IN MEMORY OF BOBB COTTER
(June 22 1959 - February 8 2020)

BOBB IS A BUST IN THE MONSTER KID HALL OF FAME!
... or a real cool Rondo Awards PLAQUE, actually -- but it's an incredible honor in any case! Click here for details!

"The New Nairobi Trio"
(Paul Riggie, George Chastain & Bobb Cotter)
premiering their fanzine MonsterMad at the
first Pittsburgh-area Monster Bash in 1997.

This web tribute to our friend Bobb Cotter is a visual catalog of some of the many creative projects he worked hard to produce in his life.
It will be a work in progress as long as we can find more images and information to improve the collection, and we hope some of Bobb's
other friends will help us celebrate his spirited life and art by contributing pictures and memories of him from their own collections.
Bobb's wife Cheryl was happy to hear about this project and will be collaborating with us to make it a more fitting tribute.
If you can find some things you like here our inner Monster Kids will be pleased, and we know Bobb's would be too.
George Chastain and Paul Riggie


TO SEE A LARGER VERSION OF ANY IMAGE, CLICK ON THE THUMBNAIL VERSION DISPLAYED

FAN OF A THOUSAND PHASES

Well, at least a dozen we can think of off hand....

Left to right:

"Art Reco" storms the stage again for the first time in 25 years for a reunion of Th' INBRED in May 2013;

Robert "Bobb" Cotter signs his 1st McFarland Press book (of 8) at a Barnes & Noble book store in 2005;

Bobb "Kolchak" Cotter channels the restless spirit of The Night Stalker at many Monster Bash conventions;

Roberto Cotter introduces many of the late-night Mexican Monster Movies on Monster Bash Saturdays.

Left to right:

Robert Michael "Bobb" Cotter welcomes German "El Vampiro" Robles into the Monster Kid Hall of Fame in 2007;

Two Kings and a Queen: Elvis entertains Robert Michael Cotter and Cheryl Neace at their wedding in Las Vegas in 2006;

Bobb meets the Ghoul of his dreams, "Miss Shock" (Kathy Burns) at the Monster Bash in June 2005.

ROBERT MICHAEL "BOBB" COTTER'S BOOKS

Bobb's eight books published by McFarland & Company, Inc. ( mcfarlandbooks.com ).

Left to right:

THE MEXICAN MASKED WRESTLER AND MONSTER FILMOGRAPHY  (2005, 216 pages, 90 photos, bibliography, index);

THE GREAT MONSTER MAGAZINES (2008, 238 pages, 30 photos, bibliography, index);

THE HISTORY OF THE DOC SAVAGE ADVENTURES  (2009, 240 pages, 26 photos, bibliography, index);

INGRID PITT, QUEEN OF HORROR (2010, 230 pages, 98 photos, bibliography, index).

Left to right:

CAROLINE MUNRO, FIRST LADY OF FANTASY (2012, 172 pages, 38 photos, bibliography, index);

THE WOMEN OF HAMMER HORROR (2013, 248 pages, 62 photos, bibliography, index);

VAMPIRA AND HER DAUGHERS (2017, 172 pages, 43 photos, bibliography, index);

THE COMPLETE MISFITS DISCOGRAPHY (2019, 250 pages, 89 photos, bibliography, index).

...AND FROM THE REALM OF UNWROUGHT THINGS:

Pencil and ink stages of a splash page for an unfinished graphic novel project,
HAREM GIRLS WITH MACHINE GUNS, scripted by writer/director Scott Bunt and
illustrated by Bobb Cotter for publication by McFarland.

BOBB COTTER'S FANZINES

YOU HAVE CREATED A MONSTER /  MONSTERMAD

Two one-shot monsterzines co-produced and published as genuine labors of love
by Bobb Cotter & his Monster Kid brothers.

