly influencial book THE MAKING OF STAR TREK, was the pen name of author STEPHEN POE. He succumbed after a long battle with leukemia on January 6, 2000. Read a nice remembrance here.

BETTIE PAGE pt 1

Marilyn Monroe lived her later days in a drug-induced haze that she felt she could not escape, ultimately killing herself. Bettie Page got out at her own discretion. Where's the Bettie Page postage stamp?

BETTIE PAGE pt 2

Where did Bettie Page disappear to during her "lost years?" We'd like to think she retired happily; it's a comforting fairy tale put forth most recently by "BETTIE PAGE: The Life of a Pin-up Legend." However, a new book by author Richard Foster reveals a tragic period of mental dysfunction and aberrant behavior. The question is: Facts or not, why publish these things - - with a MUG SHOT on the cover, no less - - while the privacy-seeking Page is still alive and presumably browsing bookstores?

NOTE: This story provoked a letter by HARLAN ELLISON, who contributed the preface to THE REAL BETTIE PAGE. Evidently, Mr. Ellison feels that he was duped by author Richard Foster and damns my editor and I for calling further attention to Foster's book. Of course, Mr. Ellison's one-page diatribe in the following issue of the magazine certainly didn't unring the bell.

NEWS: Bettie has "re-emerged" recently, photographed with, of all people, Anna Nicole Smith and Pam Anderson at Playboy's 50th Anniversary party. Yes, that is an EIGHTY YEAR-OLD woman in the middle, believe it or not.

Thanks to thebettiepage.com for the picture.

ON LOCATION WITH GI JOE:
THE 1994 HASBRO INTERNATIONAL COLLECTORS CONVENTION

The cult of personality, Susan Faludi, and polychlorovinyl as far as the eye can see: My re-introduction to the original fully articulated man of action, and my primary introduction to the world of toymen.

BOOK EXCERPT: Talking the Talk

As Hasbro's Don Levine watched GI Joe projected on a big screen at the 1966 Toy Fair sales meeting, with a voice-over shouting, "Storm the hill, men!" he leaned over to Merrill and jabbed him with his elbow, "Wouldn't it be something if we could get our guy to talk like that?"

CREATING THE MASTERPIECE EDITION
BEHIND THE SCENES:

The idea was simple - -
create a way in which a treasured icon from our childhood could sneak back into our lives. I conceived the MASTERPIECE EDITION as a "brown paper bag" for guys who needed to justify the expense of reacquiring the best toy ever made. ("But honey, this is a BOOK that just happens to have a helpful visual aid attached...")

This is an ongoing account of the creation, development and marketing of the GI JOE MASTERPIECE EDITION in words and pictures. (Strange but true: NORMAN MAILER will eventually make a brief appearance. Honest.)

WARNING: Disillusionment and the hiring of lawyers will be discussed in later chapters.

FINDING THE LOST ONE

I pounced and began going through issue-by-issue with only a decades-old burned-in mental image of the cover to go by. My upper lip actually began to perspire.

KISS: YOU PULL THE TRIGGER OF MY LOVE GUN
(A tale told in the quiet days just preceding Kiss's reconquest of the world.)

Here was a foursome on a mission without a shred of pretense, putting it right in our collective face. Long hair a problem for ya, dad? How 'bout this guy Simmons---yeah, that's BLOOD all over his face. They could claim to be anything they wanted us to believe and play the part with absolute conviction.

FLINTSTONES. MEET THE FLINTSTONES

Knowing the Flintstones intimately is part of being American. One can easily imagine U.S. troops in any modern conflict determining the national identity of a suspected spy by asking the name of Fred’s pet dinosaur. Actually, that’s too easy; better to ask the name of the Rubbles' pet (that’s "Hoppy" for all you fringe-dwelling national security risks).

Watching a José Mojica Marins movie is unlike anything you've ever done before. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, Marins himself plays the top-hatted character Zé do Caixão (Coffin Joe), appearing in every film as a combination Crypt Keeper, devil's messenger, soul-stealer, existential philosopher and boogie man. In most of Marins' films, Coffin Joe is on a bloody quest for the perfect female who can produce for him the perfect son. With trademark bushy beard and outrageously long fingernails, there's every reason to believe that Marins and Coffin Joe are one and the same; in fact, due to the fact that the Brazilian government of the 60's banned his films, Marins traveled the South American countryside and exhibited the flicks in tents. To his countrymen, he is Coffin Joe.