Happy Halloween. For the past two decades, BeMon has been a cornerstone of the enduring indie sofubi boom that began at the turn of the 21st century. Along with early pioneers like Gargamel, Rumble Monsters and Real Head, he has helped establish a global subculture that still thrives today. But, whereas we know most of the individuals behind the brands responsible for “the new boom” and have been able to follow their trajectories closely, BeMon continues to remain a dark horse; the reverse side of the same coin. His origin is shrouded in mystery. His distribution is inconsistent and fairly unpredictable. And, whether it was intended or not, he is the blueprint for the sofubi hype artist. There have been many attempts to try to better understand BeMon, especially on this very site, which happens to share the same anniversary. But there’s never been one like this; a definitive chronological through-line documenting BeMon’s history, influences, and collective output of iconic sofubi. As the 20th anniversary of his debut approaches, it’s finally time to scrape together as much information as possible to celebrate man, myth and legend. And of course, to ponder and marvel at how there is still so much unknown 20 years on. I Want To Be A Monster: BeMon, 20 Years Later Best viewed in Google Docs
It's a guy who created a toy based off a header, made by another guy, that was illusive. "A global subculture?" Jesus christ. Nowadays everyone makes toys.
I'm no expert but i'm pretty sure i've never seen Bemon spelt with an uppercase M before. Why that spelling?
And the Misfits homage. They both highlight the original portmanteau. It’s been spelled BeMon, BEMON, Bemon and bemon, so I chose one.
I think this is awesome. Kudos to you dude. This was obviously a ton of work, and I learned a lot perusing it. As for the petty criticism right off the bat for what was obviously a ton of fucking work, y’all are acting like wanks. But hey….brainers gonna brain. FYI You spelled elusive wrong @bryce_r
I've never understood this kind of comment. Just because someone puts a ton of work into something. doesn't mean everyone should automatically start sucking their balls. We don't owe anyone anything. This is'nt FB or Instaspam ... thats where to post stuff if all you want is your arse kissed.
This isn’t a poorly made sofubi toy of someone’s deceased pet, either. I think when someone contributes something substantial to the toy community, some positive feedback is warranted.
Wish I hadn’t slept on them back in the day. one of their toys that encompasses so many of the parts that make this hobby so much fun. And also the crap ones
Also just to stay true to Skullbrain, if you don’t like my positive comments @bbb you can fuck off too . There, happy now Moog?
Please don’t suck my balls. I didn’t do this because I want accolades. I did this because I want clarity and to foster discussion.
Lol, oh yeah ... ecstatic. Anyway, my 'petty criticism' was a genuine question. I've probably seen hundreds and hundreds of Bemon listings and not one of them had the spelling with an uppercase M. To the average punter, it just looks weird.
I didn't think you were being petty, it's a fair question. It used to be in all caps in the doc, but I switched it later on. It's how it was first spelled in 2005 by Yoda Masahico.
Adding... And by the way, a huge thanks to @Roger for being my editor and helping me with fact checking anything having to do with early sofubi history. I allude to this at the end of the doc, but I couldn’t have put this together without the original base of passionate collectors that were very excited about this work back when this site had just gotten up and running. If your name is mentioned in the doc, you've made some form of a contribution to this. Including you, @The Moog!
@bbb Excellent documentation and information gathering. I will send you some additional data and photos. It is encouraging to see the passion for this effort. I am working on a similar project for a vintage toy.
Nearly twenty years ago I remember blindly buying bemons for $150 from a deceased board member who had a hookup No picture, no idea what to expect for paints, those were the days
HP waves 2 and 3 are the best, IMO! Always love scrolling old Bemon pics and seeing a few choice favorites from those runs. I also had to check the bottoms of mine just to see if somehow I ended up with a sample without knowing about it! (Nope.)
Such a tough call! I love the 4 dot eyes of 1-2 but I think if I had to go with one I’d choose 5 for how eclectic it is. Some of the mixed vinyl bases are so cool, plus the Bad Brains Kougai has always been a standout for me.
What about the other shape? 2HB ? Sea monster and Space Monster (never remember this fella's name, sorry). Also, I has anyone ever saw the commercial where the original pachi Space Monster appears in? I tried looking around but without any luck so far.
At the end of the doc I have a list of what's coming next. I have most of what I need for Two-Head Giant, Space Monster, Marine Monster, Monster Hat and apparel/graphics, but the Kougai research was exhausting and meaty and I didn't want to overwhelm. I'll pepper the rest throughout the new year. I'd be curious to know about this commercial. As far as I know, there's little information about those two pachi coin banks from the 70's. Edit: I was wrong about the names coming later, the names came marked into the originals.
I’ve mainly perused this, bit by bit, rather than sittin’ down and takin’ a solid read. From what I have taken in so far, this is an incredible amount of research and words and thought and time and dedication. The type of passion for not only the artist and their toys, but the medium and subculture of soft vinyl collecting, far, FAR outweighs the general, what I call, bullshit thirst posting. Ben really went VERY out of his way to go in depth for information, by way of his own ability, and a lot of outreach. I sincerely think this is cool as fuck and really demonstrates, that, despite how coveted and sought after Bemon toys are, there still really isn’t shit known about Honda, his ways, methods, reasoning, etc. He’s no favoritism amongst fans, dare I say even really gives a shit, and I think it should stay that way.
