The Art of Frankenstein : Alex Velazquez

Frankenstein Meets Norman Rockwell in this stunning digital image by Madison, Wisconsin 3D artist Alex Velazquez.

The Monster contemplates plastic surgery as a solution for a midriff bulge. It’s a pitch perfect homage to Rockwell’s distinctive style and the gentle humor of his old school Americana scenes, complete with a dead-on evocation of the classic Saturday Evening Post covers. Note the date on the issue, October 31.

This piece, entitled Dr. Frankenstein 90210, was the 2007 Grand Prize winning entry in the “Scared Silly” Halloween illustration contest sponsored by Zbrush Central and Wacom.

Velazquez generously shares a detailed, step-by-step Making Of.

See more of Alex Velazquez' amazing art on his website and blog.

The 2007 “Scared Silly” contest entries and winners, on Zbrush Central.

Countdown to Karloff

Last month, I proposed to host a blogathon devoted to Boris Karloff. In all honesty, I was hoping that as many as 30 or 35 blogs would participate. Now, a few days before the big event, I am very proud, excited and absolutely astounded to announce that we have 100 — ONE HUNDRED! — blogs signed up, with more to come!

All my favorite bloggers are aboard and I’ve already discovered many great new blogs that I’ll be following beyond the blogathon. See for yourself, check the amazing list of Scheduled Participants on the sidebar. We have horror blogs, Halloween, costume and craft blogs, movie blogs and pop culture blogs, art blogs and writer’s blogs. There’s even a sports blog on tap and someone participating on Twitter. And the Boris Karloff Blogathon is an international event, too. There will be posts made in Spanish, German, Danish and Portuguese!

I want to thank all the bloggers who have posted banners and promoted the event. I can report that there is a lot of genuine excitement out there about the upcoming Karloff Blogathon. As an example, check out Scared Silly, where Paul Castiglia is already running Karloff-related posts, counting down the days to Monday, November 23, when the Boris Karloff Blogathon goes live.

Join us right here, next Monday. It’s going to be a Thriller!

The Boris Karloff Blogathon : Day Two

Boris takes a standing tea break while technicians tinker on the set of The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Let’s see, we had an incredible 54 links posted on Day One of the Boris Karloff Blogathon! I woke up to 58 emails containing links, questions, requests and comments. Then we had a maintenance outage on Blogger, and the usual complement of weird glitches expected when you’re making a long, continuously updated post. No worries, I should get the hang of this by, say, Sunday, but then it’ll be all over.

A special note to contributors: I had meant to reply to every email you sent in, but obviously, the huge response to the Blogathon is eating up all my time. So please accept, here, my sincere thanks for your wonderful contributions! The range of subjects and the quality of your work is phenomenal, and I know, from comments posted here and received by email, that everybody is enjoying the Blogathon.

And a note to readers: Post comments when you see something you like! Every blogger appreciates an opinion, a remark, or just a thumbs up for all the work he or she devotes to his or her blog.

OK, so let’s get The Boris Karloff Blogathon, Day Two underway!

The European night shift is busy again, with Filo, out in Paris, contributing a selection of images from Karloff by Peter Underwood, the first Boris biography, published in 1972. On Deadlicious.

Based on several links posted yesterday, Gold Key’s Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery comic books provided an introduction to Boris for many fans.

Peter Osterled of Six-Shooter posts a cover gallery of the German edition, simply and significantly titled “Boris Karloff”. With a name as instantly recognisable, you really didn’t need to spell out what the comics were about.

I've got a handful of screen caps from The Invisible Ray (1936) up on my picture blog, Monster Crazy.

Karloff comics, again…

Karswell, whose The Horrors of It All is an essential daily ritual for me, posts The Hand in the Wall, with art by Jerry Robinson, from Boris Karloff Thriller No. 1, the comic book that would morph into Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery.

Over on Dravens Tales, see the trailer for Vatche Arabian’s makeup-centric documentary Kreating Karloff.

