Famous Monsters of Filmland

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Famous Monsters of Filmland #14, October 1961 issue. This spectacular cover was by artist Basil Gogos.

Famous Monsters of Filmland was a genre-specific film fan magazine started in 1958 by publisher James Warren ( see Warren Publishing ) and editor Forrest J Ackerman.

1 Magazine History (1958–1983)
2 Revival (1993–Present)
3 Libel Lawsuit
4 External links

[edit] Magazine History (1958–1983)

Famous Monsters of Filmland (which quickly became known to fans as simply FM) was originally conceived as a one-shot publication with no discernible future, published in the wake of the widespread success of the "Shock" package of old horror movies syndicated to American television in 1957. But the first issue, published in February 1958, was so successful that it required a second printing to fulfill public demand. Its future as part of American culture was immediately obvious to both men. The success prompted spinoff magazines such as Spacemen, Famous Westerns of Filmland, Screen Thrills Illustrated, Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella.

FM 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. By the decision of publisher Warren, Ackerman aimed his text at late pre-adolescents and young teenagers.

In the pages of FM 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; and introduced film fans to science fiction fandom through direct references, first-person experiences, and adoption of fandom terms and customs.

FM'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. During the '70s, the magazine came to rely heavily on reprints of articles from the '60s. In the early 1980s, the magazine folded after Warren became ill and unable to carry on as publisher, and Ackerman resigned as editor in the face of the increasing disorganization within the captainless Warren Publishing Company. The magazine stopped publication in 1983 after a run of 191 issues.

The magazine directly inspired the creation of many other similar publications in the ensuing years, most notably Castle of Frankenstein, Cinefantastique, Fangoria, and Video Watchdog. 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.

[edit] Revival (1993–Present)

The magazine was resurrected in 1993 by Ray Ferry, who brought in Ackerman to participate in the relaunch of the magazine. After only 10 issues, Ackerman quit his association with the magazine.

[edit] Libel Lawsuit

In 1997, Ackerman filed a civil lawsuit against Ferry for libel, breach of contract, and misrepresentation; Ferry had publicly claimed that Ackerman’s only connection with the new FM was as a mere hired hand and that Ferry “had to let Forry go” because he didn’t do any writing or editing for the magazine. Ferry also claimed rights to pen names and other personal properties of Ackerman's. On May 11, 2000, the Los Angeles Superior Court jury decided in Ackerman's favor and awarded him $382,500 in compensatory damages and $342,000 in punitive damages. [1] [2] This verdict was appealed by Ferry, but the verdict was upheld by the Appellate Court of California, on November 12, 2002. [3] Ackerman gave up most of his famed collection and "Ackermansion" in a sale often attributed to accumulating massive legal bills stemming from the extended court case, but additionally to downsize and make his massive collection more manageable. At 86 years old, Ackerman moved with a small portion of his collection to the "Acker-mini-mansion" in the Hollywood foothills where he continues to share genre props, art, literature and amazing stories with fans on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, Ferry continues to publish issues of FM in defiance of court orders.