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SUPERHEROES OF THE 70’s

Jeff Jones’ SUPER HUMAN’s soul sifts from substance, sails, soars, slips up. It sho’. ain’t easy being a superhero, competing with so many muscle-bound morons gleaned from the bargain basement of Vic Tanny’s Gym. One needs a new shtick, like maybe mystical daydreams and paranoiac fantasies and fear of the dark.

Wrightson’s REDNECK rollickingly rides, raids, rips-off and runs. REDNECK bears out his own claims about how hard it is to tell the boys from the girls of this Tong-haired generation. He smacks in the face of a girl. We trust it was an accident on REDNECK’s part. You know how it is…

BY C.M. RICHARDS

Esquire Ogles Monsterdom

Esquire Magazine finally got hip! Ne knew it would happen sometime. Gosh knows Eskie has been trying hard enough to be “with it” for so long; ever since Playboy grabbed their audience back in the ’50’s and Marvel Comix arrested the development of the college market Esquire’d hoped to get in the ’60’s. So in what appears to be a last-ditch attempt to assure itself of some segment of the magazine buying public, Eskie (as it’s called) has gone Monster Comix mad.

Horror and fantasy comix artists Berni Wrightson, Jeff Jones, Mike Ploog, Barry Smith, Ralph Reese and Alan Lee Weiss wrote and drew their own Eskie-commissioned conceptions of Superheros of the Seventies. The visions wax from sharp satire (anti-establishment, and anti-disestablishment), to grotesquely poetic and mystical. All deal with the “Counter-Culture” the news media always talks to death.

Berni, the baneful Wrightson presented the adventures of RED-NECK! … obviously Archie Bunker’s fondest dream; able to beat tall children in a single bound. Armed with only his fists and a “crime-stopper grenade” (in the shape of a pop-top beer can), extremist RED-NECK definitely belongs lumped into the “Counter-Culture” mob.

Then there’s REDNECK’S counterpart, COMRADE BROTHER, THE PEOPLE’S HERO, by Ralph Reese. COMRADE BROTHER is a screeching revolutionary who takes as much pleasure in killing policemen as REDNECK enjoys in breaking laws and hippies’ noses. BUT! sans his two-day growth of beard & his beret & his tommy gun, slogan shouting COMRADE BROTHER stands revealed as nothing more than a frustrated 3rd-class Madison Avenue copywriter.

But the fellow who really operates the Pop Culture Counter is PHIZGINK who really works at being “IN-ane, MUND-ane, INS-ane” a “Creature of the Ridiculous” wearing the most garish super-hero costume ever, brandishing a button labeled “VIVA DADA”, and screaming “WHAT HAS REALITY DONE FOR YOU LATELY?” (The Incredible) PHIZGINK was created by artist Alan Lee Weiss.

THE RAIDER is Mike Ploog’s satirical superhero spoof; an Afro-American Ralph Super-Nader RAIDER who loftily declares: “I’ve had it! I’m going to fight injustice, corruption and inflation, and the sewer will be my headquarters!” Mr. Ploog was described by Esquire only as being 31 years old. We’d like to know more of him, as his drawing style is very reminiscent of Will Eisner, who created THE SPIRIT, one of the eeriest and most action-filled detective comix characters of all time.

On the more poetic side of the “Counter-Culture” is the SUPER-HUMAN by Jeff Jones (whose magnificent horror feast GNAWING OBSESSION graces our pages this ish). Jeff, in a very straight (tho we suspect tongue-in-cheek) fashion, depicted the adventures of a person who delved in the hair-brained mysticism of the “Counter-Culture” … performing that old chestnut of the Black Magic shtick, Astral Projection; the soul leaves the body … but before it can return, the body dies. Which is Marvel Comix’ DOCTOR STRANGE Plot Device Number Two. Only this time it’s supposedly for real. This is Jeff’s subtly satiric comment on the mental health state of the “Counter-Culture’s” fun-filled folk.

Ralph Reese’s satire of COMRADE BROTHER, who’s like so many other “People’s Heros” … that is; semi-literate. They don’t know there’s a “c” in the alphabet and spell words like “America” with a “k”… no doubt COM. BROTHER’s related to the same morons who first spelled “clan” with a “k”.

Mike Ploog’s THE RAIDER has a dollar sign on his belt buckle … a symbol of the cause he fights for! The money we paupers shell out to those who gouge us on food and rent and public transportation (which only kings can afford these days). THE RAIDER is one hero we’d support. Maybe we already do!

Alan Weiss’ PHIZGINK is truly incredible. As his story sez, “He don’t know the answers, but he sure can make you forget the question!” PHIZGINK is about the nobly costumed hero who really is aware he’s wearing a costume. He calls himself a creature of the Ridiculous. Aren’t costumed heroes that anyway?

Last, but by far not the least, is the SOLDIER HERO. the last soldier on earth. Also, the last person on earth. But not for long. With nobody left to fight, he’s got only himself upon whom to take out his aggressions … and so he swiftly does. This disquieting thought was executed by Barry Smith, the superb sword & sorcery fantasy illustrator of the CONAN comic book.

As avid MONSTER TIMES readers know, some of these horror artists are already contributors to TMT. Others we’ll definitely be displaying in future issues. And we don’t doubt that in no time at all, we’ll have acquired work from the rest of them. THE MONSTER TIMES doesn’t consider any other monster pub to be competition, cause none of them is in our league. Excepting perhaps ESQUIRE … and we’ll soon be out-monstering! them. Just you wait and see. If Eskie ceases to do horror-monster articles in the future, it’s only because they couldn’t take OUR competition! And you know that’s true. If it weren’t true, we wouldn’t be allowed to say it in a newspaper!

Kidding aside, the March ish of ESQUIRE is well-worth the dollar it costs, for the 6 full-color pages of horror-comix artists’ work. Or so this reviewer feels. Besides, you also get some great candid shots of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy-Onassis-?-Whomever, and a great quiz on President Nixon. Monster-buff’s bonus! We highly recommend it!

C.M. Richards

Barry Smith’s SOLDIER HERO struggled since The Start. Slays slew. Ceases, Barry Smith, master of sword and sorcery comix demonstrates his versatility in portraying a stylized cinematic science fiction. Barry and the other horror illustrators did something with printed form that no movie can hope to do…

It made history, it really did, that first annual STAR TREK Con. And “it” didn’t really expect to. The con’s promoters, that is, Al Shuster, Joan Winston, Allan Asherman, et al, expected only a chummy little gathering of say, 300 to 400 avid ST aficionados – 500, tops, and planned their convention accordingly, renting only three ballrooms in the top floor of the Statler Hilton in New York City, last Jan. 21, 22 & 23.

