MOON MONSTER COMMERCIAL BY JASON WILLIS

Jason Willis has been improving my Halloween seasons for nearly a decade. My iTunes is brimming with vintage Halloween LPs that were originally offered on his Scar Stuff blog, most of which were nearly impossible to find before that. (Do not miss his Goula-Rama and Spook Party mixes!) After sharing his music collection he began making his own spooky video creations and unleashing them on us each October. This year is no exception!

The subject this time around is the classic 1970 comic book ad for the free Moon Monster poster (and horror fan club membership.) The source material is obviously near to my heart, in fact, Jason contributed the photo of one of the Moon Monster posters that appears in my book, Mail-Order Mysteries.

Best thing is, Jason absolutely does justice to something that could be so easy to get wrong. He takes the old comic book aesthetic and somehow enhances it. He also knows how to use all the little details to add layers of authenticity both visually and aurally. So I invite you to check out his latest masterwork that answers the question: what if the products sold in comic books were also advertised on television?



If you watched to the end you know there's more to it than just the commercial. Jason has also put together a downloadable, printable Moon Monster horror kit with all the trimmings! Just go here!

Let's not stop there! Here's Jason's take on a TV spot for a 1953 issue of Adventures Into Darkness.



Great huh? So why not check out the rest of his Halloween filmography? I've discussed this one before, it's a visualization of the 1973 Johnson Smith Horror Record using Eerie Publications artwork! Beware, this is so much more gory that you are expecting!..



And now a stop motion video for my favorite Halloween song...



Up next is a Halloween Safety film that Jason actually appeared in as a child, no joke!



If you watched the last one you should certainly see the second edition...




WOW!

Finally, while we're on the subject of recent art based on spooky comic book ads, I'd like to point out that Devil's Workshop has made a mask based on the Monster Ghost mail-away product! The head for the real thing was actually a balloon that looked nothing like the illustration so this is the realization of countless childhood fantasies.

As you may recall they also produced a masked based on the Gayle House Ghoul ad.

People, this is truly the golden age of videos and masks that are based on semi-obscure comic book advertisements!