I have a confession to make...as a kid I rarely read the articles in FMOF, but I devoured the pictures and ads! Well, that's not completely true. Any articles that talked about the behind-the-scenes make up, animation and special effects I read and re-read, and things like the Aurora contest. But the articles about actors, or the ones that had interminably long lists of movie titles that were out or were to come out, were skimmed over in favor of the next cool still.
What brings this up is I was sick in bed a few days last week, and to pass the time I pulled a few old FMOF out of the bookcase to read. And I'm re-discovering the mag all over again! I never realized William Castle had a column in FM! I never knew Forry took a few of Lon Chaney's hairs from the brush in Chaney's makeup kit! And looking through the lists of movie titles to come out is interesting with 40+ years of time past since it was first penned. So many movies discussed that never saw the light of day, or others that had made it to the screen but with changes in title, actor or script.
If you were like me, do yourself a favor and re-read some of these time-travel treasures...for the first time!
When I was youngster in the sixties, I would sit back with each new issue of FM and read it from cover to cover. Then I would try to figure out what chores I could do around the house to get the funds for the CAPTAIN COMPANY Products that I wanted. Ah, the memories. Peace.
I didn't know how to read during the period of my most intense interest in FM. I had my parents (or mostly my grandmother) read the articles to me.
I appreciated FM more as I passed 10...admittedly more for the photos, ads, mystery photo, etc. Earlier than that, the text was often over my head movie-wise, which was slightly frustrating. Articles would often refer to obscure or foreign films that I never heard of, nor would ever have the opportunity to see. I guess about half the text was either useful or educational, if a bit juvenile.
FM was, however, a wealth of information about vintage monster films in general and the best source for behind-the-scenes stuff. I especially liked what were referred to as the "filmbooks".
Yes, I did, although it's funny--although FM was supposedly written for a younger audience, I didn't understand a lot of the jokes when I was eight. Everything seemed written in some bizarre, humorous code. It was only years later, on revisiting certain issues, that I was actually able to decipher the humor. It was more sophisticated, I think, than Warren and Forry intended, and that's a good thing.
I read some of it, but the attraction was pictures and ads.
Yup. I was one of those weird kids who actually read my comic books and monster magazines (as opposed to only looking at pictures). Years later, I learned that this was the only reason that my mom allowed them in the house, because they encouraged me to read at a young age.
-fibbermac-
Hardly any reading, cutting out pictures for wall and door decor. I think I remember reading "You Axed for it" and we enjoyed the funny one-liners. We bought them for the pictures though no doubt.
Guilty as charged. I mainly bought it for the pictures, and would draw them quite often. Recently I downloaded some of the older issues, and did read some of the articles, so it's cool revisiting that aspect of it.
I did the same thing with my comics: for the most part I bought them for the art first, and the story second. To this day I'll pull out a comic that I've owned for many years and never read!
Mike
On a related note, anybody here send in a letter to see it published in the letter section? I think I'm in issue 110 raving about Japanese monsters. Or better yet, anybody have their picture published?
Pssssst! Over here.
If you're interested in virtual copies of FM #1-19, PM me.
Don't spread it around!
I'm one of those who would go back and read the articles, after gazing at the pictures first. Any and all monster magazines I could devour, I would. The pictures were the main attraction though. Never had any letters printed in FM, but had several printed in Creepy. Had a limerick printed in Vampirella # 77, appearing on a page after the main Vampi story.
You bet I read it (it cost hard-earned pence; I was gonna waste it?)
From my first, the '70 FEARBOOK with the Bela cover, through newstand buying, through a later subscription.
Then, I admit, Forry's juvenalia wore thin, and I moved up to CoF and MONSTER TIMES (which still read well today, by the way...)
-Craig
I read everything and enjoyed it :)
I would read through them, but the pictures were what made me buy them. I would try to draw what I saw in the magazines. ::)
I never read them just liked the ads..... A very sad story, I ordered a 6 foot by 6 foot poster of King Kong in black and white over the NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE...This is the poster where he is not holding Fay. In 1995 I had a storage fire and lost 40% of my collection there, but the poster survived. When I went to get my stuff someone broke into my bin and stole the poster along with 18 1970's Johnson smith catalogs. I have never seen this poster sold anywhere. I saw one behind this guy who posted in a forum and can't help but wonder if that is my poster he has???
Quote from: Wich2 on March 29, 2009, 08:00:39 PM
Then, I admit, Forry's juvenalia wore thin, and I moved up to CoF and MONSTER TIMES (which still read well today, by the way...)
-Craig
My folks would always pitch my CoF when they found it!! I would hide my FM's and Monster Times after that. Man, Monster Times, great artwork by Berni Wrightson, Neal Adams, Jeff Jones, Frank Brunner, etc... I really miss that newspaper.
Mike
Re: sending letters and pictures - For some reason it never dawned on me to do that.
Mike - do you have any of the old Web of Horror Magazines? We discovered them in a back-date magazine shop, and I flipped! What a treat seeing these artists cutting their eye teeth on some fun B/W horror...