Over 3,500 persons showed up, more than at any other science fiction convention in the history of this planet.

Not counting, of course, guests of honor Gene Roddenberry, the series’ producer/writer, and his lovely actress wife, Majel Barret, who played Nurse Christine Chapel, on the show. Also, ST scriptwriter and guiding light, Dorothy C. Fontana, showed up too, and the three of them gave a special guest lecture to the well-over 1000 fans who fought tooth & ear to get within earshot for the cherished fan/pro question & answer session which followed.

The most frequently-chirruped question was: “If the series ever could start up again, what could we do to help make it happen?”

Answer: Write to all 3 TV networks, folk! DEMAND ST!

The ST-Con brought from hiding that all-around Renaissance man (lecturer, SF author, humorist, scientist, Biblical interpreter, literary expert and professional lecher). Issac Asimov. Dr. Asimov abdicated his Mysterious Hermitage (located somewhere between the baneful Black Forest and Santa’s toyshop) to deliver a few sparkling one-liners about Mr. Spock’s unique character, as well as to plug some of Dr. A’s latest literary releases; “Issac Asimov’s Joke Book,” “Issac Asimov’s Annotated Bible” & “The Sensuous Dirty Old Man.” This last he gave credence to by making numerous passes at the nubile nymphet teen “Trekkies” (girl STAR TREK fans) who flowed in abundant abundance throughout the hotel.

With a bit more decorum, veteran SF author Hal Clement gave a talk on the STAR TREK Universe. Also, Mr. Oscar Katz told over 1000 rapt listeners of the many trials and tribulations he and TREK creator Gene Roddenberry suffered in getting ST on the air; selling it to NBC, back in 1966, when he was a creative director at Desilu Studios. Mr. Katz is now a vice-president at CBS-TV.

But naturally, the most welcomed guests at The Con weren’t even listed on the program … namely us; THE MONSTER TIMES staff. We premiered our all-STAR TREK, 2nd great issue there, a week ahead of scheduled release, to the delight of the many thousands who cheerfully forked over the four bits cover price.

Many of MT’s staff, editors, publishers, writers alike, stood at the MT table in the Hucksters’ Trading Room, selling copies and answerings thousands of questions, cheerfully, of course. The view from the table was unique, to say the least, considering some of the notables who dropped by to buy copies:

Sol Brodsky, for one, Editor-Publisher of the Skywald “horror” comic mags PSYCHO and NIGHTMARE, sauntered to our table to express his well-wishes, and to applaud MT’s bold new art direction, half-seriously (?) asking for a loan of our art department.

Calvin B. Eck also dropped by to learn just enough about us to try and gain some publishing tips. Mr. Eck edits and occasionally publishes a semi-worthy competing monster pub called CASTLE OF FRANKENSLIME, or something like that, and is known for his hilarious impersonations of Orson Welles in A TOUCH OF EVIL.

A rather haggard, and otherwise overworked-looking Bill Dubay (production Ed for the Warren Publishing Monster line) sped past our table, whisking up a copy … plopping two quarters down on the table briskly. He whizzed by so fast, we didn’t have time to pumpany top-drawer Company Secrets from him. We hear that his boss is paranoid about such matters. And we can’t really guess why. We’ll have to ask the rich-man’s Lenny Bruce that sometime.

Larry Ivie, editor of MONSTERS & HEROES magazine, picked up a copy of TMT, also, saying he read the first issue, even though he dislikes our newspaper and urged us to change to standard mag format, the way he & everyone else does. Well, ya can’t please every competitor.

Numerous contributors to MT were present, also; Mark Frank, Buddy Weiss, Berni Wrightson, Marvin Wolfman, Len Wein, Stanley Simon, Gary Gerani, Ron Borst, Jim Wnoroski, and Philadelphia’s own Steve Vertlieb, who flew in just to pick up his advance copy of ish No.2.

A gala STAR TREK costume ball was one of the final festivities and one of the most frequently-attended ones, Dozens of STAR TREK fans paraded about the Grand Ballroom, dressed as the U.S.S. Enterprise crew, as well as some of the numerous and picturesque villains and life-forms which appeared on the series in its 3-season existence. The costumes ran from humorous to grotesque. One lady portrayed a tribble (a fuzz-ball critter), various persons paraded about as Klingon and Romulan officers. Mr. Spock was impersonated by at least a dozen fans (more than half of whom were, strangely enough, women, Strange in that Vulcans like Spock are supposed to be totally logical creatures).

A convention art room held for display and sale many works of STAR TREK-oriented art, not the least impressive of which were a batch of printed sketches by MT’s own Allan Asherman. Most repros of this sketch, A.A. sold for 25¢ each. But signed reproductions of the same sketch by A.A. went for $1.00 each, Bet you didn’t know that an Asherman autograph goes for 75¢ these days! The inflated price is because Allan is a MT associate editor, which almost goes without saying.

But seriously, the First Annual STAR TREK Convention was such an overwhelming success, that there will definitely be another one Next Year!

EC. HORROR LIBRARY
OF THE 1950’S

Dim the lights and close the doors as those FETID FOLKTALES of the 1950’s bubble forth in FULL COLOR from the witch’s cauldron. A selection of the greatest scare stories from HAUNT OF FEAR, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, and VAULT OF HOROR… including a rare unpublished TERROR TALE.

CLOTHBOUND 208 pages $19.95

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E. C. SEGAR’S
Popeye

Spinach became a staple vegetable in the ’20’s when a simple seaman used it to turn on all his power! The Spinach Growers of America even erected a statue to the American institution that we all know as POPEYE. E. C. SEGAR brought this character into the THIMBLE THEATRE well after it was established but the strip was never the same. And these episodes from the ’30’s will show you the magnificent seaman at his best!

CLOTRBOUND 128 pages $7.95

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CAPTAIN AMERICA
by JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY

In 1941 two of the greatest superhero teams were born simultaneously…SIMON and KIRBY and CAPTAIN AMERICA and BUCKY! Working together for only 10 issues of CAPTAIN AMERICA, Simon and Kirby’s dynamic artistry soared to instant success. This deluxe 812 x 11 clothbound collector’s edition has reprinted the greatest stories of those first 10 issues of CAPTAIN AMERICA! This 128 page bonanza brings you the ORIGIN of both CAPTAIN AMERICA and the RED SKULL, THE RETURN OF THE RED SKULL, HORROR HOSPITAL, CAPTAIN AMERICA MEETS THE FANG, as well as many other stories from the files of Simon and Kirby’s CAPTAIN AMERICA!

