MONSTER PARADE BITS 'N PIECES

The beetle-browed TV horror host M.T. Graves seems "hooked" on MONSTER PARADE.

Just a few months after the first issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND hit the stands, competition began to appear. Magnum Publications' MONSTER PARADE was the first. Publisher Irwin Stein patterned his monster mag more on the theme of Warren's AFTER DARK (where the idea of FM was first revealed) than FM. As a result, the 'zine had more of a slant towards a mature audience than FM's kid-centric content. With titles like, "Secret of the Torture Cult" and "Orgy of the Undead", and the photo cover of a busty blond with a come-hitherish look (reported to be actress Arlene Dahl) it was plain to see that MP was born more out of the men's adventure line than anything else.

The Monster Kids won out and FM went on to be a smash hit. As for MP, it languished for four issues, then disappeared from the newsracks.

Here are a few samples from various issues, including the cover images:

Cover model Paula Page mistaken for actress Arlene Dahl.
Photo by Eva Grant.

Art signed by Larry Ivie.

Current prices for MONSTER PARADE from a collector's site (Nostomania).

KNAVE July, 1959. Cover model identified here as Paula Page.

Harrison Marks glamour model, Paula Page.

Sorry, Arlene Dahl was much too classy for Magnum Publications.

Miss Dahl appeared in PLAYBOY, a "slick" magazine.