FAMOUS AND FREAKY MONSTER ART

Just who is Arlis, the Basil Gogos-influenced artist that has been creating cover art for FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and FREAKY MONSTERS since 1996? Looks like we'll get our chance when this new book is released in November. Pre-order this coffee table hardcover now and get lots of extras. Check it out HERE.

From the publisher:

Monsters: Famous and Freaky:  The Classic Horror Art of Arlis

(Pre-Order Premium Collectors Edition, Discounted Price, w/ Free Dust Jacket, Bonus Art Print & Free Shipping!)

(Pre-order.  Limited Time Package Offer.  Ships appx. Nov. 10)

A comprehensive anthology collectors edition of images by Famous Monsters of Filmland and Freaky Monsters cover artist, Arlis.  Makes a great gift for that special Freaky Monster on your X-Mas list.  This special edition book will be a treasured addition to your classic monster collection.  Glossy, full color, Hard Cover Coffee-Table edition with bonus features available only to pre-order customers.  Limited time offer.  Pre-order you copy today.  If you enjoyed our 1998 FMOF 40th Anniversary Fearbook Collectors edition, you'll love this special art book.  See below for details!

Deluxe HARDCOVER COFFEE TABLE EDITION with full color "Nosferatu" cover, Free Dust Jacket, Unpublished Bonus Art Print & Free Shipping.

PRE-ORDER PRICE INCLUDES:

• New, Uncirculated Hot Off The Press Hard Cover Copy
• Your Choice of Free Book Dust Jacket.  Choose from 4 Different Full Color Designs.
• Dust Jackets Will Only Be Availalbe To Pre-Order Customers.  (General Release Edition will have laminated color cover (Nosferatu), but no dust jacket).
• Option To Get All 4 Dust Jacket Variants (Style A with book + 3 variants)
• Autographed Copies Are Available On Pre-Order Copies Only At No Charge.
• No Barcode on Pre-Order copies!  (General release edition will have barcode on back cover)
• Free Hand-signed Unpublished Bonus 8" x 10" Art Print Not Included in the Book.
• FREE SHIPPING BY USPS MEDIA MAIL W/TRACKING NUMBER*

This special edition features:

• Hard Cover Library Edition, Full 8.5 " x 11" size, laminated Full Color cover and premium glossy interior paper.
• 96 pages.
• Packed with photos...Many Full Page, Full Color.
• Over 60 full color illustrations of Arlis cover art from FMOF and FREAKY MONSTERS magazines plus some fine art portraits, sketches, and a selection of Arlis classic monsters restoration art from vintage toys, games, plates, puzzles, wallets, etc.
• The Making of the FMOF #250 Sgt. Pepper inspired cover collage.

PLUS:

Behind the art:  A history of Arlis, background, influences and how he became associated with FMOF and Freaky Monsters magazines.

FREAKY MONSTERS NO. 30 AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Editor and Publisher Ray Ferry keeps plugging along with his 'zine, the closest you'll ever see to a clone of the early issues of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND.

Here are the details:

• THE DAYS OF FUTURES PAST!  Over 30 super rare Behind the Scenes pix from the making of Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS you've (probably) never seen!
• ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE MONSTERS revisited!  Many new stills!
• FRANKENSTEIN 1973!  Little known gem from the forgotten films archive.
• KISS in Famous Monsters!  Behind the scenes making of FMOF #226.  First Time Bonus:  See the original covers art sans logo & type plus alternate cover versions that weren't used!
• Gallery of Ghouls Department and much more!
• Once again, the rarest super-spooktacular selection of sinister classic horror stills anywhere!

Pre-order your copy HERE.

FREAKY MONSTERS NO. 29 COMING IN OCTOBER

Ray Ferry's FREAKY MONSTERS is published irregularly, but a new issue is always worth the wait. The former owner of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND continues to produce a magazine that is the closest to the original as one can get. Notable is Ferry's ability to always trot out some rare or previously unknown photos from monster movies.

Pre-order your copy HERE.

Freaky Monsters #28 Premium Pre-Order Collector Copy with Bonus Collector Cards!
Don't miss out!

Pre-Order now.  Issue ships appx. October 22, 2018

Freaky Monsters "Furry Fiends Special Issue" Features:

• Super rare Behind the Scenes pix from the making of the sensational sci-fi classic, PLANET OF THE APES, 1968
• The fur flys when Lenny Meets the Monkees!
• The furry fiends of HG Wells' ISLAND OF LOST SOULS
• Bonus Feature:  When Frankenstein's Monster saved the children
• Gallery of Ghouls and much more!
• Once again, the rarest super-spooktacular selection of sinister classic horror stills anywhere!

