Fangoria - Publication

Publication

The first issue of Fangoria was entirely designed around the original "fantasy film" concept for the magazine, and proved to be an abysmal failure, as were several issues that followed, all continuing with the same conceptual approach.

By the time that issue number four was on the stand and number six was in preparation, the publisher confided to Martin that the magazine was losing approximately $20,000 per issue, not an amount that the small publisher could continue to sustain for long.

Two phenomena allowed Martin to reshape the magazine and bring it back from the abyss of debt. First, was the immensely positive audience response to one of the articles that appeared in the first issue of Fangoria, an article that celebrated the craft of special makeup effects artist Tom Savini, and his very wet-looking special effects for the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead.

Second was the palpable stench of defeat that was surrounding Fangoria. With its demise all but certain, senior employees and the two owners of the publishing firm stood back from the fray and allowed the untried young editor to take the lead, reshaping the entire book according to what he believed would work.

Issue seven, with a cover story on Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining, was the first issue of any national magazine to wholly concern itself with horror film as produced in the closing quarter of the 20th Century, with no trace of daintiness about its subject matter. It also was the first issue of Fangoria to achieve a profit.

Subsequent issues would sharpen the focus, but by issue twelve, the formula was well-set, and remains largely unchanged to this date. Martin continued as editor to 1986, with co-editor David Everitt added in the early 1980s, and after leaving Fangoria worked with film director Frank Henenlotter on the screenplays for Frankenhooker and Basket Case 3: The Progeny. Everitt left the magazine shortly after Martin's departure, and was replaced by Starlog editor David McDonnell, who handled both magazines for several months before turning over the reins to longtime editor Tony Timpone.

In the late 1980s and early 90s, Fangoria tested numerous international horror markets, releasing issues of the magazine modified for various foreign languages. These publishings (released in Italy, Japan, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere) lasted only a handful of editions before being discontinued.

In 1990, Timpone brought current managing editor Michael Gingold on board, having been previously introduced to his horror-themed fanzine, Scareaphenalia. In addition to his editorial duties at the magazine, Gingold posts the majority of the news updates at fangoria.com

Creative Group purchased Fangoria (and its parent publication Starlog) in the early 2000s, hoping to branch out the brand identity of the magazine to radio, television, and comics. After several failed ventures, Creative Group filed for Chapter 11 on March 21, 2008. In the summer of 2008, Fangoria and all of its related brands were purchased by The Brooklyn Company, Inc., led by longtime Fangoria president Thomas DeFeo. Under DeFeo's ownership, Fangorias brand identity was radically modified in early 2009. The most notable of his changes were the transformation of the company's long-standing logo and a drastic overhaul to the magazine's cover. Starting with Issue 281, Fangorias cover no longer carried its original logo, trademark "film strip", tagline, or additional embedded photos.

In February 2010, Chris Alexander, a Toronto-based former writer for Rue Morgue, succeeded Tony Timpone as Fangoria's new editor. Under his management, the magazine altered its image again, reverting to a layout similar to what it had in the early 1990s. The cover's layout was again altered (this time by graphic artist Jason Beam) - keeping the new logo, but honoring reader requests to bring back the embedded photos and a horizontal "film strip." Several new staff members were also hired full time including Sam Zimmerman, Rebekah McKendry, and Robert Feldman all of whom had previously worked with Fangoria. In addition, several new writers for both web and magazine were brought in.

As of 2010, Fangoria's publishing office is located just north of New York City's Times Square, with Alexander's satellite office in Toronto, Ontario. They also have a satellite office in Los Angeles, California and several writers based out of Richmond, Virginia.

In 2011, Alexander resurrected the original logo, presenting a classic Fangoria look, coupled with illustrated covers and a bottom page filmstrip that Alexander freely admitted to "borrowing" from long defunct monster magazine Castle of Frankenstein. The new covers often feature original painted portrait artwork from filmmakers and artists like Marvel Comics' Nick Percival, impressionist UK animator Ashley Thorpe and Australian artist Michael Broom. The changes reflect Alexander's editorial focus on horror history as well as a more experimental aesthetic.

Later in 2011 the magazine took on Amanda Dyar of BioGamer Girl Magazine as a contributing writer to their video game section and interviewer for game-related content such as her interview with Joe Lynch on G4's Epictober Fest.