Monster Mania 17 Recap : The Merch!

*CLICK HERE FOR PART 1 OF THE RECAP!*

Though I came home with less stuff than I usually do from these, I managed to spend just as much if not more than ever and return on the other side with some of the coolest stuff to show off that i've ever scored at a Monster Mania. Let's start this post off with my most prized possession from MM 17, a piece that I am still completely shocked that I had the balls to splurge on. But first, a little backstory ...



There was a vendor in the dealer room by the name of Brian Dunn, an incredible artist who was selling his handmade latex masks. On display he had everything from Nightbreed's Dekker to a couple of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it was his Trick 'r Treat mask that I completely fell in love with. I've been wanting to start a mask collection for a long time and being that TrT is one of my favorite horror films of all time, I knew this was the perfect place to start. Only problem was that the mask was $190. While this price tag was 100% justifiable, and if anything lower than it probably should've been, I was having a hard time justifying spending just about half the amount of money I allotted myself for the whole weekend. I figured if I bought the mask I wouldn't have much money to do or buy much else, so I ended up walking away from the mask on Friday. When I returned to Dunn's table on Saturday, I was not surprised to find that it was gone.

Turned out that someone had reserved the mask but had not yet paid for it/picked it up, which they were supposed to do at some point Saturday. Since Brian had another Sam mask at his house that was just about done, he offered to sell us the one that the guy who reserved it hadn't yet picked up and finish up that other one and bring it in on Sunday for that guy, if he ever even ended up coming back and handing over the money. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. Having it within my grasp, losing it and then being given a second chance at having it, I jumped at the offer and plopped $190 into Brian's hands, $60 of which Jen graciously forked over so that I wouldn't be totally out of money.

Without further adieu, here is the incredible mask that I haven't for one split second regretted dropping so much dough on ...





One of only 25 pieces to be made before the mold is destroyed, the mask that now sits in my living room is #1, which makes this infinitely cooler. Brian, you are fucking amazing and I thank you so much for going out of your way to get this in our hands.

Though I figured buying the mask would mean I wouldn't be able to get a lot of smaller stuff, I still managed to pick up a bunch of other goodies. Needless to say, my bank account and I are not on speaking terms at the moment ...



In between realizing the mask was gone and being offered a second chance at it, I bought this Sam print from Brian Dunn, figuring it was the next best thing. If I couldn't have the mask I at least wanted something that would remind me of it. Little did I know i'd go home with both!



The image of the girl with pins taped underneath her eyelids from Argento's Opera has always been one of my favorite horror movie images of all time, which is why I dig this art piece from Bob Dix so much. Bob had a slew of awesome prints at his table, all for only $10 a pop.



This is another Bob Dix piece that Jen picked up. Dude kicks some serious ass!



Further cementing his spot as one of my favorite MM 17 dealers, Dix was selling handmade Romero and Hitchcock dolls, which were too unique and awesome to pass up. He said he was going to be making Argento and Craven dolls in the future, which I cannot wait for. It's incredibly creative stuff like this that I seek out at conventions.



Jen was drawn to this cat painting from Little Punk People's Daniela, partially because it looks a hell of a lot like something she herself would have painted, colors and all.



I was incredibly excited to see that House of Mysterious Secrets owner Kevin Miller showed up, which I wasn't expecting. He was mostly selling the kickass original shirts that he's been having done up for the site over the last several months and I finally picked up the Black Christmas tee i've been dying to add to my closet for a while now.



DVD's are usually my main score at conventions but I only picked up one this time around, one that i'd been eyeing up at the VHSPS table over the course of the last several conventions. Tiny Tim as a terrifying clown? Count me in! Always awesome to see Sean from VHSPS and I even got to finally meet his brother George, which was nice. I was however kinda bummed to see that several people seem to be honing in on what those guys do, clearly copying what has made their little shop a success. If you're at a convention and you want to buy a DVD of a flick that's only out on VHS, BUY IT FROM VHSPS!



Don't know if the guy that made these has a website or anything, but he had some really awesome magnets featuring both movie poster arts and images of old school products, which I thought was really awesome. Had been in need of magnets for the fridge and can't think of two better ones to stick on there!



Speaking of May, I got this Fright Rags shirt for Jen this past Christmas and have always wanted one of my own, which I picked up. It's one of my favorite Fright Rags shirts of all time and it's all the sweeter being that Kristy Jett was the one who came up with the design idea for it!



And finally, these little handmade keychain string dolls are always for sale at the KreationX table and it's a tradition for me to buy one for Jen. Leatherface now joins Freddy and Frank The Bunny in our growing string doll collection!