Saturday Afternoon 2025 Kickoff: Teenage Frankenstein merch
In this special kickoff post for our 2025 Saturday Afternoon series, we're looking at merch related to the horror movie "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein."
Probably the most unique Christmas gift for this year, in more ways than one, is this custom Mego-style action figure based on the 1957 American International movie "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein." A custom design from Plastic Nebula, the work is one of five made. Packaged in a clear plastic bag with card stock bearing the movie poster artwork, this piece feels like something that one could pick up from a department store in the mid-1970s.
While I understand any official merchandise from "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" or its predecessor "I was a Teenage Werewolf" is non-existent due to licensing issues, I was excited to pick up a few related items this holiday season.
The second item was the Blu-ray of the movie "How to Make a Monster", which itself is a sequel to the previous "I Was a Teenage..." movies, but is not locked involved in the same licensing issues that prevent their release on physical media or other platforms.
And finally, this much-sought after issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland, number 238, from fall of 2004, features the teen monster in all his gruesome glory on the cover with an accompanying comprehensive article and photos.
In search of more monster merch, I found this "Monsters in the Closet" book on Amazon featuring "Teenage Frankenstein" on its cover. The book explores homosexuality in monster movies from the earliest days through more modern slashers. Like the original Star Trek is known for, filmmakers often cloaked social and cultural issues with allegories within their source material--and in this case, the teenage monster.
Another major add to my collection last year was this B.F.F.F. 12" figure from "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein." Larger and more detailed than the custom Plastic Nebula version, this one boasts greater articulation, but retains the blue shirt design. Prestige box art provides collectors with a premiere presentation piece.
And while there are no current physical media releases, collectors can snatch up the VHS versions of bothe "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" and "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" relatively easily. Both make a great addition to an aspiring "Teenage Monster" collection. Note this copy omits the "I Was a..." branding from the title of Frankenstein. This was common in the international releases of the movie.
Our story of teenage monsters wouldn't be complete without including another gift that was under the tree this year, the 1/9th scale "Teenage Bog Monster" from White Elephant Toys' Frightful Fiendz line. An original factory creation, the Bog Monster features unique box art and a 1970s style design.
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