Monday, February 6, 2012

Wednesday, February 6th, 1974

I got the new VAMPI and EERIE and Terry says the new MONSTER TIMES is out.

Mailed my pen-pal letter.

Had some big problems with my Algebra homework. Maybe I can get 'em cleared up in class tomorrow.

NOTES: VAMPI and EERIE were Warren magazines, VAMPI being short for VAMPIRELLA. The Warren mags had come along in the early sixties from the publisher of FAMOUS MONSTERS reviving the extreme but somewhat literary horror style  of the late, lamented EC Comics of the fifties. In 1969, the sexy VAMPIRELLA added an extra layer with nudity and often more adult storylines. The stated audience was adults but we all knew the target audience was young lads who couldn't yet buy PLAYBOY.


THE MONSTER TIMES was a tabloid newspaper that had, by this point, been around for a couple of years. It was done in the light-hearted vein of FM but presented more contemporary pieces and added more coverage of sci-fi, paperbacks, comics, TV and other pop culture monster appearances. It ran throughout the decade and at its peak here was a favorite. By the end, they were forced to go more mainstream with covers on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and such to remain viable. In the end, even that didn't work. I still have all my issues!


I loved this year of Algebra. I had a rather eccentric teacher we'll call Mr. Lucky. He had a reputation as a stern, old-school, never-smiling taskmaster but I found him quite helpful and he was one of my favorite teachers. 

1 comment:

Frederick said...

Man, oh, man, the Monster Times was my favorite publication! I bought a lot of others, based on if the issue looked interesting or not, but this one I always bought, regardless. I have all 35 of the issues I bought, and they all represent great memories. I scan and share material from them on my blogs occasionally, but the scanning process is so hard on the old paper.