MONSTER FANTASY
Vol. 1 No. 2
June 1975
Mayfair Publications
Editor: Tony Tallarico (?)
The second issue of MONSTER FANTASY, I believe, is one of the better issues of monster magazines that were published during this period. It is filled from cover to cover with interesting -- and even unique -- material.
"The Mummy Book" is a survey of mummy movies over the years, and includes a historical introduction that discusses the effect that archaeology had on the influence of these films. There is an article on Rondo Hatton's career, an overview of witchcraft movies, a piece on Elsa Lanchester, a review of FREAKS and THE HINDENBERG, a photo special of Jonathan Frid shown being made up as Barnabas Collins, and even a short fiction story. Notable is "The Strange Death of Lon Chaney", an account of the various "mysterious" aspects surrounding the passing of the great silent film star.
It's odd how some things from our distant past can stand out so clearly in our memories while other more recent things - even those things that would be considered by most as being far more significant - can hardly be recalled at all. Case in point with this magazine.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, I can distinctly recall my purchase & subsequent enjoyment of this particular magazine like it were yesterday. Oh, to be just 14 years old again! LOL.
While I never lost my love for FAMOUS MONSTERS & had been a reader/collector since I was 6, it was far from being my favorite genre magazine at the time. That distinction went to CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN with it's wealth of text/info & it's adult tone which took it's subject matter completely seriously.
Unfortunately for me, COF was VERY difficult for me to find. Fact is, I'd only been able to get my hands on a couple of issues before it's eventual demise.
But, MONSTER FANTASY was a reasonable facsimile during it's brief run. Which automatically made it my favorite of the new bunch of monster mags that appeared in the mid-'70s. And, issue #2 left a particularly indelible mark on me for some reason.
So, big thanks for covering it so thoroughly. I really enjoyed going back 40 years (!!! ).
Peace.
Thanks for sharing your monster memories! Distribution of CoF was very sporadic and I remember a lot of times the first few issues that made it to the newsstand were a little beat up. The later issues seemed to be in better shape, but by then it was just about done with its 24-issue run.
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