I've fucking had it!

To tell the truth I really don't see a whole lot of difference between Fangoria and Rue Morgue. They are both pretty mainstream. Rue Morgue does cover "underground" music where Fangoria doesn't but for the most part they both cover most of the same movies. And in pretty much the same way.

Maybe at some point THC will put out a real mag that covers horror films for horror fans. One that won't be about the mainstream horror films that big studios put out. Maybe...but I really don't see that happening, after all any mag has to be able to pay for itself. It's a lot easier to do that when you cover the movies that more people want to know about....you know, mainstream movies.

I guess that's way I don't buy very many mags anymore, maybe 2 or 3 a year.

well at least you have an option for reading a horror magazine. Fangora is the only horror magazine in NY (small town) and no one has heard of Rue Morgue. I still have to take a look at the new one out at my local book store to see if it's ok or not.

Are you familiar with Shivers?
It´s a brittish horror magazine.
Top stuff.
http://www.visimag.com/shivers/

I stopped buying Fangoria well over a decade ago,and I don't even look at it anymore.I'm sort of a magazine fiend,I have yet to subsribe to any,but I love going out on a Saturday and eating lunch while I look at 2 or 3 different magazines.Giant Robot is a must.Anyway,part of the reason I don't buy Fangoria....doesn't it cost like 7 or 8 bucks now?Fuck that!

As far as a magazine going south like you said,I say the same for Alternative Press.I used to buy that sight unseen,now they've got fashion spreads(maybe not so odd considering all those punk bands have clothing labels)and I know nothing about any of the music they cover.

Ahh,things change.................

Preach on Brother Floyd ...

I gave up on that rag long ago . . .

But it's a Catch 22 : the mag might be better if there were more good films out there, however, the fact that the mag seems to only feature bad films doesn't give exposure to fledgling filmmakers or movies . . .

Either way it does suck and I don't even look at it while I'm in Barnes and Noble ...

i gave up on fango around the fourth nighmare on elmstreet.

from around 82 to 95 i looked forward to picking up fango and starlog because there was no other outlet for science fiction and horror news in my god-forsaken midwestern farming town.

certainly, the internet has made both magazines obsolete.

my beef with fangoria is that they won't let you discuss any socio-political or religious themes or overtones in films on their BBS. ostensibly that is to preclude trolling but realistically it just handicaps intelligent discussion of some of the best films around. I think the final straw for me was the other day they "locked" the thread where I posted a URL to Anne Rice's NY Times piece about the New Orleans disaster. I'm pretty fuckin tired of checking my constitutional rights at the door anywhere I go in this country anymore (online or off)

Movie magazine's just don't do it for me anymore. They all basically do the same thing--tell me how great and creative and artistic a new movie is, even when everyone involved (including the writer and me) know that's it's gonna be shit.

It's tough to read Fango when every story is a kiss-ass piece about how groundbreaking the latest tripe is. They're just Entertainment Weekly for horror.

Still, I have found some good old horror movies via their DVD review column.

Thank our lord Jesus Christ for online forums like CHUD. I've actually bought shit through your ads out of sheer appreciation.

-AiV

my favorites these days are the snarky text- & review- heavy pubs like "phantom of the operas videoscope" or "shock cinema" or "cult movies" or the UKs "Dark Side".

Even fangoria is still a pretty decent magazine IMO, even if it is the entertainment weekly of horror, that's fine, what else has it ever been really. it's just beyond dumb that they censor their board so hard. for instance one recent issue has a story about a recent russian horror film that is overladen with 90s-revolution political themes, the article goes into great detail with the director about how it's a conservative morality tale about how sometimes a repressive regime is needed and good. so the GD magazine will talk about that stuff (it always has, especially back when Bob Martin ran the show), but if you try to expound about it on the BBS, they lock the fuckin thread like you're a gd terrorist! I'm about to write a pissy letter to Norm Jacobs, cause I spend a lot of money on their advertisers

Fangoria isn't great, but it isn't shit, either. Alan Jone's articles are mostly interesting to me (especially his Dario Argento ones because I'm a fan and he's quite knowledgeabe of him). They have other good journalists writing articles for them, too. I like the Forgotton Horror articles and retrospectives a great deal. (They should appear regularly.) Although they don't completely stick to the genre all the time, the DVD and book reviews are nice. I find the film and video release sections helpful even though I could use the internet to get that info, which is sometimes updated, but I like to have something in my hands I can read and turn the page (reading on the internet sucks because you have to scroll). Of course, they have some articles that read like press releases for movies, but I can overlook these because I tihnk there's enough good to outweigh the "fluff" articles. The only thing I wish they did was write articles of more commentary from the journalists. I don't have to agree with them, but they should try to provoke thought. Anyhow, it's a good magazine.

Fango could learn some things from Rue Morgue, but RM could also learn some things from Fango. For instance, RM could try to write longer articles, not longer just to be longer but to add more depth. And Fango could use more of a daring approach that RM possesses. I think they're both good magazines, however.

I think Tony Timpone seems like a nice guy. Why do you think he's an asshole, Floyd?

Although I think there's a great deal of room for improvement with the magative, I'll probably never stop buying FANGORIA. Simply because I've been with it since isssue #1 ( I can still pretty clearly remember buying it WAY back in the summer of '79 when I was 17 ) & I'm a proud owner of a complete collection.
I grew up with FAMOUS MONSTERS & a plethora of other monster magazines that came & went as I grew up, so I just have a love for having an actual publication in my hands. I'm addicted to the tactile sensation of holding them & turning the pages. I even love the smell of them.
Sure, as has been said, the internet makes the news in the "Monster Invasion" section pretty much obsolete, but I still enjoy seeing it in print. It often reminds me of stuff that I seen online a month or two earlier but forgotten about.
Plus, I like the retrospectives & the DVD & book reviews. Though I think that the "Video Eye" column has pretty much outlived it's usefullness. It ought to be combined with the DVD review section IMO.

As for the website, I think it's somewhat of an embarassment.
Really, for what is America's number one genre magazine to have such a shitty presense on the web is a shame. Hell, they can't even manage to keep up with what issue is currently on the newstands. Their site always advertises an issue that's an issue or two behind what's on the shelves. It's rediculous!

And their message boards? PLEASE!
A couple of years ago, I was very active there & had a good thing going with a whole group of regulars. It was a lot of fun. But then, the administrators suddenly got terribly conservative & things rapidly went downhill. They completely locked the open forums & began doling out warnings & banning people left & right. So, the whole community basically left & the boards tanked.