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Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Famous monsters of filmland


The great debate on Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine still goes on for some. Others are set in their ways and will not waiver. What is this friction that has taken from some the holy grail of magazines? Well I guess it depends on who you ask but in a nutshell it goes something like this. After FM publisher James Warren became too ill to continue as publisher and left the magazine, Editor Forrest Ackerman was unable to continue with a quality and organized magazine and ceased publication. A number of years later Ray Ferry took on resurrecting the much missed Famous Monsters and used a style a bit too close to that of Forry Ackerman. Although Ferry convinced Ackerman to come back as editor, he never took him seriously or gave him a fair shot at being a influence in the contents of his long time monster magazine. Forry eventually had enough and left for good. Ferry didn't inform the readers of this change and continued to publish Famous Monsters in a fashion the was so similar to the way Ackerman did that law suits eventually were filed and in came the courts. Ackerman won the original ruling as well as a appeal put out by Ferry and up to this day Ray Ferry still publishes FM even after bankruptcy and a efforts to force him to sell the trademark. So what is one to do, continue to read the magazine and support Ray Ferry or boycott it in support of Forry? I'm not totally sure what all the facts are, there is plenty on the web from both sides to read and decide for yourself so I guess we are left with this dilemma and I'd love to hear the thoughts of others.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ferry is one of those impossible people you just have to dismiss as a complete jerk. The crazy accusations he has been writing for years against the judges and lawyers who convicted him of copyright infringement and against Forrest Ackerman are juvenile in the extreme. The magazine no longer has any circulation to speak of. Famous Monsters under Warren/Ackerman used to be fun; under Ferry it has become sickening.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more, I have yet to speak with anyone who is supporting Ray Ferry. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Long live the Ackermonster!!!1

Anonymous said...

FM is teetering on the edge.They have mined the old products,advertisements,style,covers and pictures endlessly.They have even grabbed some articles from other early Warren mags and updated them with a few paragraphs at the end.If I was FJA I'd be (rightfully) livid.Let's let it die.While we'll miss it,the sad product since Ferry took over is substandard to many of the self published fanzines.$10 cover price for a magazine that has less content than the original 35 cent issues-sad.Notice all the ads are for Ferry products? Can you say bankrupt??

Anonymous said...

i have every issue of fm including the filmland classic 50 and i look forward to the last final issue 250 to round out my collection. its been my favorite mag all my life and i've enjoyed it no matter who was publishing. i am sorry to see it go. as a long time subscriber, i'ts always made my day when it turns up in the mail.

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