I mostly remembered because one of the guys I knew at the time absolutely hated the 2e rollout and considered the entire thing a "cash grab" by TSR. One of the things that incensed him was the MC format and the fact that they were "charging twice" just to get the monsters that were in the 1e Monster Manual.Yeah, thanks for digging. I tried googling as well but hadn't found that list yet.
My memory must have been off, because I definitely had those monsters too. I must have bought both and then just consolidated them into the big MC1 binder.
(We moved away in the early 90s and I didn't keep in touch. I do wonder what he'd think of the numbers that Ben Riggs posted - probably satisfied that he was right and it was a cash grab.)