8 LEGS A-LURCHING . . . Hi, Folks! The Baby Boomers among us will remember how the dawn of The Nuclear Age generated two great fears. The first was that radiation from a missile war would kill millions of humans. But the second was that radiation from nuclear testing would create horribly mutated animals-- especially giant ones. Some of those monsters are classic villains. Actor Lewis Carrolls radiation-stuffed Tarantula is immortalized in the opening credits of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. And remember that B-movie featuring the giant crab who spoke with a French accent? All it takes is a visit to Dr. Moreaus island or Jurassic Park to be reminded that its not nice to fool Mother Nature. So its more than ironic that the most dangerous critters in the 21st century are microbes: HIV, ebola, avian flu. Wheres the 50-foot woman when we need her? (Still looking for Harry, probably.) All of the images in the series were generated completely on a desktop computer. If youre interested in learning more about the hardware, software, or 3D props that were used in any of the entries, please send me a message online.

I seem to recall Gene Berry(?) and the Mexican army duking it out with one of these. as for the microbes, remember what got the Martians in War of the Worlds? There's nothing new under the sun :-)