For those new to Undying Monsters, this is a 68-page magazine best described as "A Pictorial Homage To Past Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Media" (i.e. films, television, personalities, books, trading cards, toys, models, video games, LPs and collectibles). Our goal is to recapture the thrill monster magazine collecting evoked when many of us were a tad younger than we are now by replicating as much as possible the look and feel of publications which appeared back in the 1960s. Each issue of Undying Monsters is jam-packed with photos, many of which are exclusive to UM. All issues offer an in-depth Film Book review of a classic monster movie (Frankenstein 1970 in #0, Night Of The Demon in #1, The Haunted Palace in #2, Brides of Dracula in #3, From Hell IT Came in #4), a feature popularized by the legendary Forry J Ackerman in Famous Monsters Of Filmland 50 years ago. Supporting features include The Horror Of It All (editorial), Digital Screams (dvd/Bluray review), Brain Busters (Phantom Photo & Cranium Quiz), Ghoulish Games (classic creepy video game review), Gorespondence (fan mail), The Basement of Bygone Books, and FM alumnus Rich Schellbach's hilarious JUST MY TYPE.

Some Notes on Issue #4.
We were finally able to debut our new/old book review column - The Basement of Bygone Books. Marc Turnipseed created some pretty cool artwork of Uncle Mord and Vitus for the page. The first paperback collections of Clark Ashton Smith's fantastic tales are the featured topic. If you're not familiar with CAS, this issue's column should send you clambering for your nearest used book store. To coincide with the article, we have posted color images of all of the CAS books mentioned. Just click on "CAS IN COLOR" button at the top of the page. We also would like to welcome special guest writer Ed Gannon. He is the author of this issue's HAUNTED AUDIO - Nostalgic Fear for Your Ears!. Ed is a Professional Haunter, so he knows the importance of good audio. He has also provided a link http://www.somethingwickedprod.com/audio/horrorrecords.html so you can listen to excerpts from the albums described while you read his article. And while you're there, check out the hard-to-find CDs available on his website. These are quality reproductions (no MP3s) and contain all the original artwork and inserts. Highly recommended!
CORRECTION: On page 27 we incorrectly credit Allied Artists' with releasing The Monster From Green Hell. The film was in fact released by Distributors Corp. of America.

FLOODING REDUCES REMAINING STOCK OF ISSUES 1 & 3!

We regret to report that a recent water leak in our storeroom has reduced our stock of back issues, most notably numbers 1 and 3, both of which just happened to be our best sellers (Murphy's Law strikes again!). Supplies of #1 were already getting low, a testament to Mark Maddox's superb cover art, and we now have less than 400 remaining from a print run of 2500.

Rich Schellbach puts UM on FACEBOOK!

Rich Schellbach has taken it upon himself to create, maintain, and promote a Facebook page for us since your editor is apparently socially inept. You can check it out by clicking on the link www.facebook.com/pages/Undying-Monsters-Magazine/251545908204530?sk=wall.

UPDATE: Issue #5

We regret that our tribute to AMICUS Films in issue #5 is still on hold. Hopefully, we will soon have a firm publication date to announce. Everything is being done to get this magazine out, and we sincerely appreciate your patience. Unfortunately, our sales have not lived up to expectations. Undying Monsters has been less than profitable since its inception. While we were warned this would most likely be the case for the first couple of years until we became established, it was hoped the enthusiastic response we were receiving from most of our fans would eventually lead to an increase in circulation. Sadly, this has not been the case. Part of the blame may lie with our Film Book, which has provoked some criticism, particularly on the CHFB website. Though we understand and even agree with many of the comments which have been posted on this subject, our fans overwhelmingly support it, and we have no plans to abandon it. UM is meant to be nostalgic and fun (after all, aren't monsters supposed to be fun?). For this reason we have never sought to compete with serious publications like Monsters From The Vault or Filmfax. We are obviously not for everyone, but we hope people would at least give us a chance before condemning us. But I digress, so let's leave this subject for another time.
Adding to our woes has been the continual rise in printing and shipping costs. Because it has become impossible for us to maintain a quarterly schedule, we have decided to temporarily halt accepting new subscriptions.
In order to save Undying Monsters from dying, we are considering printing UM#5 to order. We are therefore requesting that anyone interested in purchasing a copy of UM#5 contact us at sales@undyingmonsters.com, and we will add your email address to our list (all current subscriptions will be honored). Once we have received enough requests to cover the bulk of our printing costs, the magazine will be published. UM#5 may not appear in comic book stores, and depending on the final cost per issue, may or may not be available from our direct dealers. We apologize for this situation, but the alternative would be to cease publication entirely, something we are desperately trying to avoid. We remain committed to publishing #5 within the next couple months. Stay tuned to this page for the latest details.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN ISSUE #5!