CLOTHBOUND 128 pages $6.95

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FLASH GORDON
INTO the WATER WORLD of MONGO
by Alex Raymond

Now at last the companion volume to our first unforgettable FLASH GORDON edition is available! The full development of Alex Raymond’s illustrative genius is dramatically reproduced in this 9 x 12 hardcover volume. A complete two and a half years of FLASH GORDON have been painstakingly reprinted from the original proofs beginning with FLASH’s entrance into the Water World at April 12, 1936 to his banishment to the Forest Kingdom of Mongo on October 10, 1938. This surprise package of 1971 is ready for immediate shipment.

CLOTHBOUND – 144 pages $12.95

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ALEX RAYMOND’S
FLASH GORDON

Alex Raymond was an illustrator’s illustrator. His FLASH GORDON from the 1930’s were unique examples of comic art that step beyond Camp and Pop into the realm of Fine Art. See Flash, Dale and Dr. Zarkov battle the tyrant Ming in this handsome 9- 12 hardcover collector’s edition ExtraA biography of Alex Raymond by Al Williamson.

CLOTHBOUND $12.95
Deluxe 11″/14″ Collectors Edition $19.95

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TERRY AND THE PIRATES

Comic strips have never been the same since that day in 1934 when Terry Lee and Pat Ryan sailed into the China Sea! View the Oricnt as it was and never will be again as TERRY AND THE PIRATES set sail again in Nostalgia Press’ hardcover volume bringing you this strip from its very first day! From Oct. 22, 1934 to Dec. 13, 1935.

CLOTHBOUND – 196 pages $12.50

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The PICTURE HISTORY of
CHARLIE CHAPLIN

The career of the inimitable Charlie Chaplin is shown in hundreds of stills, old ads, original reviews, old Chaplin song sheets, etc. Written by Gerald McDonald, the leading authority on Chaplin.

PAPERBOUND 64 pages $1.95

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NOSTALGIA COMICS

An exciting bi-monthly publication dedicated to reprinting the classics of the comic strip from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Already planned for the first issues are Alex Raymond’s RIP KIRBY, vintage POPEYE, the daily FLASH GORDON, MINUTE MOVIES, GASOLINE ALLEY, BRICK BRADFORD, SECRET AGENT X-9. The PHANTOM and many other classics!

Single Copy $3.00
6 Issue Subscription $15.00

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LEE FALK’S
THE PHANTOM

The sign of the PHANTOM Y has meant excitement for readers all over the world ever since it first appeared! Now on 80 thrill-packed pages follow THE GHOST WHO WALKS through one of his best adventures from the ’30’s!

PAPERBOUND 80 pages $3.00

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LEE FALK’S
MANDRAKE the MAGICIAN

When these two hats get tossed into the ring, anything can happen and usually does! Lee Falk has been mixing the real and the fantastic for years ever since 1934! Phil Davis added the art that kept MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN filled with excitement! See how it all began…

CLOTHBOUND – 96 pages $5.95

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FANTASY FOTOS SET 1: CAPT. MARVEL, MR. SPOCK, FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER

The real thing! Actual Giant-Sized 8″x10″ photographs of the most popular heroes of the century. Capt. Marvel, who thrilled millions during the ’40’s; Mr. Spock, the futuristic folk hero of today; and the immortal creation; Frankenstein’s Monster.

…$3.00

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‘2001: A SPACE ODDYSSEY’ POSTCARD SET

4 beautiful extra large postcards from the greatest SF movie of our times. Send them to friends, relatives; they’ll know your ahead of your time. Buy 2 sets – one for your room.

…$1.25

MOVIE MONSTERS
By Dennis Gifford
Studio Vista/Dutton Pictureback.
$2.25

We shall write few words about this paperback (Pictureback) book. There are few (albeit well-chosen) words in it. What the author has to say about the dozens upon dozens of horror and monster films is always brief and to the point. Almost epigrammatic. Almost as if he were writing commercials for TV. Or copy for THE MONSTER TIMES.

Example:

“Zombies make good soldiers: a platoon of Cambodian dead marched through shellfire to victory in REVOLT OF THE ZOMBIES, and John Drew Barrymore’s army of Roman corpses was interestingly if incompetently superimposed in slow motion in WAR OF THE ZOMBIES. Jayne Eyre in the West Indies’ was how Val Lewton described his production of I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, based on factual articles by Inez Wallace. Frances Dee nursed the somnambulistic wife of planter Tom Conway, and a tall black zombie called Carre Four (Darby Jones) chased James Ellison into the sea. The scientific creation of zombies loses the charm of a voodoo ceremony, but substitutes the cinematic apparatus of a laboratory. John Carradine killed Veda Ann Borg, then revived her as a corpse in REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES: only Monogram (Pictures) aficionados could tell the difference…” And so on. This amounts to one whole fifth of the chapter on The Zombie. If you wonder why we quoted so much, it’s to set you up for the next issue of THE MONSTER TIMES…an ALL-ZOMBIE ish.

The best part of the Gifford book (in fact the most of its total 160 pages), is the picture selection. At quick count – 160 pictures! Everyone is well-selected and very well printed. Every category of monster is represented. From the first version of FRANKENSTEIN and DER GOLEM and NOSFERATU and DRACULA to pretty rare and seldom-printed gems like John Barrymore’s 1920 version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Or THE FLY. Or one of the ALLIGATOR PEOPLE. Or the BLOOD BEAST TERROR. Or the animal-made men who constituted the LOST SOULS on THE ISLAND OF. Or the famous censored scene of the FRANKENSTEIN monster hanging Dwight Frye.

A really good picture book is a bargain at most (we won’t be so crass as to say ANY) price(s). But $2.25 is a Pretty Fair deal.

A note of warning though: The publishers set out to produce a terrific pix-book … and so used heavy glossy stock for EACH PAGE… paper that is heavier and sturdier and more receptive of photogravure than most American magazine cover paper. Sadly, the book’s COVER is only pasted to the stitched page folds, and has a tendency to fall off upon the third opening of the book. But the book’s so good, you’ll open it a thousand times … so it’s bound to fall apart. So, if you’re a serious collector and horror film freak, best buy two. One for you to dismantle… and one for your children or grandchildren to someday enjoy asunder.

C. M. Richards.

TARZAN, over the years, has been drawn by, more great illustrators than you can shake a No. 3 Winsor-Newton sable inking-brush at. Two of the greatest are here represented: CLINTON PETEE, who painted the cover of the first pulp serialization of the first novel, TARZAN OF THE APES, back in 1912.

This was pretty fierce action painting, back then. Petee was followed by others, most notably J. Allen St. John and Hal (PRINCE VALIANT) Foster.

