Four score minus ten years ago, our cinematic forefathers brought forth an extremely fishy creation to join the denizens of creaking castles and lost tombs in the grand pantheon of Universal monsters. Yes, 2024 will mark the 70th anniversary of the original Creature From the Black Lagoon, featuring Gill-Man, the coolest original creation in the classic monster roster. He’s so cool that Guillermo del Toro won an Oscar for making a rip-off version that actually got the girl. And the original still inspires toys today, like this vinyl designer figure by Mondo‘s own Attack Peter.
Green Around the Gills
The Gill-Man appeared in black-and-white movies, so his actual color is up for debate. Green tends to be the default, though and is the chosen color for this particular timed edition. (The existence of a timed edition suggests that a less-premium version may pop up in the Mondo online store later, perhaps in a different shade.)
Said Peter, “It’s incredible to think that this is now the 5th figure I’ve had a hand in designing that features this linocut, block-print-style. The fact of the matter is I’m not the first person to make linoleum block prints. I’m not even the best printmaker I know. But I AM incredibly grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to introduce many people to this medium and even more so that I’ve been trusted to interpret historic icons like the Creature from the Black Lagoon in my style.”
The ten-inch figure features an articulated head, shoulders, and wrists and costs $125. It will be available to preorder through this Friday, Feb 16, at 12 p.m. central time. He’s expected to arrive sometime late summer.
Take a look at the figure from multiple angles in the official images below.