Left to right:

Bobb Cotter's flyer advertising the monsterzine he designed, edited and published in June 1987 (with
a little help from his friends): YOU HAVE CREATED A MONSTER AND IT WILL DESTROY YOU!;

Bobb's stunning xerographic cover for his monsterzine, featuring "GHOULS, GALS and GILLS";

MONSTER MAD, co-produced by George Chastain, Bobb Cotter, Paul Riggie and Ron Adams, premiered at
the 1st Monster Bash in July 1997 -- the precursor of Ron's long-running MONSTER BASH magazine.

DOC SAVAGE: INSIDE & OUT

Four issues designed, edited and published by Bobb Cotter in March & December 1989, June 1990 & June 2008.

Left to right: Vol. 1, March 1989; Vol. 2, December 1989; Vol. 3, June 1990; Vol. 4 (20th Anniversary Edition), June 2008.

THE SANTO COMPANION / SANTO SCENE

Bobb Cotter's longest-running fanzine, thanks to his enthusiasm for a film genre that kept his attention
for many years, and career successes including his first of many books published by McFarland.

"A visual sourcebook showcasing El Santo, Blue Demon and other icons of Lucha Libre,"
designed and published by Bobb Cotter from June 1998 - June 2008.

Left to right: #1, June 1998; #2, October 1998; #3, March 1999; #4, June 1999.

Left to right: #5 (details forthcoming); #6 , March 2000; #7, June 2000; #8, October 2000.

Title changed to SANTO SCENE with Issue #9.

Left to right: #9, March 2001; #10, June 2001; #11, October 2001; #12, March 2003.

Left to right: #13 (image & info forthcoming); #14 (2007 Fearbook), June 2007); #15 (2008 Fearbook), June 2008;
SANTO 2000, The Calendar.

This long-running fanzine & his McFarland book on Mexican Masked Wrestlers and Monsters established "Roberto" Cotter's
credentials as a recognized authority on the subject, and earned Bobb some fabulous perks -- left to right:

German Robles, one of the greatest stars of Mexican monster movies, was a special guest at Monster Bash in 2007;

Robert Cotter's audio commentary for both of German Robles' best-known films, THE VAMPIRE and
THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN, was a special feature on the 2-disc DVD set released by CasaNegra in 2006;

Bobb was thrilled to meet Senor Robles, and honored to participate in the ceremony welcoming the great
(and deeply appreciative) horror icon into the Rondo Awards "Monster Kid Hall of Fame" at the 2007 Bash.

THE MISFITS COLLECTOR

"A retro-style, oldschool, back-in-the-day-type FANG-zine; a handy-dandy, hardcopy,
pocket-sized, graphic-heavy guide produced to celebrate (can you bee-leeve it?)
TWENTY-FIVE fear-packed years of vampira-ized vinyl, all colors and sizes, including a
complete-as-I-can-make-it checklist, and some vintage posters thrown in for bad measure."
The Fantom Fiend, publisher, June 2002 - October 2003

Left to right: Vol. 1 #1, June 2002; Vol. 1 #2, June 2003; Vol. 1 #3, October 2003;
"The Fast and the Fiendish" hot rod cartoon, © Robert 2001 -- inside back cover of #3.

HARDCORE MONSTER KID

TH' INBRED: A HARDCORE PUNK BAND ON STAGE & ON RECORD

Th' INBRED BIOGRAPHY

(Slightly adapted from Bobb ("Art Reco") Cotter's writeup on the Alternative Tentacles website: https://alternativetentacles.com/)

Before CDs existed and punk moved to the malls, four musicians and performers of disparate backgrounds and influences banded together
in 1984 in Morgantown, West Virginia, to form Th' INBRED, a name suggested by the lead singer's old roommate Dave. Many hardcore bands
drew on regional/local idiosyncracies to form their sounds and identities, so Dave suggested that there should be a band from West Virginia
that featured a banjo, and was called Th' Inbred. Although the banjo never made it to the stage or to the group, the name did, and from
there, the band went on to deliver its distinctive combination of situationist theory and odd time signatures to hardcore fans across the
United States. They performed with virtually every major hardcore act the era had to offer, including the Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks,
Butthole Surfers, MDC, and Corrosion of Conformity. They toured with Raw Power, DRI, and the Rhythm Pigs, and released three
records: the 7-inch "Reproduction" EP and the albums "A Family Affair" and "Kissin' Cousins," all of which, along with rare and
unreleased material, are contained on the new anthology CDs, "Legacy of Fertility" Vols. 1 & 2. Th' Inbred dis-banded in 1988. *
@rt Reco September 2009

* In May 2013, Bobb Cotter and two other members of the band reunited (with an additional member) to participate in a two-day reunion of
1980s bands from the Morgantown, West Virginia "Underground Railroad" scene, at that same venue, now called "123 Pleasant Street."

