Deemed unsuitable to an all-age market due its provocative images, the entire English language print run of the British film magazine Monster Mag was destroyed by HM Customs & Excise back in 1973, which resulted in the German and French editions becoming highly sought after.
Now, 41 years later, series creator Roger Noel Cook and relaunch editor Dez Skinn have produced an authentic limited edition full-size digitally-remastered reproduction of what must be the word's rarest horror film magazine.
You can purchase them now (while they last)
by cheque or postal order by post,
payable to Quality, to:
by cheque or postal order by post,
payable to Quality, to:
QUALITY – MONSTER MAG #2
345 DITCHLING ROAD
BRIGHTON BN1 6JJ
ENGLAND
345 DITCHLING ROAD
BRIGHTON BN1 6JJ
ENGLAND
UK: £9.95 each + £1.25 postage (add 25p for each additional copy).
International, click here: MM#2
MONSTER MAG | OPEN IT OUT IF YOU DARE!
Published between 1974 and 1976, the
British horror magazine Monster Mag was unlike anything else being produced in the era – it
folded out into a large pin-up poster, featuring a suitably salacious image
from a horror film (usually Hammer) or a horror star (like Vincent Price). It
was made by Top Sellers and edited by husband and wife team Roger and Jan Cook.
But the outrageous images got the magazine
into trouble with the second issue. As Monster Mag was published overseas, it
had to be approved before getting back into Britain. Issue one escaped Her
Majesty’s Customs & Excise, but the second issue didn’t (hopefully not on
account of the great pic of Vincent Price as Dr Phibes on its cover, which ended up as a poster in Issue 10). The entire run got seized
and destroyed, making the English version the most covetable horror zine ever (and makes its digital reprint worth hunting out - especially for those wanting to complete their collection).
After that early hiccup, the magazine
continued until issue 14, when it was finally cancelled. During its run, the
magazine size changed constantly, which was very confusing for collectors (I could never get my head around the numbering system). The early issues turned into a poster that was ‘Over 2 feet by 3
feet’, according to the taglines, before it went down to A4 a couple of times, then bounced back to a
larger size.
Three further issues (known as Volume Two)
were produced in 1976 by Dez Skinn (prior to House of Hammer being launched, another of my all-time favourites). These had a much more professional look, and had two images for the main poster image. But the much-promised Double X Special issue wasn't produced – until now. Dez Skinn never finished that issue but, hot on the
heels of the Issue 2 reprint, he has returned to 'the beige folder that he used to
collect pics' for the XX issue and has come up with a brand-new issue that’s
very much like the Monster Mags circa 1976, and in the original larger format.
For anyone growing up in 1970s Britain – and Australia (like me) – there was an illicit thrill in purchasing a copy of Monster Mag. There was something naughty and forbidden about them – the fact they were next to the girlie mags in my newsagents might have something to do with that. There was also something
tantalising about those blood-splattered images and overly-hyped articles (badly laid out for the most part),
that made the films seem way gorier – and sexier – than they ought to have been (Rocky Horror was one of them). Monster Mag was indeed a unique piece of marketing that certainly gave me a thrill in my impressionable youth. The new digital reprint of
Issue 2 and the all-new XX issue have only resurrected those feelings. Now, I want to find the one I have hunted forever for – Issue 10, with the
poster of Vinnie as Dr Phibes. Do you have a spare? Maybe Dez can reprint this
one as well (hint! hint!)
You can read more about Dez Skinn’s
memories of Monster Mag here.
Check out the Facebook page here:
No comments:
Post a Comment