Macabre Kids’ Book Art by Gojin Ishihara

I stumbled upon this great post today. What it must have been like to grow up in 1970s Japan as opposed to 1970s America. Amazing work from Gojin Ishihara.

from Pink Tentacle

Here is a collection of wonderfully weird illustrations by Gōjin Ishihara, whose work graced the pages of numerous kids’ books in the 1970s. The first 16 images below appeared in the “Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters” (1972), which profiled supernatural creatures from Japanese legend. The other illustrations appeared in various educational and entertainment-oriented publications for children.

- Kappa (river imp), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Jorōgumo (lit. “whore spider”), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Kubire-oni (strangler demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Rokurokubi (long-necked woman), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Onmoraki (bird demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Nekomata (cat monster), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Tengu (bird-like demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Tenjō-sagari (ceiling dweller), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Enma Dai-Ō (King of Hell), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Kyūbi no kitsune (nine-tailed fox), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Baku (dream-eating chimera), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Yūrei (ghost), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Yamasei (mountain sprite), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Rashōmon no oni (ogre of Rashōmon Gate), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Waira (mountain-dwelling chimera), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Nure-onna (snake woman), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

- Hell of Repetition (Illustrated Book of Hell, 1975)

- Burning Hell (Illustrated Book of Hell, 1975)

- Demons of the Orient (The Complete Book of Demons, 1974)

- The appearance of Satan (The Complete Book of Demons, 1974)

- Gorgon (Illustrated Book of World Monsters, 1973)

- Aliens in ancient Japan (Mysteries of the World, 1970)

- Alien (Mysteries of the World, 1970)

- Emergency Command 10-4 10-10 (sonosheet book, 1972)

- Emergency Command 10-4 10-10 (sonosheet book, 1972)

- Kaiketsu Lion-Maru (sonosheet book, 1972)

- Kaiketsu Lion-Maru (sonosheet book, 1972)

- Prehistoric man as modern-day baseball player (Prehistoric Man, 1970)

- Prehistoric man as modern-day wrestler (Prehistoric Man, 1970)

- Prehistoric man as modern-day security guard (Prehistoric Man, 1970)

- The secretary who spied for 18 years (from Spy Wars)

- World’s biggest glutton (World’s Greatest Wonders, 1971)

- Precognition of plane crash (Mysteries of the Body, 1973)

- Nostradamus (Psychics of the World, 1974)

- Frozen planet (Year X: End of the World, 1975)

Dark star gravity (Year X: End of the World, 1975)

[Link: Gōjin Fechi]

99 To Go...

So I'm sitting here after a long, hard week, sipping on a delicious Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale, and I realize that there's only 99 more days until the big night. I am now officially way behind schedule, but hey, what's new? 

Oh, I know what's new! If you look up, you'll notice the ghoulish new header that I created. Much better than what was there before, if I do say so myself. I got inspired one night while listening to the Sator Absentia channel on Pandora. Perfect ambient to get you into the Halloween spirit. If you so desire, drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

Also, I'll be pulling some of my tombstones out for detailing this weekend, and the shihatsu massager arrived in the mail, so I'm going to be starting on Highbury Cemetery's first animated prop. But that's all I'm going to give away for now. Check back soon, because the blog entries are going to start flowing with a frenzy.

On a final note, I scooped this juicy tidbit from Johnny Thunder's totally awesome blog (if you haven't checked it out yet, do so immediately!):

Wow! I know I'm a day late, but the Missus and I have already entered. I can't wait for this to drop on AMC in October. The photo stills look amazing! And of course I've already filed them away as reference for this Halloween.

That's all I've got for now, but a big congratulations to Scrapes on his new house that I'm going to destroy at tomorrow night's Housewarming Party!!! I've got the perfect gift for you...