Although he’s no longer producing masks on a regular basis, the works that Darrell Vidaurri created under his VXX-FX Studios line easily remain among my all-time favorites. His mix of vintage 1960’s design styles and 1950’s horror comic book influences (combined with a dash of 1970’s and 1980’s horror movie schlock) jives perfectly with my own aesthetic preferences. I was super excited at the chance to work with him.
Below you’ll find examples of a few of the promotional ads that I made for the VXX-FX mask line. In addition to casting (and custom painting) new pulls from vintage Keith Ward Topstone mask designs, Darrell also created several of his own limited-edition original sculpts. These original masks tended to pay tribute to his love of EC Comics, Italian Zombie Films, and mid-century Monster Kid junk-culture classics like I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, so the design style that I used in the ads also reflect that Atomic-Age Horror mélange.
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- VXX-FX Monster Masks – General Mask Ad – EC Comics
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- VXX-FX Monster Masks – Jack Davis Style “Mindblower” Mask Ad – EC Comics
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- VXX-FX Monster Masks – The Old Mask Maker – EC Comics Style – Detail
In addition to the graphic design work shown above, photographer Jackie Alpers and I also worked up a Monster Mask photo series wherein, in addition to designs from various other studios, I shamelessly sport a number of VXX-FX masks. Featured below are excerpts from that set, but if you’ve got the stomach for more you’ll find the complete gallery right here.
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- VXX-FX “Retro Frank”
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- VXX-FX “EC Zombie II”
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- VXX-FX “EC Vault Keeper”
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- VXX-FX “EC Old Witch”
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- VXX-FX “EC Crypt Keeper”
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- Topstone “Teenage Werewolf”
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- Topstone “Shock Monster”
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- Topstone “Female Vampire”
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- Topstone “G-Line Frankenstein”
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- Topstone “Ghoul”
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- Topstone “Lagoon Monster”
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- Topstone “Male Vampire”
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- Topstone “Mummy”
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- Topstone “Caveman”
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- Recreation of the Topstone “Melting Man”