FREAKY MONSTERS COVER ARTIST

Basil Gogos cover (left), Arlis cover (right)

Since my post earlier today, I've had a couple of inquiries as to the identity of the artist who does the work on the covers of Ray Ferry's retro-monster 'zine, FREAKY MONSTERS. The artist's name is "Arlis" and he has been producing covers for Ferry's magazines since Ferry started publishing FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND back in the early '90s. While the imagery can be compared to those by Gogos the Great, who paints, in reality they are most likely embellished manipulations of photographic images, such as those that can be created by Photoshop and other graphics software. I may be wrong, but that's my somewhat educated guess.

Arlis employs the familiar high contrast style and if his work were from "live" photographs they would be called "high dynamic range" prints in these days of digital photography and art.

Whether or not one finds the work derivative in a negative sense or not is anybody's prerogative, I guess. In my opinion Arlis' work is successful in the fact that evokes iconography from the earliest days of monster magazines. We know it's not up to snuff with Gogos' best (even Gogos had the occasional stinker of a cover), but I think you'll agree that they are more than enough to resonate to fans of classic horror.

NOTE: A "Meet Arlis" article is included in the FREAKY MONSTER FEARBOOK (#17). I do not have a copy of this to refer to, but anyone can still order a copy by clicking HERE.

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!

IS THE PRINT MONSTER MAGAZINE DEAD?

It wasn't that long ago that just about every month I would bring home an armload of monster 'zines from my local brick 'n mortar B&N. Now I have a difficult time justifying even a couple anymore. Why?

The cover price is the major culprit here. In the last few years, the cost of these, and any other magazine for that matter, has jumped to wallet-emptying proportions. It's one thing deliberating over whether or not to shell out a hard-earned 10 bucks for, say, the latest RUE MORGUE, and altogether another to lay down $12.95 for the pint-sized VIDEO WATCHDOG.

My choices in the matter have considerably lessened of late, as a number of monster magazines have either suspended publishing or disappeared off the shelf entirely.

The biggest hit has been the announcement of the discontinued print publishing of the venerable FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND (see below). Now, this has happened before, but it is unlikely any time soon that current own Phil Kim will sell off the rights because there still remains the faint revenue-inducing patina of name recognition. So, #288 looks like the last of the hold-in-your-hand issues we may ever experience since the bygone days of the 1960s Monster Craze. Instead, we will be getting the occasional "monster art" issue which sounds like it will be akin to the DARK ARTS specials that FM published a few years ago. While it may be an attractive looking 'zine, it will have absolutely nothing to do with what we once knew of Forry's Fabulous Folly.



FAMOUS MONSTERS' "Gallery" art 'zine.

Next on the hit list is VIDEO WATCHDOG. Critically hailed as the premier 'zine of horror film reviews and which boasted one of the most impressive line-up of writers of any genre magazine, VW as a print magazine is history (see below).

Then, earlier this year there was the firing of long-time editor of FANGORIA, Michael Gingold (see below). Since then, Fango has floundered, managing only an issue or two during the "restructuring period". I have a feeling that's going to be it and we'll see the magazine that has been with us since 1978 go digital as well. In any case, the magazine will look totally different, as art director Bill Mohalley was fired along with Gingold.

VIDEO WATCHDOG'S first issue.

SCARY MONSTERS lasted for 100 issues before Dennis Druktenis sold his 'zine to an online monster merchandiser. Two issues have been published -- on time, I might add -- at a reasonable price for the usually massive page count. Time will tell on the longevity of this 'zine.

Other 'zines have seen print in fits and starts for months, the most noticeable being DIABOLIQUE. Another quality publication, it's fate is in the meantime being kept behind castle walls. Also irregularly published is Ray Ferry's FREAKY MONSTERS, the closest thing we have to a vintage-looking FAMOUS MONSTERS we have left (maybe with the inclusion of MONSTER BASH).

All put together, the state of the print monster magazine is not looking good. Among the vanquished, a few titles seem still vibrant (HORRORHOUND, still only $6.99, and the U.K's CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES which is looking more like the heir apparent to MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT with every issue). But who knows? Like all the fallen, we could get an announcement out of the blue, heralding yet another death knell.

