MONSTERPALOOZA 2019!!!

Yes, it's that time of year when my family journeys up to Pasadena to experience my personal favorite convention, Monsterpalooza!  Once again, the experience was fantastic.  For those who don't know, it's a horror convention that began as a showcase for makeup and mask-making companies.  It's morphed into a celebration of all things horror.  There are still makeup and effects companies showing off their wares, but now there are celebrities signing autographs, special film premieres and panels that span subjects from upcoming blockbusters (like Godzilla: King of Monsters) to previews of this year's Universal Halloween Horror Nights.  There are even makeup tutorials if you're so inclined.

This year, we got to see some old friends like Lisanne Harrington and James, Matt, Shawn and Larry from the Monster Party podcast.  This was also the first year that Karen went with Lil and I so we got to experience it through a first timer's eyes.  That's always fun.  Here are some of the cool things from this year's con.

This larger than life fly model chilling out and eating popcorn with it's "baby" was just awesome.  As weird as it sounds, I'd have loved to have this sitting next to the stereo in my home office.

This macabre Easter get together was another highlight.  Unlike the fly above, this one was tiny with the whole scene only measuring about a foot and a half on each side.

The deer head above is by one of the most unique artists I know of.  Brooke Weston is a "rogue taxidermist" who creates miniature worlds within taxidermy animals.  This particular piece is called Vermillion Temple and I encourage you to go to his website (linked here) to get a better look.  Lil and I were in Burbank one time and managed to run across a number of Weston's pieces at the Bearded Lady Oddities Shop.  They are amazing.  I honestly hope that one day I'll have one hanging on my office wall.

Of course the cosplay is insane.  The woman in black above was especially stunning and I had to get a picture with the Tar Man from Return of the Living Dead.  Speaking of makeup, there were fantastic examples and demonstrations all across the convention floor.  Check some of these out.

And no visit to Monsterpalooza would be complete without a trip through the museum.  This year, my favorite pieces were The Right Hand of Doom from Del Toro's Hellboy movie and the actual puppet prop used during the transformation scene in the classic snake/man hybrid movie Ssssss.

There are a lot of horror conventions out there but Monsterpalooza is something special.  By the next morning, I was already wishing I had another day to go back and take everything in again.

If you get a chance to visit SoCal in the spring, you should try to coordinate your visit to check this out.  It really is fantastic!