FREAKY CHANGES COMING FROM FILMLAND CLASSICS

Since purchasing the rights to FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND in 1993, editor and publisher Ray Ferry has weathered his fair share of controversy. Lately though, he has quietly gone about publishing, with some regularity, FREAKY MONSTERS, the closest thing we have to the original FMOF (Ron Adams' MONSTER BASH runs a fairly close second). 

Now, in the face of a changing publishing landscape, Ferry is showing that he can be a nimble businessman by re-tooling his magazine. If I am reading his announcement below correctly, he is dispensing with the regularly-printed and stapled magazine and replacing it with a digital edition and a premium, print-on-demand version with a cover price of $19.95 plus $7.00 for shipping.

Visit the Filmland Classics/Freaky Monsters website HERE.

FILMLAND CLASSICS UPDATE

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'...

and we're changing with them to serve you better.

Owing to market trends that we can no longer resist, Freaky Monsters is adding digital download versions to our line and changing our print versions from mass-produced offset printing to Premium Collectors (POD) Print versions. All our issues will be available in 2 versions:

1. Digital Download versions for as low as $4.99 for our e-media fans. All digital downloads are made from the publisher's original print master files, not scanned from print copies. Crisp, sharp PDFs with incredible image detail you can view on your laptop, computer or smartphone.
2. Premium Printed (POD) versions starting at $26.95 ($19.95 + shipping) for hard copy collectors. We have always been the innovator and leader in high quality photo reproduction among monster movie fan magazines (starting with FMOF #201, the first hi-end glossy issue in 1993), and even our detractors have never argued the quality of our publications. But while escalating production costs mean we have to raise prices, we will also be raising the quality of our printed issues further than before. Premium printing means premium content.
3. Instead of using one color black ink, our new premium gore-met print (POD) editions will feature rich, luscious quadtone black inks on premium hi-gloss paper with gloss-laminated heavy weight covers and perfect (square edged) binding. Combined with the meticulous restorations we do on our image content, our new print editions will be stellar. Remember, Freaky Monsters features more rare, full, half and double-page images per issue than any other genre mags.  Freaky Monsters means classic horror fotos that will tantalize your eyes.
4. To increase aesthetic value, new print issues will NOT have UPC barcodes printed on the covers and each print copy will come with a special edition authentication stamp & certificate.
5. Premium Print Back Issues Availability:  All Freaky Monsters back issues will be available in both Premium Printed (POD) and Digital Download versions. POD back issues will also have perfect (square edge) binding, heavy weight gloss laminated covers and NO UPC barcodes on the covers.

Regular  Back Issues Availability:  A limited number of regular stapled back issues of Freaky Monsters are available in our sales clearance section (see banner ads on main page). When they are sold out, there will be no more made.

Suspension of third party distribution:  After years of watching our regular $9.95 issues being gobbled up at wholesale prices and resold at 4x-5x their original cover price, please note we are ceasing wholesale distribution to retail outlets. We appreciate that there have been several retail outlets that purchased Freaky Monsters through a distributor and sold them at original cover price, but we ceased intermediary distribution because their discount demands and fright costs had become cost ineffective. We may be able to accommodate select resellers who wish to continue carrying Freaky Monsters in the future, but primary distribution will be through our own webstore.  Resellers (as well as fan-run websites) can also join our exclusive Affilliates Program.

Our publications will be available direct from our own web store and also through us at selected online premium magazine and book sites.

Suspension of Subscriptions Service:  Because our new Premium Printed versions will be higher priced than standard mass-produced copies and postal rates have escalated to a point where mailing costs can no longer be absorbed in a fixed package price, pre-paid subscriptions will no longer be offered.  Instead, we will offer a free "Advance Order Reservation" service whereby readers can reserve a copy of the newest issues as they come out for free and get discounted pricing and premiums just like we offered with subscriptions, but without having to purchase or commit to multiple issues in advance.  Buy just the issues you want, when you want.

That being said...

Our subscribers have shown their support of our efforts and we intend to acknowledge that support by providing them with an exclusive.  Current subscribers will receive standard stapled versions (the same as our first 27 issues, for series continuity) of any remaining issues (#28, #29, #30) and cards due on their active subscriptions, but please note:  these copies will not be available for general public sale. Only our current active subscribers will receive them.

We think you'll enjoy our new policies and we believe the value of your current collections should increase. We never planned for Freaky Monsters to be a "collectors' item".  We published & priced it for light reading and enjoyment.  But -- for whatever reasons -- back issues routinely trade at collectors market prices, with some issues rivaling vintage FMOF issues.  We think our Digital Download versions will address the needs of the fan-reader and our Premium Print versions will satisfy the hard copy collector.

In the coming months, we will also be expanding our library beyond the classic horror genre with stand-alone special issues on classic TV, non-horror classics films, art, short story anthologies and, as previously announced, an updated 2nd edition of "Life Is But A Scream!" and its sequel.   Like our previous special issues, "Adam West Remembers Batman", "Chuck McCann's 'Let's Have Fun!' Scrapbook", "The Golden Days of Radio", "The Classic Horror Fearbook" and "The Classic Sci-Fi Fearbook",  we think our new specials will be to genre fans what the "Time/Life" specials are to general pop-culture history fans.

Since the beginning, editor Ferry has been dead-icated to the true-grue classic monsters lover.  From mass produced general newsstand distribution of FMOF during the 1990s and 2000s, to select internet-based distribution of Freaky Monsters since 2010, he has always put his readers first and refused to give in to the pressures of mainstream commercialism.  That dead-ication will not alter. The content, design, style and philosophy of Freaky Monsters will not change. We remain committed to keeping the torch of classic horror, sci-fi & fantasy film fandom burning bright.

Long live the 1960s!