I'm am remaining guardedly optimistic about the monster print 'zine, but with costs going up and distributors folding up their tents at a record pace, the future is in the hands of us, the readers.

So, support your favorite monster mag -- or maybe two -- and let the people who put their life's blood into them know that us monster fans still care.

FAMOUS MONSTERS becoming a monster art magazine
David Weiner, executive editor of Famous Monsters, on Facebook:

FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND Editor, David Weiner.

All good things must come to an end... I am parting ways with Famous Monsters once I deliver my last issue, FM #288, which comes out in October. I am now in search of new job opportunities and adventures.

After seven memorable magazine entries under my stewardship as its executive editor, Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine -- in its current format -- is ending.

Moving forward, the publisher has a new concept: FM will continue on quarterly with a new format as an art-driven publication, showcasing the art of 8-12 artists and their work, with each artist getting an interview page.

Everything about FM has been a labor of love for me, from creating and managing the bi-monthly magazine to being the face of FM at Comic-Con, our film festival, events requiring hosting and panel moderation, for our podcast, our successful Kickstarter, and so much more.

But with a major format change turning the magazine into something entirely different than the Hollywood genre pop-culture/interview-driven content I've enjoyed creating -- inspired by the long-standing format that FM founder Forrest J Ackerman pioneered, which I've loved ever since I was a kid -- it was time to renegotiate or exit amicably.

Renegotiation turned out not to be an option, so I am exiting amicably.

As a company and a brand, Famous Monsters continues to thrive in other fields, from comics, art publication, live events, to merchandising and other forms of mass media.

It's fitting that my last issue of FM will be our tribute to Forry Ackerman on the occasion of his centennial birthday.

I am interested to see how fans of the magazine respond to the new art-driven format of FM. It’s been an absolute privilege to carry the torch for this stretch of FM. I have been proud to call myself editor of one of the greatest magazines ever published.

So, down to brass tacks: If anyone knows of a job opportunity that you think might be a good fit for me in entertainment (creative content-driven, ideally with an entertainment writing/journalism/interview foundation) that is L.A.-based, I am open to suggestions/recommendations.

-- David Weiner

Forry Ackerman at his desk.

Thoughts on the passing of "Famous Monsters" magazine
Former FM editor Ed Blair on Facebook:
 Today, while out having a quiet lunch, my phone practically came to life as I was inundated with messages asking me about the shuttering of FM as a magazine. I hadn't heard the news, but I was directed to current Editor David Weiner's FB post detailing that FM as we know it would cease to exist and thus become a quarterly art book akin to the "Dark Arts" books we made 4-5 years ago. My first emotion was sadness, as I'm sure it was for so many others. It felt like a chapter in my life had come to end, one I didn't even know was still open. There's a palpable sense of loss, having steered the ship for 6 years and over 30 issues. After watching what has unfolded at Fangoria, as a monster fan, it's tough to see this.

Of all the things I was involved with during my tenure, taking the reins of that beloved magazine was my favorite and most fulfilling. I, along with so many others, poured everything into that magazine, as I know David did. I'm not sure if it's poetic or just plain cruel that the magazine is ending on what would have been founding editor Forrest J Ackerman's 100th birthday. Maybe it's a mixture of the two.

I have seen that the FM official statement talks about bad economies and new media and that FM will still be relevant, just in its different forms. I had always argued that the magazine was the beating heart of FM, that everything had to flow from its pages outward. That without the magazine everything else was just noise. I still believe that, but it doesn't mean I'm right. For the sake of history and for the love of monsters and all that it stands for, I hope I'm wrong, and that FM is able to right the ship and find its course in this brave new world.

I left FM over a year ago so I really don't have any details to add. The discussions about turning the magazine into an art book date back several years, a move I strenuously argued against, but I wasn't surprised at that path that had been chosen. I was just surprised by the timing of it all. David had really taken the magazine to an incredible place, landing exclusives and features that were as good as big boys like EMPIRE and EW. The covers, like Harryhausen's Medusa or ALIENS were as good as they've ever been. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

There have been a lot of questions and prognostications since David posted the news. I even read speculation that I would return to the magazine. While I appreciate the sentiment, my FM days are well and truly behind me. It was a wild six-year ride, but the feelings of finality on that subject are mutual. I will always have love for FM Magazine. What it stood for, what Forry Ackerman brought to the world and the goodwill he created. The generations of creators that it influenced and who have, in turn, shone their lights so brightly on the world. Whatever happens to FM moving forward, whether the new format is a success or not, it will always live on. Not only in the hearts and minds of those who embrace it, but in the creative works of all the Monster Kids who took their love of the strange and turned it into beautiful art for all of us to enjoy. It's bigger than any one of us and has cemented its legacy. And in so being, it becomes our responsibility to champion the classics, to tell fangtastic new stories, to find the new generations while keeping the classics forever in front of new audiences. As long as we love. . .

