Imagine a world where mutants, aliens, monster-men and other vintage B movie-spawned entities actually existed in 1950s America (as I often do, anyway). Then extrapolate that concept into a futuristic society where the offspring of these invaders become freely integrated into our culture, via sheer force of numbers, as opposed to a progressive embrace by forgiving, open-minded homo sapiens. Meantime, Earth’s movies and pop music still progress normally, so that the subsequent decades following the initial onslaught of beasts, bugs and blobs evolve both naturally and supernaturally, ultimately resulting in a familiar yet freakish movie-monster mish-mash of sensational science-fiction and surrealist satire. This is the compelling alternate dimension so cleverly concocted by I Love You Beth Cooper author and former Simpsons writer Larry Doyle in his new novel Go, Mutants!, already planned as a feature film. Don’t wait for the movie – this is must-read lowbrow literature for high-minded hipsters.

J!m, the novel’s chief protagonist, is the son of the initial visitor from Outer Space (think: Klaatu from The Day the Earth Stood Still) whose diplomatic overtures were soon belied by a more aggressive agenda: disarm or be destroyed. His mission didn’t work out as planned, but his presence did herald a new generation of assorted atomic beasts and other roaring retro-refugees from our collective celluloid consciousness. J!m’s feline hybrid mother, Miw, is a widowed cocktail waitress in a strip club catering to horny humans seeking creature feature comforts. Despite his controversial pedigree, Jim is a typical lonely, self-doubting teenager attending Manhattan High, though with such distinguishing features as a bulbous brain and exceptionally oily skin, which causes him a lot more problems than pimples. His painful puberty stage presents a whole new set of challenges – for both his dating life and the fate of the world generally - as he begins metamorphosing into something innocuously monstrous and inadvertently intimidating to his fellow classmates and citizens. However, J!m is not alone in his accidental alienation: he is comforted by the company of his beloved lifelong human female companion, Marie, the daughter of a “mad scientist” named Dr. Rand and a talking female severed head demanding a new body (think: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die); his best friend Johnny, a rebellious, radioactive simian (think: Marlon Brando crossed with Konga); and his gelatinous pal Jelly, a shape-shifting lad who is basically Son of Blob. Drive-ins, hot rods, homework, competitive sports and beach parties round out their daily activities, aside from the traumas of their teenage torment and adolescent angst. Their antagonists include taunting teachers, cruel cops, sarcastic schoolyard bullies and the prejudiced population at large, which gives every reader something to relate to, as we’ve all experienced this sort of isolation while growing up, and some of us still feel like we’re misfits and outcasts in a world that doesn’t understand who we really are, or accept where we come from.

Doyle gives us plenty of contemporary references ingeniously renamed or re-imagined so they’re compatible with both our current reality and the alternate universe he’s so meticulously conceived: there are technological counterparts for DVDs, iPods, computers and the internet. Historical figures, from pivotal politicians like Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan, to cultural icons like Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, James Dean and Elvis Presley (along with his surviving, singing twin Jesse), co-inhabit the same plane as Gojira, Gorgo, Gort and Robby the Robot, though their fates and careers are rather dramatically altered when viewed through this parallel prism. Characters called “Dr (Alfred) Kinsey,” “Principal (Our Miss) Brooks,” “Coach (Joe) McCarthy,” and “Sheriff Nick Ford” (who must be related to Lou Ford of Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me) function imaginatively in the nutty narrative as strategically implemented doppelgangers; while other names like Barbara Payton and Gloria Talbott will ring a bell with savvy film fans. Songs by Simon & Garfunkel and Don McClean are referenced alongside make-believe groups like the Titanic Sirens, while Rebel Without A Cause is reborn as I Was a Teenage Mutant, forming a contextually credible inter-dimensional multi-media mosaic.

Doyle’s use of language and invented terminology are as creative as the plot. The chapter headings and many of the incidental text are reprinted screen-captures of classic movie trailer hyperbole: ‘SCIENCE GONE WILD!” “DEVASTATING PASSIONS!” “FLAMING FURY FROM THE SKIES!” “TEENAGER OR TERRIFYING BEAST?” etc. There’s even an INTERMISSION break at midpoint, further enhancing the cinematic structure.  However, this incredibly inventive novel is anything but derivative, despite its numerous references and “cameos” (many of which will only be recognized by the die-hard B movie buff, like myself). This is a singularly original work that wears its inspired mutant heart on its sleeve and its advanced alien brain on its funny bone. The book’s official web site, www.gomutants.com is in itself an interactive, multi-layered treasure trove of trailers and other tantalizing tidbits revealing and reveling in the nostalgic source material remixed and reinvented by the mad, merry mind of Larry Doyle. Go, Mutants! illuminates both a past worth remembering and a future worth looking forward to.

http://www.larrydoyle.com

To Order: http://www.gomutants.com/theauthormat.html

Will "The Thrill" Viharo is a freelance writer, host of the film series “Forbidden Thrills” at Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge, and creator of the long running cult movie cabaret “Thrillville.” He lives in Alameda, CA with his wife Monica “Tiki Goddess” Cortes and their two cats. His pulp novels “A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge,” "Chumpy Walnut," and "Down a Dark Alley" are now available at http://stores.lulu.com/willviharo For more please surf over to www.thrillville.net