Can you stand the Boris Karloff Ronson Comet Lighter Torture Test? A Vintage commercial, courtesy of Wouldn't You Like to See Something Strange?

Another Karloff commercial, this one a print ad from the Forties featuring Boris in his Broadway hit play Arsenic and Old Lace. A Blogathon contribution from artist extraordinaire Richard Sala.

Sometimes images speak for themselves. The arresting film images displayed on Obscure Hollow betray impeccably eerie taste and eye for haunted aesthetics. Words are unnecessary, descriptions would be superfluous. Case in point, these haunting, enigmatic images from The Walking Dead capture the film’s underlying dread, its climate of apprehension. Let your eyes and your heart decipher their meaning.

Paul Castiglia continues to explore the career of Boris Karloff, Master of Comedy, with a look at The Boogieman Will Get You, a 1942 horror-comedy that managed to be neither scary, nor particularly funny. Still, it’s got Karloff and Peter Lorre, and Paul gives the film a thorough analysis. Posted over at Scared Silly.

Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving this week. In 1950, it fell on Thursday, November 23 and, on that day, Boris Karloff celebrated his 63rd birthday in New York, dressed up as Captain Hook, surrounded by rowdy buccaneers, riding a pirate ship float in Macy’s Parade!

It’s a wonderful tale, beautifully told by Jacqueline T. Lynch on Another Old Movie Blog. You must read this one!

George D. Allen writes, “With swine flu and religious extremism (sadly) popular topics of conversation at the close of the first decade of the 21st century, few Boris Karloff films are as topical as Isle of the Dead”.

Karloff’s collaboration with writer/producer Val Lewton and director Mark Robson produced a film that is timeless and, indeed, timely. “The real fireworks, of course, belong to Karloff, “ reports Allen, “whose journey from sanity to madness is a marvel of discretion and raw force.”

Read the full review of Isle of the Dead on MovieFanFare.

Of all the films announced but never made, the most intriguing title ever proposed for Karloff was A Trip to Mars, to be directed by James Whale! The title conjures up images of futuristic Art Deco sets, spark-spitting Flash Gordon rockets, Buck Rogers rayguns and Ken Strickfaden mad labs. Illustrator Rob Kelly takes it further: He casts the films with Whale regulars and designs the poster for it!

See Boris Karloff’s Trip to Mars on Rob Kelly Illustrations.

Gleam of Evil is another story from the decidedly esteemed Boris Karloff Thriller No.1. Something about killer cats, posted, appropriately, by Kitty LeClaw at Killer Kittens from Beyond the Grave.

Orrin Grey writes, “Characters like John Gray and Master Sims from Bedlam don’t invite pity, but Karloff brings to them a reality that makes it impossible for them not to invite some understanding.”

Here’s Orrin’s review of The Body Snatcher.

Illustrator, cartoonist and designer Dave Lowe turns his Web Comic page, Para Abnormal, over to the Karloff Blogathon this week. Two posts already up: Imhotep gets the Shepard Fairey treatment, and Dr. Frankenstein goes shopping for brains.

Lon Chaney takes Boris Karloff for a ride. Words of wisdom for a young actor, from The Man of a Thousand Faces. On The Roads of Autumn Dusk.

In 1958, Boris donned scars and a badass crewcut to play Dr. Frankenstein, brewing up an atomic monster in the far-flung future of 1970.

Micha Michelle tells the story of Frankenstein 1970 in 23 sublime screen caps, on Obscure Hollow.

Micha will also be contributing through her own blog, Baking With Medusa. Proclaiming WE LOVE BORIS K, Micha writes, “His very name launches a million smiles throughout my entire being and a slight tingle up my spine”.

Raid the kid’s craft supplies for glue, glitter and construction paper. Later this week, Micha will be posting some do-it-yourself Karloff Crafts!

Fire... Good? Here's that great Ronson lighter ad again, posted on Igloo of the Uncanny.

On Silents and Talkies, Kate Gabrielle singles out The Body Snatcher as Karloff’s best performance and provides a beautiful ink wash drawing of Boris.