  . . . Famous Monsters shall not die.



VIDEO WATCHDOG'S Tim and Donna Lucas.

Video Watchdog ends print run publication
From the VIDEO WATCHDOG website:

More bad news for genre magazines, and film scholarship, today as Tim and Donna Lucas announce that VIDEO WATCHDOG will end puiblication as a print magazine after 27 years.

"After trying many creative ways to generate sales to compensate for newsstand losses and lack of advertising support, rising shipping and postage costs, and a depressed economy, it is simply no longer possible to keep Video Watchdog moving forward,'' the couple says at the Video Watchblog website.

With regret, we must announce that after 27 wonderful years we are no longer able to publish new print editions of Video Watchdog.

Some of you have been with us since the early days of "desktop publishing," when bookstores carried a wide variety of offbeat publications catering to all kinds of niche readerships. It was an exciting time, one in which Video Watchdog thrived.

From the time of our first pre-publication ads in 1989, The Perfectionist's Guide to Fantastic Video has never stopped evolving growing from 60 to 64 to 80 pages in its black-and-white configuration, blossoming into full-color with issue 100, and introducing interactive digital versions of each issue in 2013. We can confidently state that our most recent issues were among the best we ever published.

Over the last quarter century, we have always depended on newsstand sales, subscriptions, advertising, and because all of that was still not fully sustaining side projects in order to continue publishing. We were able to make ends meet so long as all of these facets were working together but, in recent years, it has become a losing battle. There are many reasons for this: the diminishing number of retail outlets, the sad state of print distribution, the easy availability of free information and critical writing via the Internet, and the now-widespread availability on Blu-ray and DVD of so many of the once-obscure titles Video Watchdog was among the first to tell you about.

After trying many creative ways to generate sales to compensate for newsstand losses and lack of advertising support, rising shipping and postage costs, and a depressed economy, it is simply no longer possible to keep Video Watchdog moving forward.

Looking back, we take great pride in the fact that, in our time, Video Watchdog was able to present the writing and original art of the genre's most talented writers, artists, and thinkers; that it attracted the attention and respect of so many of the great contemporary masters of cinema (from Scorsese to Del Toro); and that its coverage inspired a number of people to enter the film and video businesses to promote film restoration and preservation from the inside.

We are deeply grateful for the contributors and audience that enabled us to sustain our publication for so long. The coming months will be difficult as we try to figure out what's next for us, and what awaits Video Watchdog and its readership.

Please bear with us during this uncertain time, and we will keep you informed of further developments as they become more definitive.

Tim and Donna Lucas
Publishers

FANGORIA'S ex-Editor, Michael Gingold.

Fangoria Editor-in-Chief Michael Gingold fired after 28 Years – Guillermo del Toro and others offer support
From IndiWire.com
The horror publication has dismissed former Editor-in-Chief Michael Gingold and longtime art director Bill Mohalley, and hasn't published a print edition in months.

Graham Winfrey
Jun 1, 2016 12:17 pm

Chances are strong that if you were a horror movie fan over the past several decades, you probably read Fangoria. And that means you experienced the influence of Editor-in-Chief Michael Gingold, who has held a prominent role at the influential genre-focused monthly since 1988.

But that changed last week, when Gingold was promptly fired, in a decision that has yielded words of support from major figures throughout the horror community.

“Fangoria will never be the same w/o him,” tweeted director Guillermo del Toro. In an email to IndieWire, del Toro added that Gingold is “the torch carrier for the original spirit of a generation of horror, fantasy, and science fiction aficionados” and that “it is truly puzzling that someone thinks that such a bond has no value to the readers of Fangoria.”

Former Fangoria web editor Sam Zimmerman tweeted “Michael Gingold no longer at Fangoria is a little incomprehensible. He deserves much celebration and I owe him even more.” HitFix editor Drew McWeeny, a former editor at Ain’t It Cool News, tweeted “What a shock,” adding that “Few people have ever embodied a publication as completely as Michael Gingold did with Fangoria.”