Left to right:

Band members: Art Reco (Bob Cotter) - vocals, lyrics; Robert Bowers - guitar;
John "Duff" McIntosh - bass guitar; Bill Atwell III - drums.

"Reproduction" -- 7" EP, Frozen Sound, 1985;

"A Family Affair" -- LP -- Toxic Shock, 1986.

Left to right:

"Kissin' Cousins" -- LP -- Toxic Shock, 1988;

"Legacy of Fertility" Volume One -- CD / LP -- Alternative Tentacles, 2009;

"Legacy of Fertility" Volume Two -- CD / LP -- Alternative Tentacles, 2009.

BOBB COTTER'S PUNK ROCK FLYERS

As singer/songwriter "Art Reco" for Th' Inbred, Bobb designed politically-charged & classic horror-inspired flyers for their shows.
One of his horror flyers from 1986 was selected for the cover of VISUAL VITRIOL: THE STREET ART AND SUBCULTURES
OF THE PUNK AND HARDCORE GENERATION by David A. Ensminger (University Press of Mississippi, 2011).

Left to right:

WEREWOLF OF LONDON flyer for Corrosion of Conformity / Napalm / Th' Inbred show, December 5, 1986;

Boris Karloff ISLE OF THE DEAD flyer for Government Issue / Th' Inbred / D-formed show, September 6, 1986;

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN's screaming shepherdess flyer for Scream / Th' Inbred / Fire Party show, Decembr 12, 19??;

Kirk Alyn as cliffhanger hero BLACKHAWK in a flyer for Government Issue / Th' Inbred show, March 13, 1987

Left to right:

Credited swipe of Al Capp's "Moonbeam McSwine" artwork for Th' Inbred / Wholly Nones / The Distracted show, September 12, 198?;

SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD skeleton flyer for Die Kreuzen / Th' Inbred / D-formed show, October 1, 198?;

THE CRIMSON GHOST serial flyer for (fantasy?) "The Crimson Ghosts" / "The Phantom Creeps" show, November 9, 198?;

John Wayne flyer for M.D.C. / Th' Inbred / show, September 24, 1986.

Left to right:

Decomposing Vincent Price in TALES OF TERROR flyer for Corrosion of Conformity / Th' Inbred / N.D.C. show, February 21, 1986;

Vincent Price's "Valdemar" from TALES OF TERROR again, for Corrosion of Conformity / Th' Inbred / Half Life show, March 2, 1985;

Vincent Price's ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES in flyer for Corrosion of Conformity / Th' Inbred / N.D.C. show, February 26, 1986;

Bobb's DR. PHIBES flyer makes the cover of the definitive book on the art form, David A. Ensminger's VISUAL VITRIOL.

MORE OF BOBB COTTER'S ARTWORK

FOR FANZINES, PULP & SERIAL FANS, AND HIS OWN AMUSEMENT

Bobb Cotter continued to draw and develop his illustration techniques all his life. He usually chose his subject matter from the
high-adventure fantasies of past pop culture, using the most striking Hollywood-style photographs and Golden Age artwork he
could find as his models. He replicated the tonal effects in these resources, and heightened the drama in the artwork he based
on them, with old-fashioned but highly effective graytone illustration tools including textured paper, Duoshade drawing board, and
Zip-a-Tone transfer patterns, along with the sophisticated xerographic techniques he taught himself to produce show flyers with
over many years of practice. Bobb never used a computer to produce his artwork digitally; he painstakingly achieved his effects by
hand, using the same drawing tools and techniques employed by the classic artists and illustrators he most admired. Here are just
a few samples of the published and unpublished artwork he produced.

