I have referred to the 20 or so issues of monster magazines produced by Charlton Publications in the early to mid 1960s as having a "rough charm". Over several decades, Charlton cranked out hundreds of comic book and magazine titles, among them two that are instantly recognizable by Monster Kids and other Monsterologists, MAD MONSTERS and HORROR MONSTERS.
Subsisting on a steady diet of publicity stills from AIP and Allied Artists, these two titles lasted for 10 issues each before either sales tanked or Charlton thought the Monster Craze was over and anticipated sales tanking.
The Lewis Wayne Gallery has put up for sale a group of Charlton monster magazines that have been CGC-slabbed (see my comments about this practice in yesterday's blog) and served up for consumption by any collector with a few bucks to spare. These are going for $50 to $60 apiece, so they haven't quite reached the heights of collectability that some monster 'zines have.
Still, I like them. Always have since the days that I was a towheaded kid running across the street to my neighbor's house where we spent hours in his garage, pouring over his latest haul from the local liquor store magazine rack. Like the magazine that they were constantly trying to emulate, they weren't high art, but, dammit, they were fun!
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