291 Issues (Feb 1958 – Mar 1983)

An interesting historical fact

Famous Monsters was published from February 1958 through March 1983. This means that the middle of their publication history was August 1970. That date gives us the movement climax inside the readership population. To find the peak among the median humans of popular or general culture, move forward one standard deviation. That moment, the moment of maximum cultural saturation, would be October 1974.

Why I hated FM

I hated Famous Monsters as a kid because the photos were old, the text was boring, the jokes were bad, and the themes were gay. It felt silly and old-timey even when it was new. It was an adult making stupid jokes about old grainy black-and-white photos. That would be OK if the content was scary. Nosferatu, for example, is old and grainy but super scary. Alas, the number of scary things I ever saw in an issue of Famous Monsters is zero.

Despite my continual disappointment, I started collecting them during my weekly visits to the glorious Al’s Newsstand (8219 SW 124th St, Miami, FL 33156). That was my first magical Something Wicked-type heaven. Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, Chic, Cherry, High Society, Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and—of course—the beloved Uncle and Grandpa of all Monster Kids, Famous Monsters.