BURNE HOGARTH, whose November 11, 1941 Sunday TARZAN strip is excerpted above, achieved the most recognition around the world, for his “old master” approach to action-adventure drawing; tense, dynamic, powerful. European art expert and comic art enthusiasts have had gallery exhibitions of Hogarth’s TARZAN strips. Now, in comic books, Joe Kubert takes a hand in drawing/writing/and adapting the TARZAN series, for DC. Joe Kubert is doing TARZAN as Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote him … as an English lord, who, finding himself in the jungle, naturally became “Lord of the Jungle.”

The return of the Native!

TARZAN’S WRITER/ARTIST JOE KUBERT TELLS ALL IN AN EXCLUSIVE MONSTER TIMES INTERVIEW

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, in his long lifetime, populated the imaginations of millions, with strange worlds at the center of the Earth’s core (PELLUCIDAR) exotic denizens of fabled Lost Cities of Gold (TARZAN, KORAK), strange alien monster races with four arms, others with dinosaur tails and multitudes of bulging bug eyes riding pterodactyl ptaxicabs (JOHN CARTER OF MARS, CARSON OF VENUS). The menagerie of strange beasts and creatures and monsters and mammoth, gigantic animals would sink an Ark.

Now the burgeoning Burroughs’ zoo comes marching into your merry little mind, out of the pages of the National Periodicals (DC) Comics group.

This month, and in the next couple of months, DC will be premiering a new line of ERB comix: TARZAN, KORAK, and TARZAN PRESENTS: EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS’ WEIRD WORLDS.of the various books the WEIRD WORLDS book is the third, incorporating features originally to be in the first two (and the arrangement is pretty complicated and so won’t be gone into here). We will be seeing therein all these various features:

TARZAN: written, edited & drawn by Joe Kubert.

JOHN CARTER OF MARS: Written by Marvin Wolfman, drawn by Murphy Anderson.

KORAK – SON OF TARZAN: Written by Len Wein, drawn by Frank Thorne.

PELLUCIDAR – Written by Len Wein, drawn by Allan Weiss.

CARSON OF VENUS: Written by Len Wein, drawn by Mike Kaluta.

Astute MT readers may note that Messrs. Kaluta, Wein and Wolfman, are also contributors to THE MONSTER TIMES. THE MONSTER TIMES alumnus makes its mark!

The new National Burroughs books are the news event of comix this year. DC has acquired permission to adapt anything ERB ever wrote. Gold Key Comics used to handle TARZAN and KORAK, but the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate took them away from Gold Key and handed the rights over to DC, solely, it is rumored, on the strength of the work of one DC artist, Joe Kubert. We managed to interview this man in comix news, this week, and his comments about the direction the amiable Apeman, as well as comments from DC freelance editor, Marvin Wolfman, should prove interesting to THE MONSTER TIMES’ readers.

Joe Kubert is a burly, bearded athletic middle-aged man, who looks more like he’d be participating in Burroughs’ high adventures than drawing them.

Introductions were exchanged, and then…

The Interview

MT: What is the basic direction you intend to keep with the TARZAN book? Will you go to the more fantastic realms of lost cities, or will you keep it more to Jungle adventure?

KUBERT: The life-blood of any cartoon character is change, fantastic change and pacing so that the reader doesn’t know what to expect next. When you ask me where he’s going to go, what he’s going to do; “I don’t know” other than that TARZAN will be as he himself was in TARZAN OF THE APES, Burroughs’ original conception. In fact, the first four issues will be pretty much taken verbatim from the original TARZAN OF THE APES, I’m just winding up that fourth book now, Where we’ll go next, I’m really not sure. It could be fantastic adventures, like TARZAN & THE LEOPARDMEN. Or perhaps a completely original story; I don’t know. We’ve a lot of material to choose from.

MT: To clarify for those who only know of TARZAN through the Weismuller & other movies, how do you see the original TARZAN?

KUBERT: Not as the grunting kind of a guy that Weissmuller portrayed him. Although, Weissmuller came closer to looking like TARZAN than any other actor. Physically. But mentally, The Ape Man, as far as Burroughs’ description is concerned, has learned to read English before he can speak it, he’s learned to speak French, then speak English. He’s a rather well-spoken, well-read kind of a character, not the grunty Weissmuller one of “Me TARZAN, you Jane! HimBoy!”

MT: There are other attributes to his character that were skimped upon in the movies. A “moral tone” beyond the simple filmed attitudes. How closely can you keep to this in the comix format?

KUBERT: Well, I’m trying to adhere to this as closely as possible, although I feel a lot of the things that Burroughs did, in 1912, are outdated, as our mores and morals and ideas have changed rather drastically since. For instance, natives. The black men. In the original book they are shown as being forced to go into the interior of Africa because of the suppression and cruelty of the white soldiers who just at that time (1912) were beginning to invade the dark continent. However, in other parts of book he described blacks as overly-subservient or overly-cruel themselves, or even bestial, which I feel are completely out of context with things as we know and feel them today. So the moral character of Tarzan will stay rather closely to the original character that Burroughs gave him, only I’m trying to make it as “contemporary” as possible. By that I don’t mean that he’s a “Now” character, or a hip kind of a guy, he’s still a rather naive kind of a guy who will kill if he’s put on the spot but doesn’t kill for the sake of killing. There is one episode in which he learns how unfair, how greedy and cruel the outside world is, and he returns to his own African home, commenting how the white men outside are no better, and in many ways much worse than the beasts of the jungle. That the people outside kill because of greed and cruelty, where animals will rarely kill for any other reason than to protect their own domain or for food. His few short forays into civilization only bring him back to the place where he was born. A sort of touchstone.

MT: And so he prefers the jungle, where he is lord.

KUBERT: He is born into a nobility that is ingrained in him. Burroughs has set him up as the kind of a guy who would be a “lord” regardless of where he found himself. Simply because he was born of the royal lineage of English nobility. So to that extent he retains that kind of a character. He is “lord” of the jungle. He would be “lord” of the sewer, if he happened to find himself there. That’s what Burroughs built him up as, and that’s how I’m going to handle him.

MT: How is the relationship with Jane going to be handled? In the first book they weren’t married; living together in the jungle.

KUBERT: At this point, I’d rather have him a bachelor, his affair with Jane in the first book leads him to go to America to find her. They’d professed love to each other in the jungle before she’d left. The plot gets kind of convoluted. She leaves without him. He follows her. When they meet in America he learns she’s already been promised to somebody else, and he, being the noble savage that he is (jerk that he is), says that he realizes she’s already sworn to another, and for him to break this up would be a “most ignoble” thing to do. He then steps away from the relationship, rather than pulling her away from her betrothed, and just steps aside and goes back to his apes.

