Books published by Bicep Books

1989 marked the start of the Heisei era in Japan. It also marked a new direction in tokusatsu films beginning with Godzilla vs. Biollante and Gunhed. This tome covers all the Japanese giant monster movies produced from 1989 up to 2019''s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. This book covers a broad range of titles, from well known fare such as Gamera, Guardian of the Universe (1995), Rebirth of Mothra (1996),  and Monster X Strikes Back (2008) to independent kaiju movies Reigo, King of the Sea Monsters (2008) and Attack of the Giant Teacher (2019).  In addition to giant monsters, this book also covers all of Tsuburaya Productions Heisei era Ultraman films from from Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna (1998) all the way up to Ultraman R/B The Movie (2019). 

From the 1950s onwards, far eastern filmmakers from Japan, China, and Korea—but mostly Japan—cranked out a bevy of dai kaiju (“giant strange beast”) movies. This guidebook covers not only all the Godzilla and Gamera movies produced during Japan’s Showa Era (1954-1989), but also offshoots like Yongary, Monster From the Deep (1967), Agon, the Atomic Dragon (1968), Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972), Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977), and more! Also covered are a bevy of famous tokusatsu (“special effects”) films like Invisible Man vs. the Human Fly (1957), Submersion of Japan (1973), and Virus (1980). From classics like King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) to obscure rarities like 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army (1974), this book has got it all!

Learn the secret history of Ash Upson, the man who invented the legend of Billy the Kid as Pat Garrett's ghostwriter!

This 100-page monster-sized issue explores Hammer's classic 1958 opus Horror of Dracula uncut-including an examination of scripted scenes that went unfilmed, plus footage both lost and found, like the infamous uncut death scene discovered in Japan. Then, discover the lost version of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman where Bela Lugosi spoke as the monster, plus a version of Blood from the Mummy's Tomb starring Peter Cushing. Elsewhere Joey Palinkas charts the development of John Brosnan's Carnosaur from a truly epic novel to a not so epic but fondly remembered series of Roger Corman films and Danny Lee Beane braves the depths of Beware! The Blob (with some side detours into unmade Blob sequels). Maxwell Bresee celebrates the 50th anniversary of the long forgotten Japanese thriller, Terror in the Streets. In the first of an epic three-part series, Stan Hyde covers all the unmade versions of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Kyle Byrd debunks some common myths regarding King Kong's lot spider pit scene. Bride of Godzilla's 65th Unniversary is celebrated, plus much, much more!!!

THE LOST FILMS FANZINE PRESENTS MOVIE MILESTONES #2, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) and the looming 50th anniversary of Creatures the World Forgot (1971) with an eye towards the obscure and the unmade. For instance, did you know that When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth began with the title of Curse of the Dinosaurs with the hope that Raquel Welch might return as Loana? Or, that the film was also meant to feature giant ants, eels, and a Tyrannosaurus at one point? Did you know that Creatures the World Forgot has some surprising ties to the late David Allen's still-in-development The Primevals? What about When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth's cancelled sequel, Dinosaur Girl, and a Hammer remake of King Kong? Also aborted was When the Earth Cracked Open, a caveman adventure set to star Caroline Munro with effects by Ray Harryhausen. Explore this exciting, hidden history along with brief coverage of related films like Prehistoric Women (1967), When Women Had Tails (1970), and Caveman (1981).

For two years between 1896 and 1897, the skies of North America were invaded by a wave of airships possibly inhabited by alien beings. This book presents an in-depth case study of the more notable sightings and encounters.

More than one hundred years ago, back when the Southern States of North America were still made up of wild swampland, settlers told tales of monsters. They talked of lizardmen, spoke of mermaids, whispered of werewolves, and told of hairy giants that we would today call Bigfoot. Unearthed from actual newspaper articles of the time, this is the story of real monsters in the Old South...   

