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sideshowmonkey — MINNESOTA ICEMAN by Hartman
Published: 2009-08-22 21:22:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 9260; Favourites: 152; Downloads: 1429
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Description
One of the things that had spurred my love for monsters as a kid was the infamous "Minnesota Iceman". A purported 6ft tall bigfoot that was frozen in a block of ice, possibly shot in Vietnam during the war and then smuggled into the US, and then put on exhibit at various carnivals and fairs in the midwest.As a kid in the late 70's I went with my folks to the Ohio State Fair and saw this thing. It was in a trailer where you paid a quarter and entered to see a "bigfoot in Ice" and the "world's smallest woman". The trailer itself was painted with the images of a hairy bigfoot-type man as well as a nude woman sitting in the palm of a man's hand. How could I pass this up? A BIGFOOT and a naked woman the size of my action figures! Oh yea!
I snuck away from my parents and went to this thing alone. I paid my quarter and entered the trailer. It was freezing as I looked down at a hairy Neanderthal creature frozen in a block of ice. It was so awesome to see this as a kid and it sparked a fascination in bigfoot and all crypto creatures from that day forward. The next part of the trailer was equally as scary as the nude woman I had hoped to see was really a 2ft tall elderly woman with malformed limbs sitting on a pillow and smoking a cigar. She looked me in the eye and it scared me to death.
You can find info on the Minnesota Iceman all over the web with varying tales of its origin and it's authenticity. Wether it was fake or not this thing scared the heck out of me and opened my eyes to the possibility of "real" monsters. State fairs are the best!
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Comments: 37
Great drawing, when I was a kid I got introduced to the paranormal when my grandfather told me stories about the Yeti and the Hammer Horror film about it, left me terrified for ages afterwards
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Hey Im starting a comic convention in albert lea minnesota and am looking for minnesota artists to come and show their work. can you all pass the word so i can have a wonderful turnout of minnesota artists. Not sure if you are actually from minnesota. It is july 22nd and 23rd 2017 and at the Albert Lea City Arena my name is gilbert johnson jr. email is thechapelcomicsgmail for more info....thanks and pass it on...ha
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Thanks so much but I live in Los Angeles. As a kid in Ohio I got to see the minnesota iceman when it was traveling. If I meet anyone from minnesota Ill pass along the info. Thanks again.
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Awesome, I finally have encountered someone who actually saw the Iceman before it disappeared. (Uncle Sam was not pleased, I guess....) I remember sketches in Peter Green's book, but that was it for me.
The idea of US soldiers shooting a Vietnamese rock ape during the 'Nam and then someone back home doing "2+2 = Sasqutch is real!" has recently come up in places. Somebody mentioned it on my favorite Bigfoot site a year or so back, will share it if I find it...
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I'm surprised that u find Bigfoot but not them XD
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Pretty awesome. I think your avatar winked at me.
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I too am something of a fan of the mythological (in one sense of the word), though my own introduction was a different Minnesota monster the Windego. I really like the glass effect you got for the ice that must have been difficult.
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Thanks so much 
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you should it would be awesome, plus there really aren't enough out there.
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Although this is a brilliant piece of art, I was just as entranced by your story! Awesome work here ^_^
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You should draw the malformed limb-lady. 
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Hell yes!
I'm a MN resident, and the Iceman is one of my favorite cryptos. Never got to see him at a freakshow, but I can swear I've seen pics of the tiny woman you were talking about.
Reminds me of when I rushed into a Florida sideshow that advertised a naked siren/mermaid thing, and when I got to see it, it's a gnarly fish stitched to a monkey. Haha.
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So, uh... you gonna draw that other scary thing you saw that day?
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I also saw that thing as a kid at a fair in Sarasota Fl. Don't recall the old woman but then I was pretty young. Scared me shit less too. Amazing.
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Man, that's fantastic, closest I think I've ever gotten to real monstrosities I think were the things at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum out here
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Ha, this is a lot of fun. I was just talking with my buddy about doing a good Big Foot image. This is a sweet looking pic with a really unique icy feel.
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I remember the Royal Show had a sideshow of 'the boy with no brain' it was a recumbent body with no head, just coloured tubes filled with fluid coming out of the neck.
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I agree with your feelings towards state fairs. Although none I went to had cool freak shows.
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WOW that's pretty cool, at first this image reminded me of "The Thing", like someone slammed up into a window running from it or something
[link]
if anyone actually remembers that one
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I LOVE Funhouse. One of my favorite movies.
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lol i remember the first time i saw that i was in highschool and it was on randomly at like 1AM and i was up all by myself and decided "why not?"
and it stuck with me hahaha. thats like, one of the most awsome b-rated movies i swear. next to return of the living dead and the evil dead lol
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I remember seeing something like this when I was a very young back in the 70's. I also remember being annoyed I couldn't actually see much through the ice.
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YEa, I was the same way but for some reason the mystery of what was under there was probably worse that what really was there.
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Didn't it turn out to be just a gorilla suit frozen in ice? I remember some cryptozoologist had something like that happen. Paid like thousands of dollars for a supposed frozen yeti then found out he got scammed.
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Ah man you have to love all the old freakshow stuff, have you ever read Geek Love? If not you should it'll rock your world.... Its such a shame all these things are dying out, so little is left to the power of the imagination with all the media these days. The power of PT Barnum's Fiji Mermaid or other crypto stuffed creatures has died off to the younger generation. Even Jim Rose is a distant memory now... Keep 'em coming bro!
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Awesome, awesome piece! And I agree with *BryanBaugh , the smeared condensation is just the perfect touch.
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Turned out awesome, I love the way you did the smeared condensation on the ice.
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I've been waiting years to see you draw this, as much as you've always talked about it!
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wow ,man this defently looks alotmore diffrent then your other pieces! in a good way!!!, this has a great story behind it it , nice drawing looks really freaking creepy!
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Awesome recollection, and that's pretty cool you got to see the thing in person, I just have read about it in a few books. Lucky 
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That is awesome man! I've seen this thing in lots of magazines and never realized it was connected to Minnesota (where i've lived my whole life lol). Love your interpretation of him!
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I remember you talking about this experience in an interview you redirected me to for my uni. presentation. I told the story during my presentation, the class seemed to be entertained by it.
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Awesome job! There used to be a lot of shows that talked about that thing. They had theories ranging from it being a australopithecus to just being a dummy in a gorilla suit. Still creepy looking though whatever it is.
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Wow I like the childhood story behind this piece, and the piece itself is amazing. Must of been pretty scary seeing it as a kid.
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Argh. Beautifull. Me is jealous!
It looks a little different from your other works.. Different technique?..
Keep going, your work is pure inspiration..
Have a good day!
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