CRYPTID CINEMA™ 2: Chapter 1 Chapbook: The Boggy Creek Primer: Standard Edition

At long last, the true story behind the making of the 1972 independent boxoffice hit THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK can be told!Cryptid Cinema is an ill-defined genre dedicated to the real-world creatures science has yet to recognize the existence of—the Loch Ness Monster, the Abominable Snowman, Sasquatch, Thunder Birds, etc.—and cinematic creatures presented as being "real" unidentified species in the narrative of the films themselves—King Kong, Godzilla, the Gillman, living dinosaurs, etc.Now the author of the first CRYPTID CINEMA™ volume & artist of SWAMP THING turns his attention to telling the true story behind the monster movie that sold itself as "A True Story"...Prior to 1972, it was the fictional cinematic cryptids that succeeded at the boxoffice (KING KONG, INGAGI, THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, etc.), with little mainstream audience interest in movies about Nessie and the Yeti. That all changed in the 1970s, when a first-time director in Arkansas borrowed a camera to collaborate with an experienced screenwriter from Texas to find a new way to tell the tale of the Fouke Monster. Mixing witnesses who'd encountered the Fouke Monster in real life with local amateur actors recreating some of the more dramatic events, writer Earl E. Smith and director Charles B. Pierce created the one-of-a-kind THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK, forever changing the media landscape with their then-innovative fusion of 'family wilderness adventure' tropes with 'you are there' accounts of jus' plain folks confronted by the Fouke Monster is all its hairy, growling glory.Their feature film proved to be a surprise hit in 1972-1973, earning millions and launching a whole new kind of monster movie—a Cryptid Cinema landmark!This black-and-white all-ages-appropriate 118-page CRYPTID CINEMA™ preview edition tells the story for the first time, covering much that came before THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK, how the film came to be and, it unreeled across the nation (and the world), and its immediate shockwaves and aftermath, inspiring instant imitations, followups, faux-sequels and one Charles B. Pierce official sequel. Lavishly illustrated and designed by MONSTER! zine founder/editor Tim Paxton, SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING's Stephen R. Bissette follows the footprints of the Fouke Monster into the bayous, the movie theaters, and TV series that spawned this new genre.Also available in color paperback and hardcover color editions—but this is the same book at the friendliest possible price, a Boggy Creek bargain sure to satisfy fans of all-things-Bigfoot. Read more