Famous Monsters of Filmland

Famous Monsters of Filmland was a genre-specific film fan magazine started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. It was conceived as a one-shot publication with no discernible future, but the first issue was so successful that it required a second printing to fulfill public demand and its established future as part of American culture were immediately obvious to both men. The success prompted spinoff magazines such as Spacemen, Famous Westerns of Filmland, Screen Thrills Illustrated, Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella.

Related Topics:
Genre - Film - Fan magazine - 1958 - James Warren - Forrest J Ackerman - Spacemen - Famous Westerns of Filmland - Screen Thrills Illustrated - Creepy - Eerie - Vampirella

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Famous Monsters of Filmland - which quickly became known to fans as simply FM - offered brief, well-illustrated (with advertising stills and graphic artwork) articles on horror movies from the silent era to the current date of publication, their stars and filmmakers. By the decision of publisher Warren, Ackerman aimed his text at late pre-adolescents and young teenagers.

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In the pages of FM Ackerman promoted the memory of Lon Chaney, Sr., whose silent works were mostly beyond the accessibility of fans for most of the magazine's life, but were a great influence on his own childhood; and introduced film fans to science fiction fandom through direct references, first-person experiences, and adoption of fandom terms and customs. FM's peak years were from its first issues through the late 1960s, when the disappearance of the older films from television and the decline of talent in the imaginative film industry left it with a dearth of subject matter acceptable to both editor and fan. During the 70s, the magazine came to rely heavily on reprints of articles from the 60s. In the early 80s, the magazine folded after publisher Jim Warren disappeared, and Ackerman resigned as editor in the face of the increasing disorganization within the captainless Warren Publishing Company.

Related Topics:
Lon Chaney, Sr. - Science fiction fandom

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The magazine directly inspired the creation of many other similar publications in the ensuing years, most notably Castle of Frankenstein, Cinefantastique, and Fangoria. In addition, hundreds, if not thousands, of FM-influenced horror, fantasy and science fiction movie related fanzines have been produced, some of which have continued to publish for decades, such as Midnight Marquee.

Related Topics:
Castle of Frankenstein - Cinefantastique - Fangoria - Fanzines - Midnight Marquee

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The magazine was resurrected in 1993 by Ray Ferry, who brought in Ackerman to participate in the relaunch of the magazine. Most fans agree that even with Ackerman's participation this new version of the magazine was only a pale shadow of its former self. After only 10 issues, Ackerman quit his association with the magazine following a falling out with Ferry. Ferry continued the publication of Famous Monsters magazine and filed trademarks for all the features of the magazine that had originated years before with Ackerman. The magazine began featuring a trademark and copyright notice proclaiming that all of Ackerman's famous puns and expressions (i.e., Horrorwood, Karloffornia, Dr. Acula, etc.) were now trademarks of Dynacomm and could not be used without express written permission from the publisher. In 1997, Ackerman filed a civil lawsuit against Ferry, alleging that Ferry defamed Ackerman with letters and Web site messages stating that Ackerman?s only connection with ?Famous Monsters? was as a hired hand and that Ferry ?had to let Forry go? because he didn?t do any writing or editing for the magazine. On May 11, 2000, the jury decided in Ackerman's favor and awarded him $724,500 in damages. The Superior Court jury ruled against Ferry, saying Ferry owed Ackerman pay for his writings, that he wrongly claimed ownership of the pen name "Dr. Acula" and committed libel by saying Ackerman was merely a hired contributor, not an editor." The jury rejected Ray Ferry's countersuit that had claimed Ackerman "stalked him through harassing behavior and violated a trademark by using Dr. Acula." This verdict was appealed by Ferry, but the verdict was upheld by the Appellate Court of California. Ackerman lost his famed collection and "Ackermansion" in a forced sale after accumulating massive legal bills stemming from the extended court case. Ferry still continues to publish issues of FM on an irregular basis.

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The publications's official web address is www.famousmonsters.com.

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