It was nearly 50 years ago now that Jaws swam into cinemas and shocked theater goers. In its wake it left numerous sequels and rip-offs like Orca, Jaws 2, Piranha, The Last Shark, Jaws 3-D, Monster Shark, and Jaws: The Revenge to name only a handful. But you knew about those already, didn''t you? But what about the sequels and rip-offs that never surfaced to terrify audiences... movies like Bert I. Gordon''s Devil Fish, Dino De Laurentiis''s Orca Part II, and John Sayles'' Sea Dragon of Loch Ness, ever hear about those? What about the spoof Jaws 3, People 0, that eventually became Jaws 3-D? Did you know Jaws 2 began shooting with a different cast, director, and a darker version of the script before it was retooled by studio executives? And lastly, were there ever any real plans for a Jaws 5? From the author of Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island take a deep dive into the murky history of the Jaws sequels, prequels, remakes, and rip-offs that never saw the light of day in Jaws Unmade!

A throwback to kid's monster movie books from the 1970s, Dinosauruses of the Movies examines the better known dinosaur movies made between 1914-1977 including The Lost World, One Million B.C., When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, The People That Time Forgot and Planet of Dinosaurs to name a few.

This lavishly illustrated volume is a throwback to kid's library books of the 1970s that examined monster movies. Giant ape movies including Konga, White Pongo, Mighty Peking Man, and A*P*E are examined plus many more!!!

Think The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films turned over every stone and revealed every surprise known to man? Think again. In the great tradition of the inevitable sequel delve into yet more unproduced scripts from the Land of the Rising Sun. Witness the confrontation between Mizuno the Gas Human and the Frankenstein monster in Frankenstein vs. the Human Vapor. Marvel at the Human Torch, which was both an attempt to revive Toho’s mutant films and also a stylistic continuation of the Bloodthirsty Trilogy. Thrill to the adventures of the Super Noah in The Flying Battleship which turned into TV’s Mighty Jack. Puzzle at an adaptation of Sakyo Komatsu's post-apocalyptic thriller Japanese Apache starring the Crazy Cats. And, finally find out what happens After Japan Sinks! Also detailed are completed lost films like Shinichi Sekizawa’s Fearful Attack of the Flying Saucers (1956) plus reviews of rare movies like Invisible Avenger (1954), Buruuba (1955), Woman Vampire (1959) and Blue Christmas (1978) to name only a few.

THAT'S RIGHT. THE LOST FILMS IS BACK. And like a Heisei era Godzilla foe, it’s mutated into its second, bigger, badder form. And it’s got it all: Adam West battling the Big G in BATMAN MEETS GODZILLA? Check. A DAIMAJIN remake starring Steven Seagal? It almost happened. Ultraman teaming with a monkey monster in Thailand’s 6 ULTRA BROTHERS VS. THE MONSTER ARMY? Yep, it exists—even if Tsuburaya Productions wishes it didn’t. This book covers:Unproduced scripts like BRIDE OF GODZILLA? (1955), GAMERA VS. THE ICE MEN FROM OUTER SPACE (1966), ULTRAMAN: OPERATION GIANT (1966), OPERATION ROBINSON CRUSOE: KING KONG VS. EBIRAH (1966), GAMERA VS. TWO-HEADED MONSTER W (1971), THE TIME MACHINE II (1979), GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS IN 3-D (1983), IT ATE CLEVELAND! (1984), COO FROM A DISTANT SEA (1989), MOTHRA VS. BAGAN (1990), GAMERA VS. PHOENIX (1993), GODZILLA VS. GHOST GODZILLA (1995), YAMATO TAKERU 2 (1997), and HEDORAH VS. MIDORA (2017). Films that came close to shooting like THE VOLCANO MONSTERS (1957), which Toho produced new monster suits for, and NESSIE (1976-1979)—an aborted team-up between Hammer and Toho that sunk itself in the seventies. Partially shot productions such as Daiei’s GIANT HORDE BEAST NEZURA (1963), which had to be shut down when real rats overran the studio. Banned films like ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN (1955), GREAT PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS (1974), and JUMBORG ACE AND GIANT (1974). Fan films like the ambitious, still in production LEGENDARY GIANT BEAST WOLFMAN VS. GODZILLA (1983-present) and GAMERA 4: TRUTH (2003). Oddities like the Italian colorized version of GODZILLA (1978) codenamed “COZZILLA” and even ATTACK OF THE GALACTIC MONSTERS (1983) and SPACE WARRIORS 2000 (1985)!