At one point during the first day of the show, a gentleman walked up to my table and we started chatting…the usual stuff, movies, posters, and such. We were talking about the classic Universal monster films and some of the posters for them. I mentioned that I would be scared to death to own something like one of those, just because of the value, I’d be terrified that something would happen to it. He mentioned that some time ago, he had purchased an original one-sheet for The Invisible Man, but had to get rid of it for that same reason. Then he mentions that he put out a book some time ago called Children of the Night, which was a book on movie posters. Of course, I have that book in my library, which I quickly told him, which made him smile even more! His name is James Gresham and is a super nice guy and such a pleasure to chat with. Children came out in 2007 and is a comprehensive guide to classic horror posters, lobby cards, and other items. For someone like me that will never be able to afford these kind of items, it is a great way to at least be able to see some of them and the beautiful artwork. He followed up this book in 2010 with They’re Here Already, which is the same kind of book, but covers the science fiction films of the 1950s. Again, so much fun to look through. These are both beautiful hardcover edition books that are a bit pricey but well worth the money if you are a fan of this kind of poster art.
At last year’s Monster Bash, I met a couple of writers that were hanging around the table next to ours, Mark Clark and Bryan Senn. I have several of their books in my library and have even read some of them too! But when I mentioned that I wish I would have known they were going to be there because I would have brought those copies to get signed. They mentioned they would both be at Cinevent next year so I could just bring them then…which is what I did. But they also mentioned that some other author friends of theirs would be there as well, such as Nicholas Schlegel, author of Sex, Sadism, Spain, and Cinema, which I really enjoyed (and reviewed HERE). It is always great to meet another die-hard fan of not only Spanish horror, but of Paul Naschy as well. These guys were more than happy to sign everything I brought alone, including Senn’s most recent title, The Werewolf Filmography (which I also recently reviewed HERE), which spawned the conversation from bad werewolf films to the good ones to, of course, Paul Naschy. Funny how things like that work out.
I also met Anthony Ambrogio, another author friend that was with these guys. We had a very long and great conversation about films, specifically about Frankenstein and psycho-babble. Anthony had written one of the essays in Midnight Marquee’s 1997 book We Belong Dead (which I highly recommend). It is moments like this that make the show worth the trip. Sure, we’re there to make money, but when you meet another serious fan of the genre and can talk in great detail and at length with them, it can only be a good time.
We had to pack up last Saturday night to get home so we missed out on Sunday. But we have already put a down payment for next year and can’t wait to be back there again. As I mentioned in the first part of my report, this show is really different than the rest we do. At this point in my ‘career’, when I can have fun at a show, from deep conversations with fellow fans and dealers, making new friends, sometimes that is worth more to me than selling our wares. Sure, we need to make it worth it for us to come out to the show, since it really is a business. But when you add elements like that to a show, it makes them all so much more enjoyable. So maybe next Memorial Day, you’ll make plans to come out to a good old fashion memorabilia show. Maybe you won’t find anything…or maybe, just maybe, you’ll stumble across a real gem. You just never know. And if you don’t, just head over to our table and we can talk shop!
See you there next year!
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