Tag Archives: simian saturdays

Kong is King of Comic Books at Simian Saturdays

Posted on by

giant-classic-kongOver at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the latest installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’ve been doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of SWC’s celebration of King Kong, the latest addition to its Illustrated Classics library that’s now on sale.

Today’s focus is on Giant Classic King Kong, a comic book adaptation of the original story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper. Drawn by the super-talented Alberto Giolitti (Star Trek, The Twilight Zone), it was first published in 1968 by Gold Key Comics and then reissued by Whitman Publishing in 1976 as an oversize “treasury” edition. It’s the ’76 version I’m reviewing, because that’s the one I picked up back in the day and have read the hell out of. Go check it out!

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that reintroduces monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong is on sale right now, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

Skull Island Explored at Simian Saturdays

Posted on by

kong-skull-island-japanOver at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the latest installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’ve been doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of SWC’s celebration of King Kong, the latest addition to its Illustrated Classics library that’s now on sale.

Today I’m reviewing Kong: Skull Island, the latest movie reboot of the king’s story. This one stars Tom Hiddleston (Loki of the Thor movies), Academy Award winner Brie Larson (Room, and star of Marvel’s upcoming Captain Marvel), Samuel L. Jackson (Marvel’s The Avengers), John C. Reilly (Guardians of the Galaxy), and John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane). I liked it a lot, so if giant monsters, building-size monkeys, and a tease for the upcoming crossover Godzilla vs. Kong are your thing, head over to the SWC blog and check out my review!

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that reintroduces monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong is on sale right now, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

It’s Storytime with King Kong at Simian Saturdays

Posted on by

Browne-King-KongOver at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the latest installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’ve been doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of SWC’s celebration of King Kong, the latest addition to its Illustrated Classics library that’s now on sale.

In week 1, I reviewed the original King Kong, from 1933. Week 2 was the 1976 remake of King Kong. Week 3 was the 2005 remake of King Kong by director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit). Today it’s Anthony Browne’s King Kong, a children’s book adaptation of the original story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper. Go check it out!

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that reintroduces monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong is on sale right now, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

Simian Saturdays Hobbits Along with King Kong 2005

Posted on by

king-kong2005Over at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the third installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’ve been doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of the SWC countdown to the March 7 (tomorrow!) release of King Kong, the next addition to its Illustrated Classics library.

In week one, I reviewed the original King Kong, from 1933. Last week, it was the 1976 remake of King Kong. Now it’s the 2005 remake of King Kong by director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), starring Naomi Watts (The Ring), Adrien Brody (Predators), Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda), and motion-capture artist Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of Ultron) as the giant monkey who likes climbing New York skyscrapers. Go check it out!

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that will reintroduce monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong goes on sale tomorrow, March 7, 2017. In the meantime, visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for further information.

Simian Saturdays Climbs the World Trade Center with King Kong 1976

Posted on by

KingKong-1976Over at the StarWarp Concepts blog, it’s the second installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’m doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of the SWC countdown to the March 7 release of King Kong, the next addition to its Illustrated Classics library.

Last week, I reviewed the original King Kong, from 1933. Today, it’s the 1976 remake of King Kong, starring Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Jeff Bridges (Iron Man), Charles Grodin (Midnight Run), and effects master Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London) as the big ape with the deadly obsession for blond-haired actresses. Go give it a read!

king-kong-cvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that will reintroduce monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong goes on sale on March 7, 2017. In the meantime, visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for further information.

Simian Saturdays Looks at the First King Kong

Posted on by

king_kong_ver7Over at the StarWarp Concepts blog, today is the premiere installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’m doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts over eight-plus decades. It’s part of the SWC countdown to the March 7 release of King Kong, the latest addition to its Illustrated Classics library.

For my first review, I take a look at the movie that started it all: the original, 1933 version of King Kong, starring Fay Wray as heroine Ann Darrow, Robert Armstrong as showman Carl Denham, and Bruce Cabot as Ann’s love interest, Jack Driscoll. Makes sense, right? So head on over to the SWC blog for Simian Saturdays, Episode 1—whether or not you’ve ever seen the original Kong, you might learn a thing or two!

king-kong-cvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that will reintroduce monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong goes on sale on March 7, 2017. In the meantime, visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for further information.

This Weekend, Get Ready for Simian Saturdays!

Posted on by

Simian-Saturdays-logoSimian Saturdays? “What kind of alliterative title is that?” you ask. “I bet it’s got something to do with monkeys!”

And you’d be right, although it doesn’t have anything to do with the kind of mythological orang pendek that Pan ran into in the pages of her first novel, Blood Feud (although she’d probably continue mispronouncing it as “orange pendant” if it did).

No, Simian Saturdays is a series of posts that start this weekend at the StarWarp Concepts blog in which I’ll be examining the movies (and other media) that’s focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts (like yours and mine) over the past eighty-plus years.

It’s part of the countdown that Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, is hosting that leads to their March 7th release of King Kong, the next addition to the Illustrated Classics library (the other titles being Edgar Rice Burroughs’s sci-fi adventure A Princess of Mars, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampire romance Carmilla, and the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White).

king-kong-cvrKing Kong is an e-book-only release that will reintroduce monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

As a monster fan, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the beauty-and-the-beast story of Kong and his “love interest,” Ann Darrow (who was played in the 1933 original by the queen of the scream queens, Fay Wray). But for those who aren’t, here’s the back-cover copy to bring you up-to-date:

Ann Darrow was a down-on-her-luck actress struggling to survive in Depression-era New York when she met moviemaker Carl Denham. He offered her the starring role in his latest film: a documentary about a long-lost island—and the godlike ape named Kong rumored to live there. Denham needed a beauty as a counterpart to the beast he hoped to find, and Ann was the answer to his prayers.

Mystery, romance, a chance to turn her life around, even the possibility of stardom—to Ann, it sounded like the adventure of a lifetime! But what she didn’t count on were the horrific dangers that awaited her on Skull Island—including the affections of a love-struck monster . . .

To kick off Simian Saturdays, I figured what would be better than a look at the movie that launched a monster legend: the original King Kong. So head over to the StarWarp Concepts blog this Saturday and check out my review, and then drop by it every Saturday to see what else Kong-related material I’ve dug up—the list keeps growing!

King Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) goes on sale on March 7, 2017. In the meantime, visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for further information.