CINEFANTASTIQUE VOL. 2 NO. 2 (PLANET OF THE APES SPECIAL ISSUE)

CINEFANTASTIQUE
Vol. 2 No. 2 (Whole issue #6)
Summer 1972 (July)
Publisher and Editor: Frederick S. Clarke
Contributing Editors: Kay Anderson; Shirley Meech; Dale Winogura
Cover: Photo cover (Planet of the Apes)
Pages: 48
Cover price: $1.00

I can't think of a better magazine to have spent a buck on back in the early 1970s. CINEFANTASTIQUE encapsulated all that was professional in a monster/sci-fi/fantasy movie mag. Hell, it validated the genres. To those of you who think Calvin Beck's CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN brought sophistication to our beloved monster movies (and it did, to an extent), one only needs to turn to Frederick Clarke's CF to see the real deal.

This issue is taken up mostly by coverage of the POTA franchise. Author Dale Winogura digs deep into Ape lore by interviewing all the people who had an influence on the making of the series. There is also an "on the set" article about the second Dr. Phibes film. Included are features on Peter Cushing, SILENT RUNNING, and more. An excellent issue.

MY MONSTER SCRAPBOOK: LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU'RE UGLY

"A little decadent but lots of fun." - Kevin Thomas, Film Critic

Vincent Price's 100th movie, released in Hollywood in May, 1971, was celebrated in grand fashion. Price was rewarded for his civic service (when's the last time you heard that about a movie star?) by being given a commendation by th Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The priemere of THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES was at Pacific's Pantages Theater, and the gala featured cars and costumes of the 1930's, the period in which the film was set. These clippings from my monster scrapbook are from the Lost Angeles Times. Included is a review of the movie by veteran critic Kevin Thomas.

For those wanting the full story of Price's Dr. Phibes fims need go no further than Dick Klemensen's most recent issue of LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS, where Phibes' vibes are thoroughly discussed.

SINISTER SIMULACRA NO. 1

The term "simulacrum", a noun, can be defined as, 1. a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance, or, 2. an effigy, image, or representation: a simulacrum of Aphrodite.

Here at MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD, I will be using it mostly to describe objects, illustrations and other visual media that have been recycled, reused, hijacked, lifted, and otherwise swiped from one source and used in another. This "artistic license" has been used for years in the comics industry, where an illustrator may have file drawers stuffed full of "reference material" that is more commonly known in the trade as a "swipe file".

To be honest, this occasional feature which I dub SINISTER SIMULACRA could even itself be called a sort of swipe, because, when I thought about it I believe I unconsciously got the idea from the UK's magazine of the occult and paranormal, FORTEAN TIMES. Regularly featured is a page where readers send in photos of rocks 'n stuff that take on the appearance, a simulacrum, if you will, of another, more familiar or recognizable object -- you know, like when somebody finds the image of Jesus on an Egg McMuffin or something of the sort. Here I'll be doing the monster version of that. Spooky, huh?


An example of the "simulacra corner" feature in
FORTEAN TIMES magazine. This page is from
the November, 2011 issue.

To kick off the series, I am offering up an observation that I made when I recently posted a preview of the upcoming issue of the Dark Horse Comics resuscitation of CREEPY. The Sanjulian cover is beautifully rendered as usual, but there was something about the depiction of one of the ghoulish critters that stayed with me for some reason.


Cover preview of Dark Horse's CREEPY #7.
Art by Sanjulian.

It didn't take too long for me to realize that the skeletal countenance staring back at me from the bottom foreground of the cover image was a face that I had seen before. After tracking down a photo for reference (there's that word again!), I determined that I had been correct in my assumption.

The simulacrum was none other than that of Vincent Price as the unmasked serial murderer Dr. Anton Phibes from the film THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES.

So there you have it -- the gist of this new MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD feature. Have YOU made any discoveries like this? If so, why not send it to me for a look. You never know, I just might include it in a future posting of SINISTER SIMULACRA!

As an extra bonus, I include below the "Filmbook" of THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES written by a 13-year-old Paul Clemens, as it appeared in FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #87 (Nov. 1971) and concluded in issue #89 (March 1972), not issue #88 as mentioned at the end of Part I.

Good night, Doctor. . .