More art: Zombie Rust posts a large assortment of his drawings, all inspired by Boris.

Boris was as masterful behind a microphone as he was in front of a camera. Blogue Macabre posts selections from classic radio programs Lights Out, Inner Sanctum and Suspense.

Here’s more of Karloff’s unforgettable voice: Listen to The Hand of Fate and Don’t Lose Your Head, from Tales of the Frightened, on The Captain’s Ramblings.

Get Your Karloff Face On! Arbogast on Film steps through Karloff’s career, and his life, with a straightfoward gallery of head shots.

Before I Hang and The Boogie Man Will Get You, reviewed on Thrilling Days of Yesteryear.

There’s a blast of Karloff imagery up on the Portuguese blog, Periodic Circumspection.

Boris Goes Ape! Karloff and Crash Corrigan share a gorilla suit in The Ape, on Radiation-Scarred Reviews.

This Guy Over Here corrals the Top 10 Boris Karloff Films.

Oriental detectives were practically a fixture of Hollywood’s Golden Era, usually played by Europeans with, unfortunately, Asian actors relegated to minor parts. It’s much to Karloff’s credit that he brought a quiet dignity to his interpretation of Mr. Wong.

Chris Regan posts a perceptive survey of the Monogram series on Writer By Night.

Boris narrates Rudyard Kiplings' How The Rhinoceros Got His Skin, posted on Wouldn’t You Like to See Something Strange? and Need Coffee dot com.

Boris Karloff was enormously proud of his collaborations with producer Val Lewton at RKO. He obviously relished the intelligent chills and mature horrors he was given to play in.

Critic Doug Bentin examines Bedlam, from 1946, noting that “Karloff delivers one of his best and oiliest performances”, which is really saying something!

“The Grinch had a wonderful, awful idea…” One of Boris’ immortal roles, remembered by Halloween Spirit, on Orange and Black.

Boris shops for horror comics. A great picture, on This Woman's Work.

El coleccionista de cadáveres, Blindman's Bluff, Cauldron of Blood, and The Corpse Collectors… It’s all the same film! And its all sorted out very nicely at The Amazing Movie Show.

Pete Regan shares his student animation reel that includes a wonderful story, An Appointment in Samarra, narrated by Boris himself — lifted from Targets. On No More Ghostly Game, Trick or Treat.

Boris and Bela go head to head in the most unusual film of the Universal canon, The Black Cat (1934). The Cathode Ray Mission pays homage with a set of feverish images.

The phenomenal success of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) launched the comedy duo on a seemingly endless series of Meet The Monster films. First one up was Boris himself, in a film that would bear his name, Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff.

The Lightning Bug gives it a spin in Who’s On First? No. Boris Killed Him!

And now, on to the Boris Karloff Blogathon,
Day Three!

The Boris Karloff Blogathon : Day Five

It may have taken a gazillion volts to kaboom The Monster to life, but all it took to keep him going was a cup of tea.

It’s Day Five of the Boris Karloff Love Fest, and here are your links for today… Enjoy!

From Filo Loco, à Paris, a Frankenstein stamp created by Sardon.

Kate, the Merciless Mistress of the Tenebrous Empire, navigates the troubled rapids of transgressive cinema with the sure hand of a devotee, the critical astuteness of an unimpeachable connoisseuse, and that most precious talent of all, humor. Kate’s blog is a personal favorite of mine, an indispensable daily stop, and I urge you to discover its dangerous delights (as in “nunsploitation”, among other disreputable genres).

I’m delighted with Kate’s very personal and highly original contribution to the Blogathon, a visual survey of Karloff’s Career, as Told Through Tiny Paintings. On Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire.

Bill, of Radiation-Scarred Reviews, loves his Mummy. Beautifully written and enormously satisfying, Bill’s review of the 1932 Karloff classic not only singles out Boris’s restrained performance and his unique ability “to project a quiet menace and instill a scene with a real sense of dread¨, but also pays much deserved homage to director Karl Freund.

