"Monstro Bizarro" - Reviewed

Here's the link to the review, and below is how it begins...


Monstro Bizarro is a new book from Lyle Blackburn. Its subtitle will give you a good idea of its contents: An Essential Manual of Mysterious Monsters. This is an excellent book, one which covers a wide and varied body of subjects and which is both informing and entertaining. Before I get to the matter of the content of the book, however, there’s the important issue of the layout, style and design. I have to say this is a very skilfully designed book that is filled with photos, paintings, drawings, movie posters, etc. Every single page of the book is lavishly illustrated. Most of the pages contain at least two or three images – and the vast majority of the images are in color, which is a major bonus.

As the author of both The Beast of Boggy Creek and Lizard Man (and of the forthcoming Beyond Boggy Creek) Blackburn knows his subject-matter well. If you are interested in the issue of so-called “Hairy Hominids” – Bigfoot, the Yeti, etc. – then you won’t be disappointed. We begin with “Bigfoot Beasts” and a section titled “On the Track of Sasquatch Cinema,” which is an extremely well compiled summary of all the essential Bigfoot/Yeti-themed movies, such as The Snow Creature, The Abominable Snowman, The Legend of Boggy Creek, and Exists. Of the latter, Blackburn says: “The plausible story, exceptional creature suit and skilled filmmaking set a new mark for Sasquatch cinema.”