MT: That could be a pretty heartbreaking moment in comic books.

KUBERT: I cried for three days! (Laughter).

KUBERT: Seriously, I’m going to try to make it as dramatic as I possibly can. 1 think it works pretty good.

MT: One of the first things that strikes me about your art is that although mentally you have a strong conception of figures and settings you’re drawing, you keep it very, very loose and open.

KUBERT: I am very heavily influenced by the first TARZAN sequence, which was a combination of text and illustration by Hal Foster (who later created Prince Valiant), back in 1920, when the first TARZAN strip was sold. This was a basic, crude kind of an illustration that always lured me, enticed me into reading that strip. And I feel that it had the same effect on almost everybody. The crudity fit the character and setting so well – well, you call it looseness, I call it trying to get down to the very basic, simple illustrative qualities that will not slow down a story, so that someone who is not necessarily a comic book buff can enjoy the story, not obtruding, but enhancing.

MT: Still, there’s a powerful! draftsmanship involved, as say, the scenes of TARZAN wrestling a bull-ape, or staving off an attacking lion. Do you keep in mind the colorist as you do this?

KUBERT: Looking at these sketches in black & white is looking at only half the job. I definitely think of color. The colorist, Tatjana Wood, incidentally, has done a terrific job.

MT: From the way the ERB books seem to take well to comix, do you suppose Burroughs was a frustrated comic book writer?

KUBERT: Oh, no, I think that comic books were probably the furthest thing from his mind. I think that he was an adventure writer, and that basically comic books are that kind of a media. His pacing is a little slower in his books. You couldn’t get away with discussions, a series of balloons”talk-talk” in a comic book or strip.

MT: Yes, although his son, John Burroughs, did draw a comic strip version of JOHN CARTER OF MARS in the 1930’s. And there was a time in his college days that ERB drew editorial cartoons, and reputedly made sketches of all the monster characters which appeared in his books, perhaps to give a better idea of them to the illustrator of his novels, J. Allen St. John.

KUBERT: I didn’t know that.

WOLFMAN: The thing is though, that Burroughs didn’t mean this to be the greatest literature in the world. He was trying to do Pulp Writing. He was influenced by the pulps of the time. He had sold advertisements for some of the magazines, and then suddenly decided he could write better stories than were then in those magazines.

KUBERT: I think his greatest weight was the fact that he did a terrific action story with much imagination, which in turn, kind of “turned on” anybody who read it.. It kind of gives your imagination a shove into – oh about seven million different directions. His effectiveness is not so much what he has written, but what he has instilled in others to write beyond. And that Edgar Rice Burroughs’ worlds were a step-off point.

MT: For instance?

KUBERT: Ninety-nine and 9/10th’s percent of all science fiction writers are jumping off Burroughs’ wing. Pushed to delve into their own imaginations and machinations, impelled by Burroughs. Most science fiction writers will admit that they’re steeped in Burroughs’ writings.

WOLFMAN: Practically all the things that have been written lately he did in his early books. He had a race of women who were using artificial methods to create more children.

MT: Don’t mention that to Women’s Lib!

WOLFMAN: … That was in the PELLUCIDAR series. JOHN CARTER influenced those after him. Science fiction. Sword and Sorcery; Conan, in particular. Everything stemmed from that approach.

KUBERT: For instance, FLASH GORDON, which I think is one of the greatest comic strips of all time, must have been based on one of the half-dozen kinds of characters Burroughs created.

WOLFMAN: And the BUCK ROGERS strip, I think, is related very closely to BEYOND THE FURTHEST STAR … another ERB story which we may be soon adapting. He really set a pace for years to come.

MT: How would you sum up your efforts?

KUBERT: Just to wind this whole thing up; what Marvin and I are attempting to do, is to go back, get rid of all the extraneous crud that’s been done and that has kind of dissipated the main thrust of the character that I think that Edgar Rice Burroughs had in mind. We’ll go back to the original concept, and take The Ape Man in his raw vitality, and continue along the original thrust and line that Burroughs himself meant for the character. If we can do that, we’ll have accomplished what we set out to do.

ABOUT THIS ISSUE’S CENTERFOLD POSTER

THE MONSTER TIMES is always scouring about for new talent, as well as diligently striving to acquire the best of the established horror and sci-fi art superstars. This issue’s awf-colored poster of the ever-popular Gill, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, was rendered by Tim Johnson, who’s just turning 18 this April.

A MONSTER TIMES discovery, Tim is a senior student at the New York High School of Art & Design, A far-better than average new comic art talent, Tim intends to gainful employment in the fiercely competitively world of comic books, upon his graduation in June. We wish him luck, and trust that his poster for this issue will be a valuable portfolio piece when he goes looking for work in comix.

Tim has been into Fandom for many years, collecting stills, comix, and fanzines (fan-produced magazines), and has put out some fanzines of his own, as well as contributing to many of the better ones. He prefers comic books and illustrations to the stuff that’s called Fine Art these days, and admires the work of such great cartoonists and illustrators as Jack Davis, Wally Wood, and Frank Frazetta, hoping someday to achieve comparable greatness.

THE MONSTER TIMES thinks that Tim Johnson is well on his way!

CONFESSIONS FROM THE BLACK LAGOON

Somewhere along the upper reaches of the Amazon, deep in the tropical miasma of a forgotten world, the river turns and enters into a small lagoon. The natives seldom speak of this mysterious place, but when they do their words tremble with fear. This is the dwelling place of a demon, a monstrous beast whose, force of evil has driven it through millions of centuries. It is a being so horrible, so fantastic, that mortal words cannot accurately describe its ancient fury. So it must be called upon to describe itself…

Demon? Monstrous beast? EGAD!!! Eighteen years since my first appearance and people still think I’m a louse! I really don’t give a darn about my public image, but when playful young teenagers start booby-trapping the local lagoon, where female fish swim, I believe the time has come for a rebuttal. So here, now, in the black and white panorama of the MONSTER TIMES, I shall reveal the ungarnished truth about one of Hollywood’s greatest movie monsters Behold, the uncut, uncensored confessions of yours truly, the heart-stopping Gill-Man, the malevolent man-fish, the scaly scalaway from South America, the famous and original CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON!

The Memoirs of Gilbert “Gill” Gillman

“Rolling on the River”

For the first 75 million years of my life things were really swell. I’d relax, clown around with the local natives (they always gotta kick out of my Buster Crabbe impersonations) and would spend the remainder of the day charming the prettiest schools of pirhana this side of Burt’s Aquarium!

