Journals and Magazines



FANZINES

Fan magazines and fan bulletins are the most vibrant and diverse part of the film magazine market. Commonly collections of articles and short pieces written and compiled by the fans themselves, these fan publications, or fanzines, sometimes receive mainstream circulation and can be purchased from main street retailers. Mostly, however, they are acquired from speciality shops, fan conventions, or by subscription. A cottage industry of independent publishers caters to a wide variety of specialist and cult interests, with film stars, movies, and prominent genres from both the classical and postclassical periods of film attracting sustained devotion. The number of fanzines available has increased dramatically since the mid-1980s, aided by an accessibility to desktop publishing and improved mail ordering facilities, as well as the growth in cult film and media shops and the explosion in fan fairs. Moreover, since the late 1990s the fan magazine has been extended through the seemingly endless possibilities offered by the Internet and Internet publishing. Online, members of countless subcultural fan communities celebrate, debate, and recollect their movie experiences, all with the speed and directness in communications required by fans who crave immediate interaction with like-minded individuals. The hallmark of these fan sites is the fans' active consumption of, contribution to, and participation in the published text, whether paper or electronic.

The proliferation of fanzines has been greatest in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the horror, science-fiction, and fantasy genres have dominated production. The horror genre is especially suited to independent or underground publishing activities; fans often take a subcultural interest in addressing transgressive images and taboo subjects, and attempt to expose marginal films from the realms of low-budget or exploitation cinema. Two pioneering publications offered an alternative voice proclaiming a fan's passion and indulgence for the horror genre: Forrest J. Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland (1958–1983) and Calvin T. Beck's Castle of Frankenstein (begun in 1959 as Journal of Frankenstein ; final issue 1975). Famous Monsters of Filmland , associated with classic horror films from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, reveled in nostalgia but presented articles and information in a jocular manner.

The editorial approaches of fanzines can vary widely—from the studious, nostalgic, and archival to the sarcastic or anarchic—but they all tend to give an impression of faithfulness and authority in a frank and opinionated way. Notable horror and exploitation fanzines from the United States include the New York–based Sleazoid Express (originally 1980–1983) and Gore Gazette , magazines with a fascination for assaultive films from cinema's grindhouses, and for either distinctly low-budget horror or productions with a high visceral content. The Baltimore-based Midnight Marquee (begun in 1963 as Gore Creatures ), focuses on obscure, older, and neglected horrors; in 1995 it also successfully ventured into book publishing. Similarly, Michael Weldon's book The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film (1983) emerged from his fanzine Psychotronic , which was originally established with the intention of reviewing the more unusual films being shown on New York television. Later, in 1989, Weldon aimed for widespread coverage of all films of a bizarre or extreme nature with his second fanzine Psychotronic Video . Video Watchdog , begun in 1990 by Tim Lucas, has from the beginning carried the cover label "The Perfectionist's Guide to Fantastic Video." Aimed at providing "information" and a "consumer-orientated guide," this unique publication has become an authority on the different prints and versions of films in circulation, providing detailed reviews of video and DVD releases. Asian Cult Cinema (begun in 1992 as Asian Trash Cinema ), like Video Watchdog , moves freely beyond the horror genre, providing expertise in the areas of film on which it centers, and most significantly displaying an ambition to provide pan-Asian coverage of genre cinema.

The boom in 1990s horror fanzines was most apparent in the United Kingdom. The two key pioneers were Shock Xpress (1985–1989) and Samhain (1986–1999). Both began as basic typed and photocopied publications, with Samhain in particular carrying fans' artwork; but later they evolved into more sophisticated fanzines with quality reproduction images and color covers. The fanzines that followed include Dark Terrors (1992–2002); Flesh and Blood (1993–1997); Necronomicon (1993–1994); Delirium (1993–1997), subtitled "The Essential Guide to Bizarre Italian Cinema"; The House that Hammer Built (1996–2002), "The Fanzine that builds into a comprehensive guide to Hammer's Fantasy Films"; and Uncut (begun in 1996). British horror fanzines have displayed a much stronger concentration on European horror cinema (especially British and Italian movies) and film and video censorship than their American counterparts. Hammer films have also attracted significant attention with special fanzines such as Dark Terrors and Vintage Hammer , devoted to discussing and detailing seemingly everything connected to the studio. However, the focus of fanzines on Hammer extends back to the 1970s with the seminal publications Little Shoppe of Horrors (begun in 1972 and published in the United States) and House of Hammer (1976, later Halls of Hammer , final issue 1984, published in the United Kingdom).



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