The crew behind the Famous Monsters of Filmland web site (see this article from September) write to announce “Famous Monsters of Filmland (FM), the classic sci-fi/horror/fantasy-specific film magazine announces its return to print.” The magazine will be published “in partnership with” IDW Publishing, and will debut as a quarterly in Summer 2010. As previously announced, Phil Kim, who is the current owner of the Famous Monsters of Filmland trademark, will be the magazine’s publisher.
Michael Heisler will edit the new magazine. His background includes time at Marvel Comics, WildStorm Productions, and IDW. Comicbookdb.com has a fairly significant bibliography of his work on this page. He said “FM was far and away my favorite magazine when I was a kid, and there has been nothing quite like it since. Our goal is to update that magic for a modern audience, with coverage of current horror in all its forms, while continuing to pay tribute to the classic films that started it all. Personally, I’m thrilled to be taking this step down the road that Forry Ackerman and ‘Chilly Billy’ Cardille put me on so many years ago.”
IDW Publisher Chris Ryall said “FM is partially responsible for my lifelong love of horror, so to be involved in helping the magazine relaunch itself into the dreams—or nightmares—of new generations of fans is amazingly gratifying to me. Phil Kim’s plans for the magazine are respectful to the brand’s history and very forward-thinking at the same time, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Famous Monsters of Filmland first debuted in 1958, and it was “one of the first magazines to take readers behind-the-scenes of some of the most popular movies of present and past. Pulling the curtain back on the filmmaking process, the magazine became a lightning rod for legions of fans, sparking the minds and hearts of future storytellers such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Guillermo del Toro, Stephen King, and Peter Jackson. Under the guidance of beloved editor-in-chief Forrest J Ackerman… the magazine brought monsters to life and made household names out of writers, directors, creature designers, FX artists, and monster makeup technicians.”