Then, on a warm September afternoon in the fall of 1953, big-time movie producer William Alland came chugging down the tranquil Black Lagoon, searching for a new face into which he could invest money. After starring in some Grade B disaster with Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane,” I believe) back in ’41, Mr. Alland had since decided to divert his time and funds to the sophisticated prospect of monster movies. Along with him for the ride was Nestor Paiva, who hadn’t shaved in over a year and muttered something about, “You crazy Americano, why dunt you high-tail eet out of here and make Ricardo Montalban movies?”

Unhampered by Nestor’s obvious lack of taste, Bill pressed on until he finally spotted me sitting on a log, thumbing through my Aquaman comic books. “You’re a natural,” he squealed, and then, after asking me whether or not my name was Rosebud, offered me a contract with Universal Pictures. To be perfectly honest, I was terribly excited at the idea. After all, as he promptly pointed out, look what good ol’ “Universal U” did for Count Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster. After only ten or twenty years, they were able to meet famous Hollywood personalities, such as Abbott and Costello and the Bowery Boys! It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that I’d be foolish to ignore, and so I said farewell to my pals and gals, packed my neutralizer and headed for the wilds of Southern California.

“When in Southern California, Visit Universal City Studios”

My reception in the Sunny State was something less than bright. My first three days were spent jitterbugging for Charles Welbourne’s underwater 3D camera setup, and the only time I got to see Alland was when the returns to IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE came in from outer box offices.

Finally I was introduced to the cast and crew when I threatened to form my own movie studio under the name “American International”. (Later two goofs called Nicholson and Arkoff won the copyright from me in a crap game.) Dick Carlson made an appropriate “young, resourceful scientist”. After an enjoyable chat with the actor, I discovered he had co-starred with an old friend of mine, Froggy, who had temporarily left the Andy Devine complex to star with Dick Carlson in Allied Artist’s THE MAZE. Later that week I encountered my old pal who greeted me with an expected “Hiya, Gill! Hiya, Hiya, Hiya!” and explained the advantages and disadvantages of 3D movie making.

At this point I was beginning to feel more at home in the alien environment. Lovely Julia Adams was perhaps most instrumental, since she apparently sensed that I was – dare I say it? – a fish out of water. She alone understood my plight, and I completely fell for her.

I’ll never forget the day she went for a particularly exotic swim in the studio-manufactured lagoon. Well, and me a gentleman! I mean I just had to summon up all my willpower to keep from doing anything rash.

I followed her from underneath the water (can you blame me?) and found out sometime later that clowning Charlie photographed the whole scene in 3D and submitted it to director Jack Arnold as a gag. Later Arnold included the scene in the final print and was complimented for an “arousing and poetic dramatization of unearthly love”. The bum!

Peri-Scopes of Evolution on Trial

Bill Alland later introduced me to screenwriters Harry Essex and Artie Ross who discussed their scenario with me. It! was, in a word, awful! After a few hours of intense, concentrated effort (with my valued supervision) a second script was written, which, quite seriously, contained some of the best dialog ever written for a sci-fi movie. The final effect, of course, was due mostly to the vocal talents of Richard Carlson, whose cool, scientific enthusiasm enhanced many a fantasy film. Here’s a typical example of his lingo:

“More and more we’re learning the meaning and value of marine research. This lungfish … the bridge between fish and the land animal. How many thousands of ways nature tried to bring life out of the sea and onto the land. This one failed. He hasn’t changed in over a million years. But here … here we have a clue to an answer. Someday spaceships will be traveling from Earth to other planets – are human beings going to survive on those planets? The atmosphere will be different, the pressures will be different. By studying these, and other species, we add to our knowledge of how life evolved, how it adapted itself to this world. With that knowledge, perhaps we can teach man to adapt himself to some new world of the future.”

Fortunately for us, most of Dick’s other statements weren’t as long as this initial windbaggery. But the final script did abound with a welcome understanding of science and fiction, and treated both aspects of thought respectfully. There is even a touching bit of what I term, “humanity under pressure”, as Carlson orders his companions to cease fire as I limp out of the grotto and to my aquatic death.

The fact that the 3D process demanded scripts emphasizing visual thrills might! have squashed lesser projects (and did), but the final result here was one that any monster-as-well-as-screenwriter would be proud of.

The rest of the production crew also had a good idea of what makes a monster flick click. Makeup chief Buddy Westmore was a competent craftsman – although his work with me didn’t extend far beyond the toenail clipping stage. There were also a number of stuntmen who exercised my more dangerous activities. Among these noteworthy gents were Ed Parker, Ben Chapman and – what’s his name – oh, yeah! Ricou Browning, who went ape the final day of production when I presented him with a going-away gift: an adorable baby dolphin named Flipper. Wonder whatever happened to them since…

“A Star (Fish) Is Born”

With the film in the can and our hopes in the air, Universal went about distributing the flick for both 3D and 2D engagements. The first response came from the critics, who were not very responsive.

“Only if you’ve lost all your comic books”, wailed a Times reviewer who probably kept his under lock and key. The New York News at least termed it “an average thriller” and gave us a two-and-a-half star rating. (Come to think of it, that’s what they gave Kubrick’s 2001! Oh, well…)

But the mounting critical assaults fused into an all-encompassing zero when our modest little effort turned into Universal’s biggest money-maker of 1954! Man, what a day that was! The lenses must have popped out of Jack Warner’s 3D glasses when he heard about us! HOUSE OF WAX – hah! My film wasn’t popular merely because of some tricky filter! Indeed, most movie producers of the time agreed that 3D flicks had flickered out of the public’s interest. One of our leading film competitors of the year, Warner Brother’s THEM! had been originally shot in 3D and color, but saw final release sans the various hues and dimensional effects.

To my utter astonishment, I was an overnight sensation. Although I had strict contract commitments to Universal, the studio did permit me to appear (briefly) with luscious Marilyn Monroe in 20th Century Fox’s THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH. My appearance took the form of, first, a billboard on a theater marquee and second as the subject of some rather ill-chosen lines (delivered by MM) comparing me to co-star Tom Ewell.

Yeeech!

CREATURE CONFESSIONS

Now comes a Hollywood confession type bit of info, which the publicity departments of both MGM and Universal kept hushed up:

During that exasperating year, Dick, Julie and Richard Denning accompanied me to MGM, where I met a personal favorite of mine … the lovely Miss Esther Williams, Man, could she swim! We got together one sinful evening, filled our restless throats with cocktails and hit the surf for a wild spree in the moonlite. It wasn’t long before Van Johnson heard of our rendezvous and threatened Universal with a lawsuit and a song. Fearing the frustration of the former and the repulsion of the latter, I left the MGM lot and bid Miss Williams adieu.

The Second Creature Feature!