The Brides of Boris… Brittney-Jade Colangelo writes, “I figured I'd give Ol' William Henry Pratt some recognition as far as how he wooed us women.” Meet The Uncanny Women of Boris Karloff on Day of the Woman.

OK, now listen up…

Is there’s anybody out there who doesn’t get it?

Is there’s anybody who can’t understand what compelled over one hundred bloggers to congregate here this week and celebrate the life and the career of Boris Karloff? Is there anyone who can’t make sense of our affection for this actor, our love for this man?

May I simply point you to Richard Harland Smith’s essay …and last but not least, thanks for Boris Karloff.

Read it, and you’ll understand.

In Black Sabbath, the film that gave the metal band its name, Boris Karloff played his first and only vampire role, The Wurdalak, bathed in the near fluorescent colors favored by director Mario Bava. Shonen King posts a collection of startling screen caps, on Black Sun.

When Roger Corman shot his version of The Raven (1963) as a comedy, he knew he could count on the joyful complicity of its principals — veteran actors and friends —Karloff, Vincent Price and the irrepressible Peter Lorre. Paul Castiglia, horror-comedy specialist, rates the film as “a first-class romp” in which “Karloff’s beautifully understated performance… is nothing short of brilliant”.

Paul’s comprehensive review is posted on Scared Silly.

In the US, the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday, and wouldn’t you know it, that was the inspiration for The Lightning Bug’s review of, well, Black Friday, a snappy little gangster film with a brain swap angle, courtesy of Dr. Boris. Bela Lugosi puts in n appearance “as a mobster with a Hungarian accent”. It’s up on The Lightning Bug’s Lair.

Rob Kelly dips into the vault for his final illustrated contribution, a Frankenstein banner done for a long lost blog. On Rob Kelly Illustration.

Before audiobooks, we had Spoken Word records, and Boris owned the vinyl horror franchise. Here’s Volume Two of Tales of the Frightened. Six short tales, including The Vampire Sleeps, Never Kick a Black Cat and Nightmare! Listen, on The Captain’s Ramblings.

And before Spoken Word records, we had Radio Drama. And Karloff mastered that form as well. Orange and Black looks back on Boris’ short association as host and star of Creeps by Night, with audio of one of its few surviving episodes, The Final Reckoning, originally broadcast on May 2nd, 1944.

I’ve got some images sampled from various Blogathon contributions up on my picture blog, Monster Crazy.

Artist David Kirwan continues his series of Karloff caricatures, cross-posted on his blog and his Kirdoodle tumbler. Today's offering: Ardath Bey!

A sinister, silent Karloff, captured in a collage by J. Mendez, on The Ladies and Gents Auxiliary.

Boris Karloff’s performance as the Frankenstein Monster was instantly iconic and has permeated pop culture ever since. In the early Forties, artist Dick Briefer used Karloff’s silhouette and manners as the template for his comic book Monster. Briefer’s extraordinary Frankenstein series would switch back and forth, at various stages of its evolution, between humorous kiddie-oriented adventures (one episode guest-starring that Hollywood horror actor, “Boris Karload”), and a gruesome, dead serious horror comic version.

In an indirect but unmistakable homage to Karloff, my friend Karsell, over at The Horrors of It All, has posted two outstanding episodes from the Briefer horror era: The grisly Rebirth of the Monster, and Voyage of Death, originally published in 1952.

Halloween’s come and gone, Thanksgiving is over, now we prepare for winter. The Frankenstein Monster plans to enjoy the upcoming season, according to cartoonist and illustrator TS Rogers. On Teaessare.

James, at Behind the Couch, has a wonderful week’s worth of posts up. I’ll be stepping through and peppering you with links all evening (or you can go and see the whole thing in one shot!).

First up, a nice Birthday message, followed by Brides and Broads, a survey of Karloff’s most memorable leading ladies, all accompanied by superb photos.

I’ll jump back Behind the Couch later on.

