OCTOBER
OCTOBER
30
FAMOUS
MONSTERS IS ABOUT TO DIE
Forrey Ackerman's Famous Monster's Magazine had been a sorely troubled
publication even before Ackerman gave it up for dead in 1984. It was
revived in 1990 when Forrey joined with Ray Ferry to breathe life into
the old varmint again.
In 1990,
however, Fangoria Magazine was on the stand and reporting on the Horror
movie scene far better than Monsters of Filmland ever did. Though Ackerman's
mag had inspired a host of folks (like Steven
Spielberg, Rob Zombie, Stephen King, and George Lucas), it never
achieved, in its reincarnation, the popularity it had enjoyed in the
late 1950s and throughout the 1960s.
The court
system got involved in 1992 when Forrey sued Ferry for breach of contract,
libel, and trademark infringement. A Van Nuys jury sided with Ackerman.
Ferry then
transferred his assests and ownership to his room mate, Gene Reynolds.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Greenwald declared the move a fraudulent
attempt to keep his assests away from creditors and continue to run
the magazine.
Famous
Monsters, which has long celebrated monsters in movies, will be torn
apart and auctioned off right after Halloween.
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OCTOBER
29
Report
by Judi
Rohrig
BLOOD MOON RISING
The next full moon offers a real treat for us all. Midwesterners and Left
Coasters will be able to turn into werewolves on October 31, during the
celebration of All Hallows Eve while those on the East Coast will actually
be a little hairier on November 1. Strange, but true!
Which makes
one wonder what Joe R. Lansdale is up to! Besides signing a publishing
deal with Alfred A. Knopf (who will publish SUNSET
AND SAWDUST in 2003), Joe is also seeing two new projects take
life at Subterranean
Press , namely: FLAMING LONDON, a sequel to his quirky
horror/western/sci-fi adventure ZEPPELINS WEST, and MAD DOG SUMMER AND
OTHER STORIES, a new "major" collection which will include his Stoker
Award-winning short story as well as story notes. SubPress has just shipped
a re-release of Joe's classic western, THE MAGIC WAGON, and is set to
release the last in its Lost Lansdale series, FOR A FEW STORIES MORE,
a collection of Lansdale stories, some of which have never been published
before.
Lansdale's
words may also be found in the Edgar Allen Poe issue of the Rosebud
Classics series as he's written the introduction to the
project that offers "classic literature interpreted in comics and illustrated
stories for adult readers by today's great graphic artists." Those graphic
artists include Gahan Wilson, Spain Rodriguez, Rick Geary, Richard Sala,
Maxon Crumb, Roger Langridge, Jeff Bonivert, Toni Pawlowsky, Juan Gomez,
Lisa K. Weber, Andy Ewen, David McLimans, Spencer Walts, and Tom Pomplun.
There's also the added bonus of a "New Murders in the Rue Morgue," a sequel
to the classic Poe tale written by Clive Barker and newly illustrated
by Mark A. Nelson.
And this
Saturday, November 4, the Texas writer will find himself attending the
2001 Anthony Awards ceremony in Washington, DC, as his novel THE BOTTOMS
vies for the Best Novel award. The event is being held as part of the
annual Bouchercon Mystery convention.
THE
GRIM RABBITS OF DARK TALES PRESS
The past few months have been grim for our press saleswise, despite our
constant efforts to keep pulling rabbits out of our hats at the last minute
to save ourselves. The last few rabbits, though, apparently suffered some
sort of in-chapeaux trauma as they were quite dead and proved to be no help
at all. Not something any company wishes to admit, nevertheless we are compelled
to because of the operational changes it is imposing on us by default.
Some of you
may have noticed the DarkTales site go silent somewhere around mid-August.
Well, its running again, but not as healthily as we'd like it. We are
decreasing the number of titles we will be doing annually.
Instead of
attempting to break world records to see how many new titles three guys
can crank out a year, and allowing ourselves to get so top-heavy we completely
collapsed from the weight, we're turning our attentions to strengthening
the distribution reach for our present titles, and any future titles we
do come out with, in hopes we can shore up the foundation of the company.
At this time
we are closed to all submissions. We will make an announcement when we
reopen for submissions, and we apologize for any inconvenience this internal
change has caused.
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OCTOBER
18
THE
FANBOY NEEDS FOOD, BADLY!
When Mike Oliveri first suggested a comics section to Feo Amante's Horror Home Page, he
had no idea that, within months, his writing career would take off leaving
him with no time to dedicate to it.
Our mutual
search has turned up no one else who is able to take over the reigns,
so Fanboy Of Fear: The Comics page, will die on New Year's eve of this
year. Link plugs all over the site will start being pulled as of November
1.
All of us
at Feo Amante wish Mike Oliveri the best and Mike hopes that someday someone
will want to cover the world of Horror in Comics and Graphic Novels.