I read it cover to cover. I remember seeing the word 'macabre', learning it's meaning, then trying to work it into my conversations. I would ask my friends, "Did you watch Psycho last night?" "It was really mack-uh-bree".
Quote from: ChrisW on March 30, 2009, 11:49:20 AM
Mike - do you have any of the old Web of Horror Magazines? We discovered them in a back-date magazine shop, and I flipped! What a treat seeing these artists cutting their eye teeth on some fun B/W horror...
Yes!! Wrightson and Jones and company! Great stuff. I've seen some of those stories reprinted over the years in various mags. Too bad mags like those don't exist today. I'm pretty much out of the comics loop any more, but when I venture in to a comics shop most of the artwork all looks too similar for my tastes. Are there no decent stylists like in the old days?
Mike
Quote from: Illoman on March 30, 2009, 03:20:07 PM
Yes!! Wrightson and Jones and company! Great stuff. I've seen some of those stories reprinted over the years in various mags. Too bad mags like those don't exist today. I'm pretty much out of the comics loop any more, but when I venture in to a comics shop most of the artwork all looks too similar for my tastes. Are there no decent stylists like in the old days?
Mike
A lot of artwork in mainstream comic books these days look as if they were traced directly from photographs but I will say one decent contemporary stylist is Mike Mignola. It's impressive what he's brought to comics.
Exactly. Great example in Mignola. He's a throwback to Steranko, Starlin, Wrightson, Kaluta, Jones, Ploog, all those great old guys.
Mike
The earlier FMs were a visual experience for me. I would skim the text but it was all about the pictures.
Then I discovered COF; that's when I really started reading all of the content...
Read them? I devoured them, much as I did with CoF in later years and Video Watchdog now!
I would look at the picture and the Captain Company ads first. Then later I would skim through it and read the articles that interested me and the Fang Mail and Professor Gruebeard.(I have acutally talked to the real Professor Gruebeard from the original FM. I know his secret identity) hint: It was not Forry.
Quote from: Cinemacabre on March 30, 2009, 09:38:04 PM
Read them? I devoured them, ....
LOL That line reminds me of the original movie "The Producers"!
LOL That line reminds me of the original movie "The Producers"!
Look at me now... I'm wearing a cardboard belt.
Quote from: Cinemacabre on March 31, 2009, 02:05:36 PM
Look at me now... I'm wearing a cardboard belt.
Ooo! I fell on my keys!
I read them front to back and always waded thru those 'coming soon' lists even though I could see 90% would never materialise. Boy, some of those titles .... a lot of them sounded like a movie-wish-list of Forry's with titles (and authors) sourced from his book collection ....
Quote from: mike c on March 31, 2009, 03:12:56 PM
You're gonna jump on me!
Like Nero jumped on Poppaea!
I read the issues, that i initially bought on the newstands, but even then wanted to keep them in good shape. when i was in 9th grade or so, a relative bought me all the available back issues that were available thru the Captain Company. I decided i wanted those to remain Mint, so i immediately bagged those, and that is how they have remained to this day-- mint copies . I continued to get FM with subscriptions... until the original run, led by Forry, ended. I never had an interest in, what I felt, was the phony FM that was later taken over and resumed in later years.
Ditto on the picture and ad thing. I only remember actually buying a handful of FM. I was more into the monster comics and having a very limited allowance bought those first. I do remember sending away for that 6 ft moon monster poster and a set of B/W cut out masks. Kinda wish I still had those.
Mike
Thinking back, eyeballin' the ads for the FM back issues really transfixed me. Back then I didn't have the money to put in an order so I'd wonder what those back issues held in store. Over time those little B&W back issue ads became more and more iconic to me to the point some of those covers didn't seem the same when I saw them in color and in actual size.
John - I obsessed over the B/W ads of the built up Aurora kits. They were the most realistically done models I had ever seen. Especially the faces, Wolf Man and Dracula in particular. I marvelled at the smooth blending and detail.
Second was the written description of the kits - imaginative and pictorial, they are ballyhoo at its finest!
If you haven't seen them, here are two good collections of Capt. Co. and other old monster mag ads.
http://flickr.com/photos/toyranch/sets/72157600319154577/ (http://flickr.com/photos/toyranch/sets/72157600319154577/)
http://www.mrfink.com/mm_ads/index.htm (http://www.mrfink.com/mm_ads/index.htm)
I would read and re-read it cover to cover every time in case I missed something. I lived in a small town and the local Variety Store( remember those?) would only get a couple of copies of FM so I had to make sure I nabbed one as getting back issues was tough in those days. Ah it was such fun ordering stuff from Captain Company. I still have my 8mm film shorts from Jason and the Argonauts.
I did read FM as a kid..hmmmm it started around 1975-76, I was about 9 or 10...:) I still remember those awesome covers... From that point on I collected FM, Creepy, and Errie. I was hooked. Flash forward 30 years later... the entire run of all three lost in a basement flood. I was really bummed. I'm now buying the hard cover reprints of Creepy and Errie. I guess at some point I'll have the entire set again...:)
Like a good monster, I devoured them all... over & over.