Four of Bobb's drawings inspired by the painted covers of original DOC SAVAGE pulp magazines -- left to right:

B/W study of Robert G. Harris' cover painting for the October 1937 issue, "Repel" ;

Cover for the Fall/Winter 1989 issue of "The Wireless," West Virginia University's FM music magazine when Bobb was
hosting the late night "Underexposed" show. It's based on Walter Baumhofer's cover painting for the October 1937 issue,
"The Terror in the Navy," with the shipboard setting changed to a radio station control room, complete with Orson Welles;

Bobb's fanciful study of Walter Baumhofer's portrait of Doc Savage from the cover of the August 1933 issue, "The Red Skull,"
with dinosaurs from Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien stop-motion animation films thrown in to jack up the excitement;

B/W study of Walter Baumhofer's cover painting for the December 1933 issue, "The Phantom City,"
published on the cover of issue #41 of the pulp fanzine ECHOES.

Five drawings juxtaposing artist James Bama's Doc Savage paperback cover poses with his box art for Aurora monster models -- left to right:

Bama's Doc painting from the "Resurrection Day" paperback cover meets his "Kharis" art from Aurora's "The Mummy" model kit ;

Doc's pose on "The Vanisher" cover challenges Anthony Quinn's "Quasimodo" on Bama's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" model box;

Doc Savage "Devil on the Moon" paperback cover pose confronts Aurora's "Godzilla" monster model art;

Bantam's paperback "The Yellow Cloud" Doc takes on the 8th Wonder of the World -- Aurora's "King Kong" model;

Bama's pensive "Merchants of Disaster" Doc portrait gazes upon his box art for the "Forgotten Prisoner of Castel-Mare" model.

Left to right:

Ernest (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) Thesiger, recast as the weird menace on an imaginary cover for the DOCTOR DEATH pulp magazine;

Shaded line art for a make-believe poster for one of Bobb's favorite horror films, THE BLACK CAT, starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi;

A richly tonal study of Bob Livingston and Chief Thundercloud as the heroes of Republic's THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN serial;

'50s pinup queen BETTIE PAGE rides again in Bobb's cover illustration for a pulp fanzine published in 1989.

Four of Bobb's studies of movie stills from Republic's thrilling series of "Rocket Man" serial chapterplays (and one TV series):

KING OF THE ROCKET MEN, starring Tristram Coffin as "Jeffrey King" (1949);

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, starring George D. Wallace as "Commando Cody" (1952);

ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE, starring Judd Holdren as "Larry Martin" (1952);

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE, starring Judd Holdren as "Commando Cody" (TV, 1955).

(We tried to identify the actor in the rocket suit in these images, but who can tell for sure who's under the helmet?!)

REMEMBERING BOBB COTTER

Left to right:

Little Bobby Cotter, just a toddler but already fascinated by masks, costumes and deviliish fun in the very early '60s;

West Virginia's most notorious hardcore punk rock band, Th' Inbred, layed it down and ripped it up in the '80s;

Bobb "Kolchak" Cotter made many friends and satisfied customers at the Pittsburgh-area Monster Bashes for more than two decades.

HOW IT BEGAN!

By Paul Riggie

I first met Bobb Cotter in a used bookshop in Morganown, West Virginia in 1977. We had both discovered comic fandom rather late in the first wave of "Marvelmania." In addition to being "Friends of Ol' Marvel," we were both enthusiastic fans of some of DC / National's more innovative titles such as "The Creeper," "Deadman," "Doom Patrol," "Metal Men," and of course, their revival of the pulp character "The Shadow."

A genuine connoisseur of comic art, Bobb passionately devoured the work of artists such as Reed Crandall, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Jim Steranko, Neal Adams and Mike Kaluta. He was also a big fan of Wally Wood, especially his work for Tower Comics.

Bobb used to say his three primary influences were Forrest J Ackerman, Jack Kirby and Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille. Of course, on any given days, you could add Lester Dent, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming and Ray Harryhausen to that list.

