Famous Monsters of Filmland-inaugural issue 1958

Item Details

Philadelphia, PA, Central Publications, Inc., February 1958, stapled wrappers

Fair-Good

Famous Monsters of Filmland-inaugural issue. One of the very first genre-specific film magazines, created in 1958 by publisher James Warren (the first magazine issued by his new company, Warren Publishing) and editor Forrest J. Ackerman, himself a most renowned science fiction writer & editor who had appeared in his own share of these movies. Though initially planned as a one-shot deal, the magazine’s popularity inspired Warren & Ackerman to release more issues, eventually producing 191 issues until its demise in 1983, when Warren had become too ill to carry on as publisher (though he has continued to be a fixture at sci fi/fantasy/horror conventions well into his 90s), and Ackerman resigned as editor, allegedly due to increasing disorganization within the company; he would continue to both celebrate & be celebrated by the sci fi/fantasy/horror community until his death in 2008 at age 92.

 Famous Monsters laid the groundwork for thousands of other fan magazines from the horror, fantasy, & sci-fi film industry, as well as served as the impetus for the emergence of “fanzines” created by fans themselves.  Designed for the adolescent & young adult (usually male) population who comprised the bulk of sci-fi/horror readers & viewers, the magazine offered brief articles, well-illustrated with publicity stills and graphic artwork, on movies from the silent era to the present, & was a pioneer in promoting the new monster shows created for the burgeoning medium of television.

This issue is in Fair-Good condition & priced accordingly: complete, stapled binding secure, pages heavily tanned (commensurate with paper quality) but unmarked, with some dogearing & chipping to outer corners. Modest, random rubbing & shallow creasing to both covers. Small tear surrounding lower staple on rear cover.