Gingold was named associate editor of New York-based Fangoria in 1990 and managing editor in 1992, a title he held for 23 years until his promotion to Editor-in-Chief last year. Fangoria’s longtime art director Bill Mohalley has also been let go.

Ken Hanley, who joined Fangoria as an editorial assistant in the fall of 2012 and most recently held the title of Managing Editor, has been named as the magazine’s new Editor-in-Chief. “Mike Gingold is one of the classiest and hard-working men in horror journalism,” Hanley told IndieWire. “It’s going to be extremely difficult to fill his shoes.”

In a post on Fangoria’s website, Hanley wrote that the magazine “will be restructuring to bring in new blood, including at least two exceptional women in the horror journalism field.” Fangoria posted an announcement about new members of its staff on Wednesday.

In an interview with IndieWire, Gingold declined to discuss the details of his termination, but said that his discussions with Fangoria president and owner Tom DeFeo “were mostly financial in nature.” DeFeo did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. News of Gingold’s termination has triggered an outpouring of support online from Fangoria readers, horror fans and filmmakers.

Others who have known and worked with Gingold have expressed sentiments bordering on outrage. “Absolutely disgusted to learn that the president of Fangoria has let Michael Gingold go,” Mitch Davis, co-director of the Fantasia International Film Festival, wrote in a Facebook post. In an email to IndieWire, Davis noted that in recent years, several beloved Fangoria contributors have walked from the publication. That includes longtime editor Chris Alexander, who stepped down last fall to become managing editor of the horror site Shock Till You Drop.

“With the magazine’s president discarding seasoned writers with so many years of history, knowledge and trust among fans, it’s hard to imagine a bright future [for Fangoria],” Davis wrote. “Michael has dedicated his entire adult life to shaping how genre cinema is experienced and discussed, and he’s shined a light on so many brilliant emerging talents that I can’t imagine Fangoria being anything near the same without him.”

On Twitter, del Toro recalled submitting his early short film “Geometra” to Fangoria’s affiliated publication Starlog and receiving a handwritten note of encouragement from Gingold. “This went a long way in encouraging me to keep going,” del Toro told IndieWire. “Michael’s note meant the world to me.” Were it not for Gingold’s reply, del Toro added, “Geometra” would have amounted to a “message in a bottle.” To this day, the director added, “the man remains a champion of genre filmmaking.”

In recent years, Fangoria has struggled to sustain itself due to dwindling revenue from print advertisers, said Tony Timpone, who served as the magazines Editor-in-Chief from 1987 to 2010 and still serves as Editor Emeritus. “The magazine used to be packed full of ads, and we’ve lost a lot of our advertising with the collapse of the DVD business,” Timpone told IndieWire, adding that Fangoria has been trying to transition to a bi-monthly publishing schedule but hasn’t put out a print edition since its distributor went out of business in 2015.

“It’s no secret that Fangoria has had financial troubles, but they can be attributed to many of the troubles associated with running a print medium in general,” Hanley told IndieWire. “With distributors and fulfillment houses folding and advertisers turning to web, it’s amazing there are any magazines remaining at all.”

Since taking over as Editor-in-Chief, Gingold put out several digital-only issues of the publication. He is currently pursuing a number of different writing projects, including a collaboration on a horror feature film script with filmmaker Dante Tomaselli. Four of Gingold’s previous horror screenplays have been produced, most notably 2006’s “Shadow: Dead Riot” and 2003’s “Leeches!”

“While I’m not sure where I’m going in terms of full-time employment right now, there’s a lot of stuff that I’m working on that I’m very excited about,” he said, adding that the outpouring of support he’s received since leaving Fangoria has been phenomenal.

“I’ve always tried to champion independent filmmakers and illuminate all the different corners of the genre,” he said. “It’s great to know that my work has touched so many people.”

Additional reporting by Eric Kohn. This article has been updated with quotes from Fangoria’s Ken Hanley.

FREAKY MONSTERS NO. 26 DUE THIS MONTH

Still another monster mag set for release this month is issue #26 of FREAKY MONSTERS. The direct descendant of the second incarnation of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND has struggled with a regular publishing schedule, but each new issue is worth the wait. Click HERE for ordering info.

MONSTERS UNLEASHED: NEW AND RECENTLY RELEASED

MONSTERS UNLEASHED! NEW AND RECENTLY RELEASED

MONSTERS UNLEASHED! NEW AND RECENTLY RELEASED