An enthusiastic film fan, Bobb's favorite movies included Universal's Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone, COOL HAND LUKE, THE MALTESE FALCON, THE ROCKETEER, and the film he often cited as his all-time favorite: Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL.

Bobb and I were both fortunate enough to grow up in the '60s and '70s during the last years of the Golden Age of TV horror hosts. We were both avid fans of Pittsburgh's "Chiller Theater" and its host, Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille. Bobb's favorite Universal horror films included BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and of course, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. His favorite Hammer films included HORROR OF DRACULA, BRIDES OF DRACULA, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES. Some of his other favorite horror, fantasy and sci-fi films included KING KONG, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, BLACULA, and Q--THE WINGED SERPENT. He once told me that the most recent horror movie he truly enjoyed was Tim Burton's SLEEPY HOLLOW.

Throughout his life, Bobb's enthusiasm for comics never waned. In the 1980s I had fallen away from comics until Bob showed me Dave Stevens' "The Rocketeer," rekindling my own passion for the medium. I recall a couple of years before he passed away, he called me excitedly one evening to tell me that comic artist Neal Adams ("Deadman," "Green Lantern" / "Green Arrow," etc.) was having a signing at a comic shop only a mile or so from Bob's home in Pittsburgh. We talked for a couple of hours that evening about which books we would ask Adams to autograph.

Bobb was a fan to the very end, and that's the way I'll always remember him.

BOBB COTTER'S OBITUARY

Prepared by Paul Riggie and Cheryl Cotter for publication in the
Pittsburgh Post Gazette and the (Morgantown) Dominion Post, the
Charleston Daily Mail and the Charleston Gazette-Mail in
West Virginia on February 16, 2020.

ROBERT MICHAEL "BOBB" COTTER, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formerly of Morgantown, West Virginia, passed away on Saturday, February 8, 2020, at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

He was born in Pittsburgh on June 22, 1959, but was raised in Morgantown. He graduated from Saint Francis High School and studied Graphic Design at West Virginia University. He was a former employee of Eide's Entertainment.

In the 1980s, Bobb blazed a trail as one of the first deejays at WVU's U-92 FM, hosting the late night "Underexposed" show. Also, most notably, Bobb was extremely active in Morgantown 's alternative music scene as the vocalist for "Eddy Haskell," "Dash & The Riprocks," "Cheap Schtick," and especially "Th' Inbred," who put out two influential LPs in the late 1980s. Th' Inbred did two national tours of the U.S. and often performed at area clubs such as the Underground Railroad in Morgantown and the Electric Banana in Pittsburgh, with such important musical acts as the Dead Kennedys and Corrosion of Conformity.

In the 1990s, he was an assistant to the well-known graphic artist Jim Steranko. Also at this time, Bobb was a frequent self-publisher and contributor to many comic and horror related fanzines and magazines.

In the early 2000s, Bobb established a second career as an author of books on pop culture subjects for McFarland Publishing. The eight books he authored include "A History of the Doc Savage Adventures," "The Mexican Masked Wrestler and Monster Filmography," and his most recent book, "The Complete Misfits Discography." Bobb was a lifelong comic book collector and horror and sci-fi movie fan, and this was reflected in his writing.

He was also an animal lover and avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

He was preceded in death by his father, Paul Cotter; his mother, Mary Cotter; his sister, Susan Cotter; and his beloved dog, Lucky.

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl Neace Cotter; his nephew, Adam Hudson; his niece, Emily Hudson; his in-laws, Lloyd and Judy (Motz) Neace, Phillip and Cathy (Neace) Hudson; his former bandmates in Th' Inbred, Billy Atwell, John "Duff" McIntosh, Robert Bowers; and friends, Paul Riggie, George Chastain, Paul Taylor, Teresa (Swanigan) O'Cassidy, Terry Stead, and David Tate.

To quote one of Bobb's favorite movies "Cool Hand Luke," he was a "natural born world shaker." Those who knew him well loved him and will miss him forever.

MORE TO COME (RAMBOONA WILLING)