A year later, in 1992 (34 years ago yesterday)...

     [This is a follow-up to the previous post, and also posted on my Facebook page, but more up-to-date here.]

    So 34 years ago yesterday (January 5, 1992), I once again went with Mom to NYC Creation Con (for the last time, sadly; I moved out of NY late that year). I got:

 

-Markalite #2 (pictured here), which focused mainly on the Ultra Series (which I learned so much more about from this issue!), including the then-new Ultraman: Towards the Future (which premiered on WNYW Fox Channel 5 the morning before)! We also got everyone’s reviews of Godzilla Vs. Biollante (covered extensively in the previous issue), and as expected, they were mixed. August Ragone, Bob Johnson and others thought it was fine, despite its issues, but the late Guy Mariner Tucker offered the most *brutal* review of them all! Super Man-chine Metalder (Toei; 1987) was covered, as was Kamen Rider Black RX (Toei; 1988). And also Fred Patten’s in-depth article about Ironman #28/Gigantor! Another great issue! But it would be my last issue. (Issue #3 is extremely rare, and because of the difficulty with the shady distributor Jeffrey Tibbets, Issue #4 was never released.) It’s a shame, because this really is one of the absolute best magazines on the subject of Japanese sci-fi/fantasy, focusing on all of it, and treats it with so much reverence and respect. It was the perfect complement to the myriad anime fanzines put out by geeks and hipsters who often diminished tokusatsu. It was a godsend.

 

-The original Japanese version of King Kong Vs. Godzilla (Toho; 1962), which I saw for the first time (including the beautiful “TohoScope” logo), and loved more than the US version! Breathtaking Ifukube score, great character performances & development, and yes, Kong wins in the end, contrary to all the misinformation we were plagued with in the decades before. :)

 

-From the same video dealer; Devil Hunter Yoko (before it made it to the US!)

 

(I even got to see a bit of Daimajin for the first time, after first reading about him in The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film a few years back. And also the climax of Episode #4 of Zone Fighter, which I was *really* taken aback with, after seeing a few pics of him and Godzilla, thinking he was another Ultraman!)

 

-And from Paul Haberman (who I just met that time at his table, and since became friends with), Episodes 33, 39, and 41 (final) of the Toei Spider-Man! I was aware of it from the “Superhero Rollcall” in Markalite #1, but had no idea that it featured the *actual* Spider-Man! Riding a giant robot! While far from the best adaptation of the character (I would’ve *loved* producer Toru Hirayama’s original idea, far more), it’s nonetheless a great novelty. :)

 

    Oh, I miss NYC Creation Con. Before DragonCon, it was the biggest (and first) convention I’ve ever attended! Even the recent local GalaxyCon here in Richmond reminds me so much of Creation Con.