Editors: Roger Cook & Jan Cook (nos.1-14 ) Dez Skinn ( V2 no. 1-3 )
1973 - 1976
Monster Mag was a poster book. Unfolded, the mag had a 24" x 36" poster on one side. The reverse side contained the (1-3 page) articles on eight magazine size pages. Posters were usually a color photo from a Hammer film (V2#1 and V2#3 contained a split poster with two photos), but V2#2 had a reproduction of the British Quad poster from (Horror of) Dracula (1958).
The articles were mostly reviews / previews of the then current horror movies (Hammer Films, "The Exorcist", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Planet of the Apes", etc.), or short career articles of popular horror stars. Some non-movie "horror" content was also featured. Contributors to V2 of MM included Tise Vahimagi, John Brosnan and Barrie Pattison. A "Monster Mag Double X Issue" was advertised in no. 17, but never appeared. All issues of Monster Mag are hard to find in excellent condition. .
Because of it's graphic content, Monster Mag carried an "Adults Only" lable. Upon it's arrival from the foreign printers, the English language edition of MM no. 2 was seized by "Her Majesty's Customs and Excise" and all copies were destroyed. European editions of no. 2 survive and most of the material in no. 2 was recycled in later issues. See Magazines of the Movies 1991 Yearbook for an excellent piece on MM. After Monster Mag, Dez Skinn created the popular magazine House of Hammer.
Thanks to Mike Howlett for scans of most of the British editions!
No. 2
2014 Official reprint.
No. 3
No. 4
No. 5
No. 6
No. 7
No. 8
No. 10
No. 11
No. 12
No. 13
No. 14
No. 15
No. 16
No. 17The first four issues of Monster Mag had editions in German and French and the four French issues were resold, in Canada, in a folder titled Monster Mag Album 1. The German editions are much harder to find, as they were destroyed shortly after arriving from Milan, Italy, where Monster Mag was printed. However, a number of copies were saved and these, on rare occassion, turn up on the collectors market.
Monster Mag - German Ed.
Publisher: Bildschriftenverlag GmbH
Publisher: Bildschriftenverlag GmbH
Nov. 1973 - July 1974
Monster Des Monats no. 1
Monster Des Monats no. 2
Monster Des Monats no. 3
Monster Des Monats no. 4
Monster Mag - French Ed.
Publisher: J. C. Lattès
1973 - 1974
Monster Mag no. 2
Monster Mag - French Ed.
Publisher: J. C. Lattès
1973 - 1974
Monster Mag no. 2
It was actually Her Majesty's Customs & Excise who were so offended by vol 1 #2 that they destroyed the entire English-language print run. But the content did appear, scattered across later issues.
ReplyDeleteHello Dez and thank you for that correction! The post has been edited.
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose any cover proofs, or anything of that nature still exist?
Thanks for dropping by!
A big "House of Hammer" fan!
Mike
I was a huge fan of "Monster Mag" and "House of Hammer" back in the day! I still am in fact!
ReplyDeleteBoth those excellent UK horror mags are ripe for a revival!
If you also enjoy the current crop of horror movie magazines please drop in on my blog!
http://cyberschizoid.blogspot.com/2010/07/horror-movie-magazines-latest-updates.html
Not sure how popular the posterbooks are these days, but I'd be up for some more HOUSE OF HAMMER!
ReplyDeleteThey're VERY popular!
ReplyDeletehttp://dezskinn.com/quality-shop-1/
No doubt the reprints and new issues of Monster Mag are! Posterbooks were always a bigger thing in the UK, than they were in the US. I haven't seen any in the US in quite some time, though I may just be looking in the wrong place.
DeleteHello. I have three ORIGINAL issues (1974) of MONSTER DES MONATS. If anyone is interested, he can contact me at kkirimis@tenet.gr
ReplyDelete