 

Contents for Issue #5

UM #5 will feature an interview with the RONDO-Award winning monster artist Mark Maddox, which we know you'll find fascinating. Amicus related articles include reviews of the best anthology segments as well as the best overall anthology film. We have also shelved Amicus' The Skull film book in favor of the non-Amicus Island of the Burning Doomed. There will also be an all-new Ghoulish Games, Digital Screams, Brain Busters, Basement of Bygone Books, and our most popular column of all: Rich Schellbach's Just My Type. More to come.

 

Return to Chiller Theatre

We had a monsterous good time at the CHILLER THEATRE Halloween Convention this past October 26-28. Crowds were good both Friday and Saturday, but slipped on Sunday due to the approach of Hurricane Sandy. The new location was only a couple of miles from the old Parsippany Hilton, and was a vast improvement where isle width was concerned. For info on next year's April show, please visit chillertheatre.com.

 

 

MonstersFromHellCheck out our English Correspondent Stephen Jones' newly revamped website: www.monstersfromhell.co.ukMany of Stephen's photos were used to produce the Hammer horror cards, and have also appeared in several publications and books including the recent Art Of Hammer (© 2010 Titan Books) and, of course, Undying Monsters. Stephen has been publishing Monsters From Hell, a magazine devoted to all things Hammer, for over 10 years. If you're a Hammer fan, you owe it to yourself to check MFH out. Ordering information is provided on the website, which includes some all-new terrorific artwork by Mark Maddox!

During our brief existence, we have have been privileged to become acquainted with a great bunch of helpful personalities including Jim Clatterbaugh of Monsters From The Vault, Phil Kim of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, Sara Karloff Karloff Enterprises, Bela Lugosi, Jr., lugosi.com, Winston Dunlop II of executivereplicas.com, Cortlandt Hull and Bill Diamond of preservehollywood.org, Ron Adams of Monster Bash/creepyclassics.com, Dennis Druktenis of Scary Monsters (www.scarymonstersmag.com), Don & Vicki Smeraldi of MyMovieMonsters.com, Dick Klemenson of Little Shoppe Of Horrors, the fine folks at Chiller Theatre, Bob Burns (who has provided several rare stills for our pages), and of course all the monster fans we have been lucky to meet at both Chiller and Monster Bash. We sincerely appreciate your welcoming us into the monster community.

Aside from (we hope!) the entertainment value of our magazine, we are trying to do our part to help preserve the legacy of our beloved horror, sci-fi and fantasy films, personalities, works, etc., before they become lost or forgotten. These days, monster movies produced prior to the mid-1970s are rarely shown on cable or satellite, making it difficult to inspire a new generation of classic horror fans. As Forrest J Ackerman was fond of saying in the pages of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, "Monsters are good for you!" So it's fallen into our paws to keep our genre alive. Try setting aside an afternoon or evening each week to watch an old horror film on dvd (or better yet, on Bluray!) with family and friends. Whenever possible include the younger generation and allow them to discover what we are so fanatical about. And share magazines such as ours, Monsters From The Vault, Famous Monsters Of Filmland, Scary Monsters, Monster Bash, Filmfax, Fangoria, Rue Morgue, Scarlet Street, Midnitght Marquee, Little Shoppe Of Horrors, Horrorhound, Mad Scientist, Screem, Screem, Diabolique, Monsters From Hell, and others. Man may come and go, but -

OLD MONSTERS NEVER DIE!