Here’s an interesting change of pace. Claire Napier looks at the 1999-2001 reboot of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, with references to the original Karloff movie of 1932. On Illustrator Claire.

There’s a fine collection of audio clips from Inner Sanctum, on Peeping Tom’s tumbler, and an essay about Karloff’s literary tastes, with Karloff quotes in English, on Lost Eyeways.

Friends, you’ve got some serious reading to do tonight, with some truly outstanding contributions coming in.

James Gracey offers up Dark Dignitaries, a chronicle of the remarkable collaboration between Boris Karloff and RKO producer Val Lewton. It’s an in-depth, detailed account, and a pitch perfect evaluation of three very unconventional horror films — and films that Karloff was very proud of — that still fascinate today.

Dark Dignitaries is a first-class, thought-provoking read, offered in three parts: Isle of the Dead, The Body Snatcher, and Bedlam. On Behind the Couch.

Even as a young actor, Karloff was usually cast as the villain of the piece, his gaunt looks no doubt influencing the casting. After he played The Monster, his career went stratospheric and he was forever typecast as Hollywood’s premiere boogieman. When he came to Broadway, in Arsenic and Old Lace, it was to play a murderer, and his screen name was a punch line.

Boris had the chops, amply demonstrated even when saddled with just another superficial mad doctor part, but there were very few opportunities for him to play non-villainous roles. One such occasion came in 1955, when he was invited to join the cast of The Lark, to play Bishop Cauchon opposite Julie Harris as Joan of Arc. The part would earn him a Tony nomination and remain his personal favorite among the hundreds he had played.

Steven Senski reports, in great, revelatory details, on the making of The Lark. It’s a superlative contribution, and a reference piece for anyone interested in Karloff’s career.

Read The Bishop on Broadway, on Heart in a Jar.

Hammer Films expert Holger Hasse reveals a passion for Old Time Radio, offering a detailed overview of OTR collecting and an appreciation of Boris Karloff’s incredibly prolific radio career. The article is accompanied by a monumental checklist of Karloff’s radio appearances, with links whenever a recording is available online. It’s a wonderful resource, worth bookmarking, found on Hammer and Beyond.

Rounding up James Gracey’s contributions for today, via Behind the Couch, here’s a very nice collection of Candid Karloff photos, and a Creepy Karloff Moment, examining the very brief and utterly unforgettable scene when Karloff comes to dusty life, at the expense of a young archeologist’s sanity, in the opening sequence to The Mummy (1932).

When the Karloff-hosted anthology series, Thriller, appeared on NBC, in 1960, it’s 60-minute format was a an opulent departure from usual brisk, half hour episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Presents. A sometimes awkward mix of horror and suspense dramas, the series was short-lived, but some of its episodes, like The Cheaters and The Incredible Dr. Markesan are fondly remembered as startlingly scary television fare.

Ivan G. Shreve Jr. has a look back at how Thriller came together, and discusses the suspect circumstances of its demise. Read As sure as my name is Boris Karloff, on Thrilling Days of Yesteryear.

Frankenstein-inspired art and a link to a website devoted to it, on Wouldn’t You Like to See Something Strange?

There’s a nice collection of Karloff video clips up on Poe Forward’s Poe Blog. My favorite, which I hadn’t seen yet, is a knockout clip from Smart Money, one of 16 films Boris made in the Frankenstein year of 1931. Watch as he plays a loose-limbed, toothpick-chewing, two-bit gangster rubbing shoulders with Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney. Great stuff!

Bizarro Meets Frankenstein

Superman’s wrong-way clone, Bizarro, was a Frankensteinian concept. The character was first introduced as a teenage monster, a bungled Duplicator Machine copy of Superboy, in 1958. In a story that borrows from Frankenstein movie lore, the awkward creature strives to be loved but elicits horror, and its only friend is a blind girl. Instantly popular, the character would return often, eventually as an adult when Lex Luthor trained a defective Duplicator Ray on Superman. Soon, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and the entire cast of the Superman saga would be dopplegangered and moved to a crazy, cube-shaped Bizarro Planet.

