Warren and Ackerman created a jump in issue numbering from issue 69, which was printed in September 1970, to issue 80 in October 1970. įM's peak years were from its first issues through the late 1960s, when the disappearance of the older films from television and the decline of talent in the imaginative film industry left it with a dearth of subject matter acceptable to both editor and fan. The magazine regularly published photos from King Kong (1933), including one from the film's infamous 'spider pit sequence', featured in Issue #108 (1974) which, until Ackerman discovered a photo of a spider in the cavern setting, had never been proven definitively to have actually been filmed. He also introduced film fans to science fiction fandom through direct references, first-person experiences, and adoption of fandom terms and customs.

In the pages of FM, Forrest J Ackerman promoted the memory of Lon Chaney Sr., whose silent works were mostly beyond the accessibility of fans for most of the magazine's life, but were a great influence on his own childhood. Warren and Ackerman decided to aim the text at late pre-adolescents and young teenagers. The success prompted spinoff magazines such as Spacemen, Favorite Westerns of Filmland/Wildest Westerns, Screen Thrills Illustrated, Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella.įM offered brief articles, well-illustrated with publicity stills and graphic artwork, on horror movies from the silent era to the current date of publication, their stars and filmmakers.

Its future as part of American culture was immediately obvious to both men. But the first issue, published in February 1958, was so successful that it required a second printing to fulfill public demand. Publication history 1958–1983 įamous Monsters of Filmland was originally conceived as a one-shot publication by Warren and Ackerman, published in the wake of the widespread success of the Shock Theater package of old horror movies syndicated to American television in 1957. In addition, hundreds, if not thousands, of FM-influenced horror, fantasy and science fiction movie-related fanzines have been produced, some of which have continued to publish for decades, such as Midnight Marquee and Little Shoppe of Horrors. Horror film/ science fiction film magazineįamous Monsters of Filmland is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman.įamous Monsters of Filmland directly inspired the creation of many other similar publications, including Castle of Frankenstein, Cinefantastique, Fangoria, The Monster Times, and Video Watchdog. Famous Monsters of Filmland #14, October 1961 issue.

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