When growing up in the seventies/eighties one didn’t have the internet to just pull up facts on the computer screen pertaining to the monster films that I continually scoured the TV Guide each week in hopes of discovering a late night showing. The Universal series of films coupled with the Hammer titles fueled my imagination as to what terrors awaited me at the end of the dark hall on the way to my bedroom after everyone else had gone to bed.
Discovering the monster magazines in a downtown comic book store turned out to be a wonderful way to bring the images home and no publication did it better than the covers from the classic era of the Forest J. Ackerman magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. Where else could one see the monsters and ghouls that Boris, Bela, Lon and the rest of the famed actors associated with the genre had portrayed in one sitting?
While I haven’t dug out that closet yet I am sure that I must have a good fifty issues tucked away. Here are a few of the classic covers.
Lastly the lovely couple.
Mike's Take On the Movies 
Once again, you’re the man! Thanks for the memories of collections past
I had a few hundred issues of those Warren mags (FMoF, Creepy, Eerie, Vamiprella), but all ended up getting sold off before a big move thanks to needing the new space for mostly movies and games. Now,if only someone would roll out out a complete run of The Monster Times one of these days, I’d be an even happier guy.
Thanks! Love those covers. Sorry you let yours go. Warren mags had great cover art. Buried with the FMOF mags I have some issues of Monster Times as well among other Monsters of the Movies etc…
Yeah, it was a tough choice to make. But I was expanding the other collections at the time (and I had a huge LP collection) and was trying to fit things into less room.
Basil Gogos was still alive and kicking the last time I checked, but I don’t know if he’s still actively painting covers anymore. He wrote an intro to a Living Dead Dolls art book last year for Mezco Toyz (which was a nice surprise).
I recently found a shop in NYC that has a bunch of Warren stuff, a few issues of The Monster Times and yep,some MotM issues as well. They’re not cheap, but that’s expected. And hey, I have a new spot to check out for some more memories as they also have old Photoplays and other film mags from the past.
Sounds like a store that could be hard on my pocketbook. 🙂 Just as well I’m up north in Canada. But Toronto has plenty of hot spots for that stuff as well.