Back in the 1950s Horror Comics came under fire. Parent groups and shrewd politicians jumped
on the censorship bandwagon and decided that comic books (especially Horror and
Crime titles) were responsible for the corruption of American youth.
As a result the comic book publishers were forced to
censorship their titles by watering them down or eliminating them completely.
During the early 1960s comic book publishers discovered a
way to print horror stories, albeit in a different medium than comic books.
Since magazines were not under the censorship umbrella Horror
magazines cropped up –slowly at first then eventually picking up momentum until
a plethora of titles were available-right up to the early 2000s.
Horror Comics In Black and White: A History and Catalog,
1964-2004, written and compiled by Richard J. Arndt and published by McFarland & Company, chronicles the
rebirth of Horror Comics.
The book traces the publication of each magazine including
who the writers and artists were, what stories were included, publication dates
and other details.
Stephen R. Bissette provides the foreword to this
comprehensive compilation of Horror Comics.
When I was a young man I loved watching horror films-the
cheesier the better. The Universal Monster
and Hammer Horror films were my favorites.
I read each and every issue of Famous Monsters magazine and bought and
built all the Aurora Models starring Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula, the Creature
and so forth.
I wasn’t the greatest painter and detailer but my assembled Aurora
Models turned out fairly well. They were
no masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination.
For a glimpse at how Monster/Horror Models should be made
and assembled check out Movie Monsters in Scale: a Modeler’s Gallery of Science
Fiction and Horror Figures and Dioramas, written and compiled by master model-maker
Mark C. Glassy.
Mark is a master of assembling models, making his own
figures and assembling impressive dioramas.
Page after page is filled with full-color or black and white
photos of models Mark has assembled, augmented and built.
Included with the photos are descriptions of the movies they
are based on, who the sculptors and manufacturers of the models are and
assembly notes from the author.
Looking through the book it is hard to grasp and realize how
much work went into each model from painting to adding accessories. I am impressed and you will be too.