THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK(S) OF 2019!

I've come across a couple of books that promise to make next year a very good one for monster fans.

The first is from the folks across the lake (Lake Washington, that is) at Fantagraphics, and I about fell out of my chair when I saw it listed. Comic book historian and all around major fan, Bill Schelly, has written a book titled, "James Warren, Empire of Monsters: The Man Behind Creepy, Vampirella, and Famous Monsters"!

Cover shown on the Fantagraphics website.

The pre-order page at Fantagraphics shows the release date as October of this year, but the date at Amazon shows it won't be available until next January. I contacted them about this and the official word is that it will indeed, be arriving in January 2019. Okay, so we have to wait a little longer, but you can't rush perfection, as they say.

This promises to be the best book on Warren Publishing since TwoMorrows' "The Warren Companion" (in which yours truly was a contributor!). I can hardly wait!

Cover shown on Amazon.

Here's the 411, direct from the publisher:

James Warren was the visionary publisher of Famous Monsters of Filmland, the magazine that fueled the movie monster craze of the 1960s, and inspired such future filmmakers as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Joe Dante. Warren went on to publish Help!, Harvey Kurtzman’s satirical magazine that featured early work by Gloria Steinem, Terry Gilliam, Robert Crumb, and Diane Arbus. With Creepy and Eerie, Warren popularized the black-and-white comics magazine and ran covers by the legendary painter Frank Frazetta before Frazetta was a superstar. Warren’s magazines established a new category of popular fiction, a transitional step toward the graphic novel. They included art by over 30 Hall of Fame talents such as Wallace Wood, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Neal Adams, Bernie Wrightson, Al Williamson and many others. His most famous creation (co-created with Forrest J. Ackerman) was the sensual Vampirella, who debuted in her own magazine in 1969 and who continues to be published today.

Bill Schelly’s Empire of Monsters features numerous eye-opening, often outrageous anecdotes about Warren, a colorful, larger-than-life figure whose ability as a publisher, promoter, and provocateur makes him a fascinating character study.

Pages: 272
Colors: full color
Format: Hardcover
Dimensions: 6" x 9"
ISBN-13: 9781683961475

Pre-order at FANTAGRAPHICS or AMAZON.

Tomorrow: Another big book to watch for next year!