Back in the Fifties and the early Sixties, comics were still squarely kid’s lit. You got your comic books in drugstores, newsstands or off spinner racks with a sign that said, “HEY KIDS! COMICS!”. Superhero books competed for shelf space with westerns, war stories, jungle adventures and Funny Animals. The market started changing as early as 1956 when DC Comics introduced updated versions of their wartime superheroes and Marvel Comics would kick in with their own brand of flawed superheroes in 1962. Comics would grow up, so to speak, eventually catering to teens and young adults. But back in ’61, comics were aimed at the very young and DC’s Superman inhabited a friendly Mom and Apple Pie world where he tangled with cartoony villains and silly monsters.

In the goofy, twisted logic of the Bizarro Universe, everything was backwards. Bizarros would greet each other with a cheery “Goodbye!” and part with a hearty “Hello!”. When an alarm clock rang, you went to bed. “Chrismast” was celebrated on “Juyl 4th” and “Decumber 24” was “Holoene Eev”. Perfection was detestable, everything crooked, broken or botched was beautiful.

Bizarro Meets Frankenstein was a one of three stories in Superman No. 143 (February 1961). Written by Otto Binder, with pencils by Wayne Boring and inks by Stan Kaye (the cover is by Curt Swan), it’s a brisk nine-page romp wherein Bizarro is jealous of the movies' Frankenstein Monster. “Me, Bizarro Number One,” he proclaims, “Am most Famous Monster in history!”

Home on the square-sided Bizarro Planet, Bizarro and his family — Bizarro-Lois and their two Bizarro kids — are watching TV beamed from Earth. When the kids are terrified by a Charlie Chaplin movie, they switch channels to a “laugh program” featuring Wolfman, the Mummy and The Black Ogre (?). “Papa,” asks Bizarro’s Son, “Why Earth kids scared and call them ‘monsters’? They look nice, not ugly!”

When an ad for a new Frankenstein movie flashes onscreen — “World’s Scariest Monster!” — Bizarro is insulted. “Me can scare more Earth-people than Frankenstein!” he says, and promptly flies across space to Earth where he scares the Abominable Snowman, proving he is still “The World’s Worst Monster!”

Zooming off to Hollywood, Bizarro heads for the movie studio where he throws the Frankenstein actor out the window — “Me fixed Frankenstein!” — and into the arms of Superman, who happens to be in the neighborhood.

Bizarro then goes on a scare tour, but things don’t pan out as expected. Descending on a group of starlets dressed as Amazons, he is greeted with kisses, like a matinee idol. Turns out the girls think it’s really Superman in a monster mask. Frustrated, Bizarro tries to scare a couple of cowboy actors who laugh at him and shoot at his feet to make him dance. Mortified, Bizarro doesn’t know that the two men are — get this — stoned out of their skulls, having mistakenly chewed “loco weed” instead of mint leaves!

Next up, Bizarro spots a couple of children. “Me got most awful face in the world,” he growls, “uh… You not… er… scared?” The kids sit on his lap. A little girl pats his face, “You look kind, Mister” she says.

Bizarro doesn’t know the kids are with a circus freak show and are comfortable hanging out with weird-looking people.

Now enraged, Bizarro goes on a rampage, demolishing the Frankenstein set, smashing a Frankenstein statue. Superman swings into action to prevent anyone getting hurt. Fiddling with a prop “static machine”, Superman sends an electric current through wires in the floor, causing the actors’ hair to stand up on their heads.

“You all scared of me now, he?” says a gloating Bizarro, “Now ME laughing! Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!… Me still CHAMPION MONSTER!”

Back home, Bizarro scares his kids with a Superman string puppet. Observing this with his telescopic vision, Superman reflects, “Up there, I’M the World’s Worst Monster. Even my marionette scares Bizarro kids!”

