The Hodag model's concept drawing.

    Ever since his parents gave him comic books about dinosaurs, monsters, and superheroes, Rob Mattison has loved creating models of them. “One big event that got me into giant monsters more than anything was seeing the original King Kong back in 1974 on the big screen,” said Mattison, who works at Community Television and has a web video series that reviews monster models. Now Mattison enjoys sculpting these creatures for movies and stop-motion films, the most recent of which is the folklorish Hodag. The lumberjacks of Rhinelander, Wisconsin believe that the restless spirits of dead lumber oxen come from the Hodag. The Hodag is described as “the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end.” After attending monster model conventions, Mattison said there was a desire to produce the Hodag into his monster creations. Local comic book artist Andrew Ritchie helped out with design (above) and sculptor Jeff Johnson from Texas molded the creature (right). Four weeks later they have a prototype, just waiting to find a cast and molding company to produce Mattison’s kit that could be presented as soon as Louisville’s Wonderfest in May.