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Post by dem bones on Aug 12, 2019 6:10:24 GMT
Out now: Justin Marriott [ed.] - Monster Maniacs: The Journal of Vintage Horror in Magazines, Comics and Fanzines #1 (Paperback Fanatic, Aug 2019) Blurb: The fanzine devoted to vintage horror comics and magazines. 72 pages of full color. Articles on Atlas pre-code horror comics, For Monsters Only magazine, National Lampoon's horror comics. Interviews with Bill Van Ryn of Drive In Asylum and Peter Normanton of From the Tomb. Lots of rare art from Frazetta, Neal Adams, Sanjulian, Jack Davis and more. And more!Details ASAP Available from: Am*z*n.UKAm*z*n
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Post by dem bones on Sept 2, 2019 8:00:24 GMT
Val Meyerik Monster Media Small Press Round-up: Includes reviews of Monsters, Worlds of Strangeness, The Digest Enthusiast & Vampi It was a Monster Mash: Review of Bill Schelly's James Warren: Empire of Monsters: A Biography Ad-mat Massacre: Justin Marriott interviews Bill Van Ryn, editor of Drive-in Asylum 'zine. Monster Microscope He Crept from the Tomb: Justin Marriott interviews Pete Normanton, editor of From the Tomb. The Legend of Atlas: Peter Enfantino selects his favourite strips from the Atlas pre-code shockers For Monsters Only: Story of the short lived Cracked spin-off. Horror Comics National Lampoon Style: Tom Tesarek on the best and worst of NL's horror comic output.Monster Gallery A Scrapbook of the Weird & Wonderful: Enter if you dare ....Suitably ghastly "review" to follow ...
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Post by dem bones on Sept 12, 2019 11:55:02 GMT
That Justin's stable are so prolific doubtless goes against them sometimes, in that it is hard to chart, let alone keep up with, such a prodigious output. It sometimes seems as if every genre touched upon in PF has since inspired it's own devoted spin-off magazine. Even Gothic Romance must be feeling hopeful. Fair to say this latest, an oversized comic's orientated 68 pager, is perhaps the most accomplished of the debut issues to date. I'm not quite up to "reviews" just now, so you'll have to put up with the dive in, see what happens "random notes" alternative which, somehow, is even worse. The Knife Before Christmas For me, Peter Enfantino's exhaustive appraisal of the 16 Sharpshooter novels stole Men of Violence #7, and seems he is out to repeat the trick here with almost blow-by-blow synopses of 25 of the wildest, bloodiest stories to appear in pre-1953 issues of such comics as Suspense, Marvel Tales and Strange Tales, including such laugh-out-loud-disgusting morality tales as The Blood Brothers (the conquering pig armies take their revenge on mankind!), Skin Deep (more imaginative than usual mad-surgeon-versus-nagging-wife shocker) and Uninhabited (what do you suppose is eating all those astronauts?). Incidentally, from Mr. E's plot outline, The Evil Eye from Suspense #8 sounds as if it's creator was on better than nodding terms with either Hans Heinz Ewers' The Spider, Erckmann-Chatrian's The Invisible Eye, or, possibly both. Al Feldstein: Castration of the Innocent Another personal issue #1 highlight, Tom Tesarek's Horror Comics - National Lampoon Style. National Lampoon is among my billion blind spots; prior to reading Tom's informative piece, I had a vague idea they were "funny" and had originally published Chris Miller's notorious The Magic Show but had no inkling their publications went in for horror comic pastiche. The sick and gory art is terrific, even if, as Tom suggests, the sweary scripts don't always deserve them. Lopsided cover scan above is The Old Witch Hunt, Al Feldstein's touching tribute to Fredric Wertham and friends. From my v. limited understanding of the subject (i.e., interview & accompanying scans) it seems Drive-in Asylum is an inspired compendium of vintage newspaper & magazine horror movie ads, plus interviews with obscure sub-B movie actors and directors. Bill Van Ryn describes the results as "part journal, part art project, 100% nostalgia," which, on the evidence provided, seems spot-on. To be continued ....
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Post by dem bones on Sept 19, 2019 14:22:18 GMT
John Severin: For Monsters Only, July 1969: Skene Catling: Cracked, Apr. 1989. Article on Cracked sister publication For Monsters only sent me scuttling to a well known web archive to seek out sample numbers. While it's true that vast swathes of issues consulted strike NSOH me as desperately unfunny (at last we've located the "inspiration" for tragic 'Count Dracula - Blood drive!' bumper stickers & Co.), the artwork is as consistently excellent as we would expect from an all star line-up including Jeff Jones, Gray Morrow, Don Martin, Bill Ward, and John Severin. As with previous decade's short-lived Monster Parade, For Monster's Only played to perceived audience's love of monsters and rock 'n roll music with similar proto-Goth results. Vic Martin (Lead panel for Transylvanian Rock 'n Roll Monsters, For Monsters Only, Sept. 1967) Vic Martin
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