The mesmerizing sound of jingling change in their pockets prompted Universal personnel to film a sequel to my first adventure. With the identical crew working on this flick, it was a sure bet that REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (yeah!) would retain that same sense of imagination and wonder that made the first epic a breadwinner.

Well, I must confess, we did kind of bomb out on this one.

Although the production was the same, the cast was different. Instead of the visionary Mr. Carlson, I was pitted against courageous John Agar, who turned actor after being laid off by the Armour Ham Packing Co. In place of the sultry Miss Adams, plopped tomboyish Lori Nelson (who never did learn HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE), and to follow in the footsteps of the seasoned Richard Denning, Universal hired John Bromfield, who paraded around the lot with gritted teeth and a sweatshirt labeled, “Kiss me, I’m Superman”.

Just about everything went wrong with my REVENGE. Even with Nestor Paiva and his magic beard on hand, the film still looked as if smilin’ Jack Arnold had “lost all his comic books” while directing it.

There were some redeeming qualities, however. There is a particularly amusing segment that starts with my escape from the Ocean Harbor Seaquarium and concludes with yours truly furiously tossing a car through the air with the greatest of ease. Another shattering episode involved two College kids who discover the unconscious Miss Nelson on a local beach, and when they attempt to revive her, I literally knock their brains out. Although quite grisly for the time, the scene may take on a new meaning today, with me as sort of a “Super Spiro”, rescuing young women from do-gooder college student radicals. Or maybe we just should have hired Carroll O’Conner for the part and retitled the movie THE BUNKER FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Archie, of course,

What bugged me most about the film was that it destroyed me in the eyes of the American public. Sure, it did OK! moneywise, but the people who came to see it no longer identified with me. I had become, of all things, A MONSTER! Alas!

My Film Career WALKS To the Finish Line

The following year held certain promise. With the completion of THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US, things were looking up. The stalwart scientists this time around included Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason (after just completing an orbit around Metaluna in Universal’s technicolor spectacular THIS ISLAND EARTH).

And the girl – WOW!

Leigh Snowden certainly renewed my faith in the studio’s contract players.

Apart from the inspiring cast, this third thriller boasted an unusually atmospheric music score by Henry Mancini (this was long before Hank drifted down Moon River and nearly drowned himself), plus a truly imaginative script penned by Arthur Ross.

Some ambitious, clear-thinking scientists decide to capture the feared Gill-Man and transform him into an air-breathing creature, proving the laws of evolution and producing a totally unearthly, futuristic mutation. Wild! Of course, I’m still primitive enough to tear the entire place apart in the last reel as expected, but the bizarre connotations of the unusual screenplay stick in the viewer’s mind long after the flick fades, and THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US emerges as an intriguing example of science fiction cinema. Too bad it sank at the box office.

“A Creature for All Seasons”

Well, that about wrapped up my movie career. John Q. Public was growing weary of me and my blaring “da-da-daaaaaaa!” theme song, and so I sadly left the studio late in 1956 and returned to my home on the river. Occasionally Universal would resurrect me for cameo appearances on their TV series, including one particularly ludicrous affair on THE MUNSTERS, with the entire cast hailing me as “Uncle Gilbert”, as if I’d be caught dead being any relation to those morons.

Most recently, I appeared in the “Pickman’s Model” episode of NIGHT GALLERY (slightly disguised, of course), and when I ran off with lovely Louise Sorel in my arms, it felt just like old times!

So, that’s my earth-shaking life story. Even though my career spawned quite a few frightened clods with nothing better to do than to run around spreading false rumors, I still believe the large bulk of fantasy-oriented fanatics regard me and my films as entertaining symbols of a simpler age of science fiction movie making. Leading horror author Robert Bloch has been known to call them “works of obvious crud”, but we must excuse dear Robert. He could never get over the fact that H.P. Lovecraft found me far more intriguing than the novel “Psycho”!

As I type out these last few words, I notice my pals on the river still haven’t forgotten my Buster Crabbe impersonations. Would you believe it – they actually sent away for Buster’s “muscle control body shirt”! I may not be the most popular monster in town, but at least I’m the only one with a reeeeeeeal corporation upfront! And no body shirt… yet!

Transcribed (with maddening results)

by Gary Gerani

MAIL-ORDER VAMPIRES!

Just this last week we received a letter of complaint from a fan, addressed to our Monster Market page. According to the letter, the fan sent in $12.00 for back issues of an occasionally published monster mag, over half a year ago.

Since then, he says, he received no magazines. He wrote a couple of letters to a mail-order house (whose name bears a cryptic similarity to the monster-pub’s title) and which purportedly sells the magazine’s back issues. He even sent a letter to them by registered mail, demanding an answer. The letter arrived, he said, but there was no answer.

Unfortunately, at press time we’ve been unable to get in touch with this fan for verification. If we are to actually “shed some lights on some of the vampires of our industry” as the Monster Market oath states, we need solid proof, such as a copy of a returned registered mail ticket, for starters. Although actual prosecution is the jurisdiction, legal and moral, of the Better Business Bureau, we do think unscrupulous mail-order monster-product swindles to be the reportage domain of The World’s Only Monster Newspaper … vulnerable to our fair comment.

MONSTER TIMES fans who’ve had bad experiences with mail-order houses, and have documentation of same are encouraged to send it in to us at THE MONSTER MARKET, P.O. Box 595, Old Chelsea Station, New York, New York, 10011. And we’ll see what we can do to dull those vampires’ fangs. There’s more at (ahem) stake than just their reputations!

We’re trying something new again. When will we ever cease? Our film book-like feature article this issue is about the career of the Creature From The Black Lagoon-as told by his own self.

Your monster newspaper is always looking for new methods of getting you the facts and fantasies of filmdom, even if we have to go straight to the seahorse’s mouth. You’ll blush at his escapades with Vampy Esther Williams!

We also dug up some interesting info on Humphrey Bogart’s ONLY monster/vampire film, THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X… which we nostalgically dub, “Slay It Again, Sam!”

And we’ve got:

The conclusion of Jeff Jones’ comic strip.

A review of Esquire Magazine’s Superheros of the Seventies.

And more … but what are you wasting time reading an editorial for, when there’s a contents list on your right, and all the good stuff inside …?