The death
of our Comics section in no way affects the rest of the site, which is
going strong as ever.
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OCTOBER
17
OCTOBER
RUSH OF FREAKINESS
Horror, Thriller, Mystery, and Suspense movies are not only becoming
more prevalent, they's gettin' weird too.
6 movies
are coming out in the next few weeks that put whole new spins on old
standards.
Opening
this week is FROM HELL, a largely fictional account of the Jack the
Ripper saga (which was big for its time but is small potatoes now).
The movie is created by the Hughes Brothers, known for their rappin'
thug gangsta flicks than for period Horror pieces. All the same, with
high profile weirdo Johnny Depp in the lead, its going to be something
to see.
Speaking
of gangsta rap, Snoop Dogg's BONES (Oct. 24) will be hitting the screens
soon. 20 years after his death, Jimmy Bones is coming back to take revenge
on the (now old farts) who done him in. While he's hanging around, he's
also going to clean up the neighborhood. Wow! He's not only a vengeful
ghost, but he's civic minded to boot!
On October
26 there will be a flurry of oddball flicks for Halloween:
13 GHOSTS
promises to be a kicker. The first movie from CASTLE Pictures, THE HOUSE
ON HAUNTED HILL was well recieved by audiences and made a killing at
the box office. Now comes the second remake from the daughter of William
Castle. This movie is going to batter you down with 13 (count
'em) 13 Ghosts! Featuring such horrors as The Withered Lover,
The Hammer, The Great Child, The Dire Mother, and The Torso, to name
but a few.
DONNIE
DARKO: Drew Barrymore loves her Horror / Thriller movies (ALTERED
STATES, FIRESTARTER, CAT'S EYE,
WAXWORK II, POISON IVY, DOPPLEGANGER, SCREAM)
and she steps up to the plate in a very weird one. Its the story of
a boy who, after a close brush with death, sees a 6 foot bunny rabbit
(Hiya, Harvey!) who leads him to do things
both destructive and creative.
THE CURSE
is a most twisted flick about a woman who, when she gets her PMS, turns
into a werewolf! This movie is a black comedy and one I'm looking forward
to, if only to spot past girlfriends.
Pixar's
MONSTERS, INC. (Nov. 2 USA) is a fully computer animated movie about
a world where power is produced from the goosebumps of children and
our two heros, Sully and Mike, work for the Utility company that scares
children into having these goosebumps. The thing is, children also scare
monsters. So when one accidentally gets into the Monster world . . .
Other movies
which may or may not be direct to video in the month of October include:
SCARY TALES:
An anthology of 3 Horror tales.
DEAD SOUL: A Fairy Tale
BLOOD FEAST II: For those with very limited diets.
SCROTAL VENGEANCE: Too bad that ultra great titles are usually linked
with ultra lame movies. I hope this flick proves me wrong.
KILL BY INCHES: This movie has received wide acclaim in Europe. Made
in 1999, it is only now reaching U.S. shores in any real capactiy. It
had a limited run iin a limited number of arthouse theaters earlier
in the year.
NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES: A movie about more zombies...at night.
WISHMASTER 3: Okay, this is the third and final wish?
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OCTOBER
16
THIS
IS THE KIND OF PUBLICITY THAT ANTHRAX (The Band) DOESN'T NEED
"In light of current events, we are changing the name of the band
to something more friendly, "Basket Full Of Puppies"." says Scott,
Charlie, Frank and John of the band ANTHRAX.
That
statement is a joke, but the band acknowledges that just making fun of
their name sucks.
"In
the twenty years we've been known as ANTHRAX", says their latest
press release, "we never thought the day would come that our name
would actually mean what it really means. When I learned about anthrax
in my senior year biology class, I thought the name sounded "metal". Everyone
in my neighborhood had a band with an "er" name, like "Ripper" or "Deceiver"
or "Killers" and I wanted to be different. "Anthrax" sounded cool, aggressive,
and nobody knew what it was.
"Now
in the wake of (current) events, our name symbolizes fear, paranoia and
death. Suddenly our name is not so cool. To be associated with these things
we are against is a strange and stressful situation. To us, and to millions
of people, it is just a name. We don't want to change the name of the
band, not because it would be a pain in the ass, but because we hope that
no further negative events will happen and it won't be necessary."
You
can visit them at their official site: ANTHRAX
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OCTOBER 11
Check
it out: This week we have Horror writer Dastardly David Whitman with
his review of Mario Bava's old flick BLACK
SABBATH. DVD is just making everything new again, ain't
it? Then, our own Mad Professor, Krool Kelly Parks rounds out his review
of the TREMORS trilogy with TREMORS
3: BACK TO PERFECTION.
Report by Judi
Rohrig
NOT SINCE
WE CAPTURED IT ON CELLULOID!
