Famous Monsters of Filmland

The first issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland was published by James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman in February of 1958. The iconic publication inspired the creation of many other similar horror genre magazines, such as Castle of Frankenstein, Cinefantastique, Fangoria, The Monster Times and Video Watchdog.

Famous Monsters of Filmland was originally conceived as a one-shot publication by its publishers, created in response to the widespread success of a series of old horror movies that had recently been syndicated on American television in 1957. However, the first issue was so successful that it required a second printing to fulfill public demand. The Magazine’s success spawned spinoff magazines such as Spacemen, Favorite Westerns of Filmland, Screen Thrills Illustrated, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella.

The final issue of the original Famous Monsters of Filmland was published in 1983. The Magazine was revived by Philip Kim, an entrepreneur and a private equity investor, in late 2007. Kim purchased the rights to the logo and title, entering into an agreement with Ackerman to use his trademarks to retain the magazine’s original look and feel.