Writer Otto Binder was astonishingly prolific. Starting out as a science fiction pulp writer in 1930, he moved to comics in ‘39, writing some 50,000 pages of comics over the next thirty years. He wrote the original Shazam-era Captain Marvel comics at Fawcett in the Forties, he contributed to such titles as Captain America at pre-Marvel Timely Comics, and The Mighty Samson at Gold Key. In a long stint on Superman at National/DC, he created Brainiac, the Phantom Zone and Krypto the Super-Dog.

As a science fiction writer, Binder created the classic Adam Link series, which has its own Frankenstein connection. In I, Robot (an acknowledged inspiration for the young Isaac Asimov), the artificial Adam Link is shunned by people and unfairly accused of killing his creator. The robot reads Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to understand why he is reviled and mistrusted. The story was adapted to television as an episode of the original Outer Limits.

The Bizarro character has gone through several revisions, evolving into a sort of evil twin, a malevolent, steroid-muscled Mr. Hyde to Superman’s Jekyll. He was a lot more fun as the funhouse mirror reflection of the square and stalwart Superman of days past.

Related:
Comics... Goood!

The Boris Karloff Blogathon : Day Three

On a break, but still burdened with heavy makeup right to his fingertips — notice the burned hand — Boris and fellow ex-pat Colin Clive enjoy a tea moment.

Have a cuppa, won’t you, and enjoy the Blogathon, Day Three! with Boris, Colin, and all the gang.

Here’s Filo, so it must be midnight! Boris appears in makeup for Frankenstein 1970, with a strangely prophetic caption, on Deadlicious.

The voice stylings of Boris Karloff! Boris sings The Monster Mash on Shindig — the lost performance is recreated — and duets with Rosemary Clooney, and Bela Lugosi. On Six-Shooter.

View the documentary The Man Who Made a Monster, on Dravens Tales.

The Melody of Death, a text piece that appeared in Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery comic book issue number 24 tells the true (?) story of an old Hungarian song that drove listeners to suicide. Senski investigates the story behind Gloomy Sunday on Heart in a Jar.

Boris plays a sinister swami in Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff. Paul Castiglia examines the film in great detail on Scared Silly, his blog devoted to classic Hollywood horror-comedies.

Up on Monster Crazy today, I have a selection of images I liked from among our Blogathon contributions.

Rob Kelly created a custom poster for The Body Snatcher. It'll knock your sock off. Go look.

Writer Orrin Grey continues to explore the films of Boris Karloff with a reflection on Bedlam, the atmospheric thriller that provided the actor with one of his most evil characters. It’s up on Who Killed Orrin Grey?

Bob Deis keeps a fascinating and very handsome blog devoted to the Men’s pulp adventure and so-called “Sweat” mags published in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Using the Karloff theme as a springboard, Bob examines the work of illustrators Basil Gogos, James Bama and Norman Saunders, all famous for their monster movie work for magazines, kit boxes or trading cards, and "connects the dots", tracing their evolution back to their adventure pulp days.

A great read, on Men’s Adventure Magazines.

Here’s another wonderful image from the collection of artist Richard Sala. This one is the cover of a Chicago newspaper supplement promoting the Boris-hosted series Thriller (1960-62). Art is by cartoonist Al Hainke.

Lights Out! Listen to The Dream, recorded by Boris in Chicago, 1938, on Orange and Black.

“Immenso Boris Karloff, Immenso Mario Bava!” Zonekiller reviews Black Sabbath, aka I tre volti della paura, on the Italian blog Scaglie.

From Denmark, Søren Henrik Jacobsen remembers seeing Frankenstein on TV as a child and having to turn it off because it was so scary. The title of his post translates as “Boris Karloff has followed me since I was nine years old!”, and includes his impressions of the Karloff and Lugosi collaborations, The Black Cat and The Raven.

Boris and Bela… Good friends? Bitter rivals? Competing cereal mascots?

Mike Segretto examines the parallel trajectories and crossed paths of horror’s biggest stars on Psychobabble.

