Forry tells his story

As a rabid fan of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND in my teens (and don't worry, I took rabies shots), I read this autobiography of FM creator Forrest J Ackerman with a lot of interest. I think Forry (or 4SJ, 4E, or "the Ackermonster," as he was also known) was an egotist, but it was that ego, injecting himself so heavily into the magazine, that created the reader's personal involvement. Forry's force of personality infused with the stories and pictures of monsters made his magazine successful while his imitators failed. Ackerman's autobiography follows the same pattern of familiarity, punning, creative spelling and stream of consciousness writing. It's like a letter from a friend.

In this excerpt from the book Ackerman explains the magazine's creation, his relationship to publisher Jim Warren, and earliest days of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND.

Forrest J Ackerman died in 2008 at age 92.

Copyright © 1986 IMAGINE, INC.

Life's Darkest Moments Part 2

More of those "you know this is going to be a bad day" moments from the pen of H. T. Webster.

These panels range in dates from the teens to the late 1940s. More can be found here.

From the book, THE BEST OF H. T. WEBSTER, published posthumously.

Copyright © 1953 Simon and Schuster

"The End Of An Era"

William Parente takes a nostalgic look at the EC Comics of the early 1950s in this slim fanzine from 1967.

THE ROCKET'S BLAST SPECIAL #7 Copyright © The SFCA

"The End Of An Era" Copyright © 1967 William Parente