For Monsters Only

If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery then Forrest J. Ackerman must have been extremely flattered when his FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine spawned scores of imitation horror movie mags in the sixties. This particular late entry, FOR MONSTERS ONLY, is from 1971 and was brought to you by the same folks who brought you CRACKED magazine, itself an imitation of MAD. Seen here is issue 9 featuring what seems to be a Jeff Jones front cover. Inside there’s a curious mix of horror and humor as new and recent films such as TROG and HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS share space with classic forties films and MONSTERS TO LAUGH WITH-style cartoon captioned photos. There’s some good photos (including John Carradine seen here from HOUSE OF DRACULA) but not much substance in the text. If you make your way to the back cover, though, you’re rewarded by this full-page Tiny Tim and the monsters art by master illustrator John Severin, veteran of EC, SGT. FURY and a long and possibly inexplicable association with CRACKED. Never mind that Tiny’s fifteen minutes were already up by 1971, Severin art is nearly always worth the price of admission.