As a young actor, almost a century ago, Boris Karloff barnstormed through Western Canada and parts of the United States, learning his craft the hard way, sometimes ending up stranded and penniless in wayward towns. By the time he got to Hollywood, he needed side jobs lugging building supplies or driving a lorry just to make ends meet.

In motion pictures, the lives and fortunes of an actor were lorded over by the studios. Contracts were not negotiated, they were imposed, and working conditions were often abysmal. Karloff, of course, succeeded in films no doubt beyond his own wildest dreams and, by the Thirties, he was a star, with a star’s salary. And then he went and put everything on the line, back when unionizing was perilous to both your financial and physical well-being.

Actor Mark Redfield charts Karloff’s early career, his struggles and his triumphs, and his pioneering work as a proud actor and a passionate human being, to become one of the founding members of the now prestigious Screen Actor’s Guild. It’s a fascinating, revelatory tale, posted on An Actor’s Notebook.

Mark, as Boris himself would say, “Full marks!”

Radioactive meteorites! Weird, green, glowing people! Boris Karloff meets H.P.Lovecraft! Bill Adcock of Radiation-Scarred Reviews offers a appreciation of Die, Monster, Die!

Mark Hodgson reflects on his love for Boris, and reviews the fast-paced British-made thriller of 1939, The Man They Could Not Hang, on Black Hole DVD Reviews.

In 1944, Boris played an extremely mad scientist in Universal’s first “monster rally”, combining the likes of The Wolf Man, Dracula, the Hunchback, and Glenn Strange as Frankenstein’s Monster in the very crowded House of Frankenstein. Here’s an entertaining review on Cavalcade of Awesome.

The guys over at the sports blog My Briefs attempt to revive, Frankenstein-like, their mascot. The results may shock you… It might even horrify you!

“He taught us about death”. Thus begins a brilliant quote about Boris Karloff, written by Ray Bradbury. Must read! Up on Peeping Tom Lost Eyeways.

On the Italian version of Lost Eyesways, here’s an appreciation of Boris’s Targets (1968).

And a sister blog to the above, the Peeping Tom tumblelog carries a large selection of eye-popping stills, screen caps, lobby cards and posters from all stages of Karloff career. A real treat!

With a series called Starring Boris Karloff, in 1949, Boris was one of the first movie stars to embrace television. For those of us growing up as Monster Kids through the Fifties and Sixties, Boris regaled us with frequent appearances on variety and drama series. Ivan G. Shreve casts a wide net, sampling Karloff’s guest shots on Suspense, The Gale Storm Show, The Wild Wild West, I Spy and the legendary Lizard’s Leg and Owlet’s Wing episode of Route 66.

It’s a post stuffed to the rafters with wonderful memories and tons of info, on Thrilling Days of Yesteryear.

An executed Boris is revived, to deadly effect, in the trim, taught, Warner Brothers shocker, The Walking Dead (1936). Steve Miller reviews this underrated classic on The Boris Karloff Collection.

B-Sol, host of the eminently cool Vault of Horror proposes a list of Boris Karloff’s 10 Best Roles, Besides You Know Who. And a terrific list it is. See if you agree.

Apparently, The Grinch was much, MUCH nastier than we thought. Cartoonist Dave Lowe reveals the horrible truth, on Para Abnormal.

From his unique vantage point in Japan, Mike Jones surveys the films in which Bolisu Kaarofu played Asian characters.

Also on Mike’s blog, My Two Yen’s Worth, get a load of these Japanese Frankenstein toys. See the Visages of Boris.

My friend Mandra has turned his Draculand blog over to the Karloff Blogathon this week.

First, here are 10 artists’ interpretations of Boris and Frankenstein. Next, an Icons Radio Hour show devoted to Boris, with the participation of daughter Sara.

There's a fine selection of Karloff movie posters up on The Cathode Ray Mission. Note the Bride of Frankenstein poster from 1935, when Universal was pushing Boris simply as “Karloff”, à la Garbo.

Note also the Scarface (1932) posters. First one has Boris billed as Boris “Frankenstein” Karloff. The second has Karloff moved up in billing.