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Famous Monster Movie Art Of Basil Gogos compiled and edited by Kerry Gammill and J. David Spurlock
01/06/2007 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Vanguard Publications. 160 page illustrated softcover. Price: $24.95 (US). ISBN: 1-887591-71-0. Buy Famous Monster Movie Art Of Basil Gogos in the USA - or Buy Famous Monster Movie Art Of Basil Gogos in the UK  check out websites: www.creativemix.com/vanguard and www.basilgogos.com
I have to confess that I was never a great fan of Forrest Ackerman's 'Famous Monsters Of Filmland'. Mostly cos of the prose (sorry, Forry, continual bad puns are their own monster) but seeing the cover repros in other Warren Publications, one couldn't but help admire them even in fuzzy black and white.
The majority came from the brush of Basil Gogos and this book covers most of them, together with his other work over the years. Gogos might be known as the man who painted monsters but there is also an extremely strong fine arts artist there as well as this book testifies. It's a shame that the 'London After Midnight' Chaney painting is used for the cover because there are certainly a lot more better choices that would catch newer fantasy art fans to look inside. A Dracula or Frankenstein might have been my choice.
What made Gogos' art work was his colour schemes for the monsters. With the early horror films in black and white, there was a lot more liberty in playing with light and colour that made them work without having to be beholden to any reader preconception.
It would have been so easy to rely on flesh tone or chalk-white in the appearance but by his choices, which even Gogos wasn't sure were going to be acceptable with his first sample, he hit his stride from the start. It also gave him a legion of fans, many of whom are pros themselves today.
Reading this book gives a lot of respect for Gogos' work and his desire to move on when he felt he had done all he could in one genre. Indeed, its rare for pro artists to admit they need to go back to art school to regain their form as well. One could be mistaken to believe that he did mostly portraiture, but his work for men's mags clearly shows different. Even back in the 60s, artists used real people to pose for their work which no doubt contributes to how life-like they were. Saying that, it is the artist that adds to the work and bringing photo-realism to life requires knowledge better than copying, especially when there is a need for emotional content.
A book of Basil Gogos' work has been long over-due and already is into a second printing which testifies to the interest there is in this artist and is well worth spending a few pounds to get a copy. With magazine covers so dependent on photos these days, painted covers are now a thing of the past. Looking through the book will make you wonder why some publications don't at least do the odd one occasionally.
GF Willmetts
 
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