Following a name change to "The Erotic Rites of Countess Dracula," the
adult vampire film "Scarlett Countess," starring William Smith and Del
"Dark Delicacies" Howison, was scheduled to be released by Seduction
Video on DVD and VHS on October 9. Check out your local Sam Goodies
and Suncoast video stores along with other retail outlets for your copy!
Screenwriter
of HELLRAISER
2, 3, & 4 Peter Atkins' WISHMASTER: The Musical will
offer performances October 11 through November 17, at the Stages Theatre
located at Hollywood Center, 1540 North Mccadden Place, Hollywood, CA.
Call 323-769-5716 for reservations.
Report by Judi
Rohrig
LOVECRAFT GETS MUCH LOVE
Not to be overlooked by Indie film lovers is the eighth H.P. Lovecraft
Film Festival, happening October 19-21, in Portland, Oregon, at the
Hollywood Theatre. Three new feature films will be released: WENDIGO,
THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS, and UNKNOWN BEYOND as well as some short films,
including THE YELLOW SIGN, THE TERRIBLE OLD MAN, NYARLATHOTEP, THE HAPLESS
ANTIQUARIAN, and lots more. This year's festival will expand to the
daylight hours with the theatre opening its doors at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday
and Sunday.
More
information is available at the website: hplfilmfestival.com.
Report by Judi
Rohrig
NOT IF ONI CAN HELP!
Portland, OR, Oni Press has organized a comics-related eBay auction which
will benefit the American Red Cross relief fund. Some items of note include
a PREACHER pin-up by Dave Gibbons; SIMPSONS VS. ALFRED E. NEWMAN artwork
by Bill Morrison; a BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES cell signed by Paul Dini;
and an autographed comic book and autographed script - both SCOOBY-DOO
#51 - from the Emperor of Comics. Other donors include Warren Ellis, Greg
Rucka, Stan Sakai, Dan Brereton, Shannon Wheeler, Brian Bendis, Guy Davis,
Evan Dorkin, Judd Winick, Mike Allred, Tom Grummett, and Karl Kesel.
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OCTOBER
2
Report by Judi
Rohrig
A CALL TO WRITERS FOR HELP
This tip from Bram Stoker winner Brian A. Hopkins: Leah Marie Brown, a
member of the Romance Writers of America, is coordinating an effort which
asks writers to sign and send mass market editions of their books to 9/11
victims, or to units currently deploying to the Middle East.
If
you elect to participate, please pick a recipient from the list below,
sign the books and add a message. Print MESSAGE OF HOPE BOOK DRIVE clearly
on the mailing container. Ship directly to one of the addresses below,
and contact Leah to let her know what you've sent. She's keeping track
in case we all send them to the same place so they can make other arrangements.
Books to the armed services, as I understand it, will usually be placed
in ship and base libraries, which Leah says are not too well stocked.
Her e-mail is: leahmarie@writeme.com.
Phone number: 843-552-2650.
Contributors
are encouraged to add their e-mail addresses to the books. Military and
naval recipients have access to the web and might enjoy the opportunity
to say thanks.
The
question has arisen whether some covers would be inappropriate in areas
of the Middle East. Leah says that those covers thought to be offensive
would be removed.
If
you would like to ship to those affected by the Pentagon attacks, please
send them to:
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Major Henry Jung
6900 Georgia Avenue,
NW Washington, DC 20307-5001
To
send books to those affected by the New York City attacks, mail to:
The Greater New York Hospital Association
Mary Johnson, VP of PR
555 West 57th, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10019
To
send books to United States airmen deployed:
CAFB Chapel
Chaplain Newton
107 Arthur Drive
CAFB, SC 29404
To
send books to sailors with the Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group, already
deployed to the Gulf:
USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) - FPO AE 09599-2871
USS LEYTE GULF (CG 55) - FPO AE O9570-1175
USS VELLA GULF (CG 72) - FPO AE 09590-1192
USS ROSS (DDG 71) - FPO AE 09568-1288
USS HAYLER (DD 997) - FPO AE 09573-1231
USS PETERSON (DD 969) - FPO AE 09582-1207
USS ELROD (FFG 55) - FPO AE 09568-1509
USS DETROIT (AOE 4) - FPO AE 09567-3015
Enterprise
Battle Group:
USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) - FPO AE 09543-2810
USS GONZALEZ (DDG 66) - FPO AE 09570-1284
USS MCFAUL (DDG 74) - FPO AE 09578-1293
USS NICHOLAS (FFG 47) - FPO AE 09579-1501
USS NICHOLSON (DD 982) - FPO AE 09579-1220
USS STOUT (DDG 55) - FPO AE 09587-1273
USS THORN (DD 988) - FPO AE 09588-1226
USS GETTYSBURG (CG 64) - FPO AE 09570-1184
USS PHILIPPINE SEA (CG 58) - FPO AE 09582-1178
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