Chuck

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THE MONSTER TIMES IS PRODUCED AND CREATED BY LARRY BRILL & LES WALDSTEIN. Editor: CHUCK MONAUGHTON Managing Editor: JOE BRANCATELLI Copy Editor: JOE KANE Associate Editors: ALLAN ASHERMAN, MARK FRANK, PHIL SEULING, STEVE VERTLIEB, JIM WNOROSKL Columnists: BILL FERET. DENNY O’NEIL, C.M. RICHARDS. Contributing Writers: GERRY GERANI, DAVID IZZO, D.A. LATIMER, ED NAHA, BUDDY WEISS, MARVIN WOLFMAN. Contributing Photographer: BARRY GLUTSKY West Coast Correspondent: LARRY WALDSTEIN European Correspondent: JESSICA CLERK Advertising Manager: LARRY BRILL. Contributing Artists: RICH BUCKLER, HOWARD CHAYKIN, ERNIE COLON, CARLOS GARZON, DAN GREEN, STEVE HICKMAN, JEFF JONES, MIKE KALUTA GRAY MORROW, PAUL NEARY, BILL NELSON, LARRY TODD, ALLAN WEISS, WENDY WENZEL, BERNI WRIGHTSON

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2 MEMOIRS OF A LAGOON-CREATURE:
The reminiscences of a star-fish-man. Will success spoil a seaweed hunter?

6 TARZAN COMIX NEWS:
About the new TARZAN comic book, and an exclusive interview with editor-artist-writer Joe Kubert.

9 MONSTERS – A REVIEW:
a book that lists shriek achievements of the century!

11 STAR TREK CON REVISITED:
TMT looks back at the largest science fiction convention in history.

12 ESQUIRE GETS HIP:
Finally “Eskie” mag learns where it’s really at COMIX by horror artists Wrightson, Jones, Weiss, Reese, Smith & Ploog.

14 MUSHROOM MONSTERS:
Part III of a series. Will Joe Kane ever find a peaceful use for atomic energy “Bomb” films?

16 MONSTER-SIZED COLOR POSTER BONUS:
Palpitating pigments & horrifying hues embellish this creepish Creature centerfold featured for your weird wall.

18 “SLAY IT AGAIN, SAM!”:
Humphrey Bogart’s ONLY monster movie, THE RETURN OF DR. X. Was it ever bad medicine!

19 ROGER CORMAN VS EDGAR ALLEN POE:
Part II of a series. The only fight where a moviemaker killed an already dead author.

20 A GNAWING OBSESSION:
Finish of Jeff Jones’ comix vision of what ‘twould be if E.A. Poe wrote “Blondie”‘; Dagwood sandwiches ain’t the same!

24 MONSTER TIMES MARKET:
A product test record review of TALES OF TERROR. read by Nelson Olmstead. Poe ain’t the same since.

26 MONSTER TIMES TELETYPE:
Endless processions of inside news, clues, reviews, and grues-flashes to keep you insidiously informed.

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THIS ISSUE’S COVER is the skillful brush wizardry N. Ominous, the fellow who unheralded, has contributed most of the enduring movie posters of the century. Called by the nickname “Anonymous” by his friends, business associates and admirers, quietly he goes right on, churning out masterpieces like our cover, which was taken from the press book of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.

THE MONSTER TIMES, No.5, March 29, 1972, published every two weeks by The Monster Times Publishing Company. P.O. Box 595, Old Chelsea Station, New York, N.Y. 10011. Subscriptions in U.S.A.: $ 6.00 for 13 issues, outside U.S.A.: $10.00 for 26 issues. Second-class mail privileges authorized at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. Contributions are invited provided return postage is enclosed; however, no responsibility can be accepted for unsolicited material. Entire contents copyrighted (c) 1972, by The Monster Times Publishing company. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Subscriber change of address; give 8 weeks notice. Send an address imprint from recent issue or state exactly how label is addressed.

Printed in U.S.A.

I think THE MONSTER TIMES is just what I’ve been looking for! Enclosed is $ …..

Make check or money order payable to:

THE MONSTER TIMES,
P.O. Box 595, Old Chelsea Station,
New York City, N.Y. 10011

As a new subscriber (for a sub of one year or more), here is my 25-word ad, to appear FREE of charge in Fan-Fair as soon as possible.

Subscription Rates:

$6.00 for 13 issues (6 months)
$10.00 for 26 issues (1 year)
$18.00 for 52 issues (2 years)
$12.00 for 26 issues CANADA
$18.00 for 26 issues FOREIGN

PS: I pledge by the light of the next full moon to bother my local newsdealer until he (a) shakes in his boots at the sight of me, and (b) regularly and prominently displays THE MONSTER TIMES.

Please allow a few weeks for your subscription to be processed.

NEXT ISSUE!

ZOMBIES ON PARADE!

We’re covering just about every film ever made, in our next not-worthy issue … from Bela Lugosi’s WHITE ZOMBIE to toothy Charlton Heston’s OMEGA MAN.

Bet you didn’t know there was a film called ASTRO ZOMBIES… well, neither did we, but film completists Joe Kane not only saw it, but actually remembers it! It remembers it so faithfully that it could win TMT, an award of Enviable Achievement from NATIONAL LAMPOON & MAD.

We’ve also covered the zombie hit of the century, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD… which yet makes the lengthy lines who stand before movie theatres this chill spring into Frozen Living.

And dervish Dan Green, who illustrated Empire of the Ants in issue +3, is back with a chilling zombie comic strip, called AND THE DEAD SHALL WALK.

To compliment Dan’s strip, and the zombie film survey, we’ve also got a survey of ZOMBIES IN COMIX… zeroing in on the old swampy EC yarn, “Horror We? How’s Bayou?”

Now, how’s bayou subscribing to THE MONSTER TIMES?

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A TOMBLY TESTIMONIAL

“FRIGHT ON! I think a subscription to THE MONSTER TIMES is just what has been missing in my life! Life didn’t seem to mean much to me, for a long, dreary time. Doldrums had been setting in. I felt sort of, well, you know, hollow. Meaningless. You know. And then I ran into THE MONSTER TIMES in my neighborhood newsstand (I was flying a little low – nearly broke my wings). Saw THE MONSTER TIMES and I was suddenly transformed … became a new person. Well, the same old person, really, but a person. You know how it is, sometimes you haven’t even got the get-up and go to change back into a human, you know. Well, you know. You know. But now that I’ve found THE MONSTER TIMES, life is a wonderful new adventure. Like how to make it to the newsstand in that thin sandwich of time between sundown and the newsstand close-down. You know. It’s really a challenge. But as the days are getting longer, I won’t be able to do it anymore. Especially with that deathly Daylight Saving Time! So now I subscribe, to get THE MONSTER TIMES delivered every two weeks, delivered in a plain, brown envelope, right to my coffin.”

C.Drackulecki
Brooklyn, New York

With every sub of a year or more, the subscriber gets a free 25-word classified ad, to be run on our Fan-Fair page. You can advertise comics or stills or pulps, etc. or for anything else, provided it’s in good taste!