Monster Times, The
Entry updated 4 April 2017. Tagged: Publication.
Cinema Semiprozine, tabloid-size and printed on low-quality newsprint paper; 48 issues appeared from 1972 to 1976. Published by The Monster Times Publishing Company. Publication schedule was initially biweekly for the first fourteen issues, then monthly until 1975. It switched to bimonthly publication that year, although the final few issues appeared on an erratic basis. Editors for the first few issues included Allen Asherman (1947- ), Joe Kane and Jason Thomas under his pseudonym Tom Rogers. Kane became editor with issue Number 11, and remained so until the magazine folded.
While focusing largely on current and classic Horror and Monster films, The Monster Times also had a great deal of Comics and sf Cinema coverage. Reviews of sf and horror books frequently appeared, usually written by Kane, sometimes under pseudonyms. Meant to compete with Forrest J Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland from Warren Publishing, this magazine had a somewhat more adult editorial slant. Obtaining fairly wide distribution, it appeared on many US newsstands. Each number featured a large poster insert: most surviving copies lack this feature. Two special letter-size editions were issued during the magazine's run: these covered Star Trek (1966-1969) and many other US sf Television series. Contributors included Asherman, Kane, Rogers, film producer Michael Uslan (1951- ) and comics author Doug Murray. Artists who appeared included Jeffrey Jones, Gray Morrow and Bernie Wrightson. Collectors should note that most copies have become somewhat brittle and usually have tanned paper, except occasionally for the covers, where slightly better paper stock was used. [GSt]
see also: Media Magazines.
previous versions of this entry