Look, with Peter Lorre and noir intent, Stranger on the Third Floor is a gem you shouldn't miss. This Mexican lobby card covers the action and intensity nicely. Note the wisp of gunsmoke trailing from the gun. This is the first film noir. Don't miss it.
This is an unusual Mexican lobby card (at least for me) for Cat People (La Marca De La Pantera). There's no border and the paper stock is thick board. Not the type of card I am familiar with. But the green color and graphic were a no-brainer for me, so I grabbed it fast. You can view the Mexican lobby card for Curse of the Cat People here.
I found this The Return of Chandu (Los Misterios De Chandu) Mexican lobby card on eBay. It was a steal. Surprised I didn't have more bidders to contend with. What's special is that the inset scene with Bela Lugosi is an actual photograph, so that makes this an early release card, probably original. Great graphics, colors and an action photo make this a wonderful addition to my collection. In this movie, Bela plays Chandu, while in the previous movie, Chandu the Magician, he played the villain, Roxor.
This issue of Mad Monsters, No. 7, has lots of pics, not too much text, and good coverage, from The Preying Mantis and Corridors of Blood, to I Married a Monster From Outer Space and an article on Lionel Atwill. Not too shabby for 35 cents. Charlton did cut corners by printing the magazine as cheaply as possible, so the photos aren't crisp. But their covers were eye-catching.
Comic reader version: Download Mad Monsters 7 (and see other monster mags in the magazine morgue)
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Lon Chaney Sr. explains why he prefers grotesque characters in this 10th issue of Monster World. The punny Batman, "battier than a ball park," flitters while The Reptile slithers, and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini brings us to the beach.
Comic reader version: Download Monster World Issue 10 (and more monstrous reading in the magazine morgue!)
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Sort of like a Castle Films 8mm reel, this Warren magazine gives you the Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula in a nice digest format.
Comic reader version: Download Famous Films Issue 2
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The British World of Horror magazine came out in 1974 through 1975 and lasted 9 issues. Not very polished in layout, but overall, content-wise, it did include a good range of movie coverage, some fiction (if you’re into having short stories mixed in with your horror movie articles: I’m not), and black and white and color pictures (although the printing quality was poor). The Scream Scene section was similar to The Monster Times‘ own The Monster Scene. A few cartoons were also tossed into the mix. In this issue, a classic horror article on Lon Chaney Sr. rubs elbows with coverage of The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, and Young Frankenstein.
Comic reader version: Download World of Horror
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Lots of cool photos and, better yet, some killer advertisements, like the holy grail of monsterkid-dom: the Famous Monsters Photo Printing Kit. And if that weren't enough to get you drooling, there are ads for the Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist Laboratory, the Addams Family Haunted House by Aurora, and Wacky Action Kits.
Comic reader version: Download Monster World Issue 5
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I was surprised to find this comic book for Reptilicus, a really badly written and presented monster movie from AIP. When you think of marionette monsters, The Giant Claw, Reptilicus, and Viking Women and the Sea Serpent are stellar examples of bad special effects producing comic results. For Reptilicus, his diminutive arms are non-functional, so how he could actually move (beyond someone pulling his strings) is anyone's guess. But hey, for 10 cents, why not?
Comic reader version: Download Reptilicus Comic Issue 2
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For the children of the night, it doesn't get any better than issue 27 of The Monster Times. Vampires take flight, beginning with Gary J. Svehla's Forgotten Vampires of the Cinema. Of course, now we have the Internet and streaming movies and stuff we'd love to forget but can't because it keeps coming back like a vampire. But in 1973, an article like this one was pure gold to horror fans. Putting a nail in Blackula's coffin is Joe Kane with Scram, Blacula, Scram, who seems to really not like poor Mamuwalde much at all. Perhaps the most dispiriting read is Dave Stidworthy's the Decline and Fall of Bela Lugosi. On the one hand, while Lugosi suffered through a career that didn't shine as much as Boris Karloff's, to say that his many poverty row movies or his Ed Wood wonders are forgettable is rather shortsighted. You can call them many things, or critique them many ways, but you can never ever say they're forgettable.
Comic reader version: Download The Monster Times 27 (read more creepy magazines from Zombos' Closet)
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The Fly and Return of the Fly buzzes around issue 25 of The Monster Times as Jim Wnoroski takes a swat at the movies, and C.C. Beck is marveled for his artistic work on Captain Marvel. I recall seeing Mr. Beck at one of Phil Seuling's Comic Art Conventions. Beck's hobby was to create very realistic sword and sorcery weapons out of paper and cardboard. He auctioned off some of these at the convention. Seuling, a big fellow, let down his hair (he really did, as he let it grow long) and grabbed a mighty Beck-crafted axe, then posed a la Conan for photo ops. Hopefully, some of those pictures still exist. I also had picked up one of the weapons to check it out and was surprised to find it light as a feather, but very realistic in appearance. Also in this issue, horror heroines get some love, and the Kung Fu craze kicks up the action.
Comic reader version: Download The Monster Times 25
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So, what's better than a double bill viewing of The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock and The Awful Dr. Orlof? Why, getting the Erotiphile novelty giveaway card, of course! Now that's a giveaway to hold on to. Quite cheeky I might add, too.
Comic reader version: Download A Night of Fright Pressbook
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A Night of Fright Double Bill Pressbook:
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