First apearing in Nov. 1954, Cinéma 54 (the title changed with each new year) was a leading French film publication (the editor coined the term "New Wave") for more than 40 years. On a trip to Europe, Forry Ackerman picked up issue #20 (July / Aug. 1957), a special on ciné fantastique. Back in the states, he showed the 144 pg. photo illustrated digest to Jim Warren, who was looking for an idea for a new magazine.
SCREEN CHILLS and Macabre Stories ( Nov. 1957? ) Pep Publishers and Printers of Croydon, England
This 32 page pulp sized UK mag featured mostly horror fiction (including a "Cthulhu Mythos" story by Robert Bloch), along with reviews of recent fantasy films. The plots of I Was A Teenage Werewolf and Zombies of Mora Tau (Dead That Walk) are retold in short story form and illustrated with a few photos. The mag is undated. Research turned up the above date, but it remains unconfirmed. Leslie Syddall is believed to be the (uncredited) editor of this one-shot mag. While some collectors consider it to be the first "monster mag", it only maginally resembles that which we think of as such.
If imitation is the most sincere form of flatery, then Famous Monsters of Filmland should have been most flatered by WFC, which was a direct copy of the FM look and editorial style. One of the most sought after of the early monster mag titles, by collectors, WFC sported some very nice cover art, rivaling (and perhaps bettering) anything FM had to offer, at that time. The back covers of WFC #1 and #2 featured a monster mask that you could cut out and wear. Sadly WFC lasted only four issues.
THE JOURNAL OF FRANKENSTEIN ( 1959 ) New World Enterprises Syndicated / Editor: Calvin T. Beck
Another early entry into the monster mags field, JoF had a very limited distribution. Though only one issue was published, Beck would revive the mag, three years later, as Castle of Frankenstein. The stubby JoF was sold in the back issues dept. of CoF, but the picture shown was always of the back cover.
MONSTERS AND THINGS ( Jan. 1959 - April 1959 ) Magnum Publications / Editor: L. T. Shaw
The first Famous Monsters imitation (beating WFC to the newsstands by a month), was publisher Irwin Stein's Monster Parade (under his new "Magnum Publications" imprint), which, along with the soon to follow Monsters and Things, combined original horror fiction and comics with monster movie previews and monster "pin-ups" (full-page photos of your favorite movie fiends). Future best selling author John Jakes and award winning sci-fi writer Robert Silverberg (under various pseudonyms) contributed stories to the mags.
SUSPENSE (TALES) ( Sep. 1959 ) Suspense Publications, Inc. / Editor: Christopher Plumberton
THRILLER ( Feb. - July 1962 ) Tempest Publications / Editor: Harry Schriner
Trying to project a film horror image, while featuring little to no actual film content, these horror fiction magazines are, nevertheless, sought after by many monster mag collectors. Shock Tales did use a few film stills as illustration for it's stories, but most of the photos (cover and interiors) were staged scenes of horror, possibly using members of the magazine's staff. Only one issue of Shock Tales has surfaced, though Suspense no. 4 (also the only known issue) is believed to be a continuation of ST under a different title.
No issues no. 2 or 3 (with either title) have been discovered, thus far.
Publisher Myron Fass later produced the similar Thriller, which lasted a total of three issues.
