JAMES WARREN: EMPIRE OF MONSTERS by Bill Schelly (2019 Fantagraphics Books / 352 pp / hardcover)
If, like me, you grew up in the 70s and were a fan of comic books and monster movie magazines, the name James Warren means something special. As the publisher of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND from 1958-1983, Warren had pretty much ruled the horror film magazine market until 1979, when FANGORIA brought modern horror fans into the splatter-film era. But until then, FAMOUS MONSTERS was all I obsessed over, religiously collecting new and any back issues I could find in local comic shops and film conventions. I also read and collected all of his magazine-sized comics (VAMPIRELLA, EERIE, CREEPY, THE ROOK, 1994) and loved that the stories within didn’t have to adhere to the Comics Code, hence allowing violence, adult themes, and sexuality to pretty much run free. Yet unlike Stan Lee of Marvel Comics, who even in the pre-Internet days had a well known public persona, little was ever known about James Warren by his fans. Bill Schelly has now delivered a satisfying look at the life and career of this mysterious publisher, and as a fan I couldn’t read through it fast enough.
From his childhood days yearning to be a pilot, through his college years and short time in the Air Force (ended early by a machine gun injury), we’re taken through Warren’s early agency works and how Hugh Hefner’s successful PLAYBOY magazine became a major influence (the very first issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS’ cover is even a tribute to the first cover of PLAYBOY).
I was completely fascinated with the second and third chapters, as we see how Warren and Forrest J. Ackerman became acquaintances, then business partners, and hence the dawn of FAMOUS MONSTERS. The book then spends a great deal of time on the rise of CREEPY and EERIE magazine, as well as the many writers and artists who worked for Warren (fans of Richard Corben and Bill DuBay are in for a treat). I was quite happy to see the story THRILLKILL get a couple of pages dedicated to it: it’s one of the more disturbing tales to ever appear in comics form (it appeared in a 1975 issue of CREEPY and featured amazing artwork by the legendary Neal Adams and writing by Jim Stenstrum). I first read it around 1981 when I found a back issue, and to this day the story still testifies to how ahead of his time Warren and his staff were.
To my delight, there’s plenty of info on the failed (but long promised) VAMPIRELLA film, including interview clips with the proposed star Barbara Leigh, who was the first woman to wear the Vampirella costume at a comic convention and pose on the cover of the magazine 9 times. Warren fans will be happy to know there’s plenty about the “one shot” issues, short lives series, and proposed projects that never got off the ground.
JAMES WARREN: EMPIRE OF MONSTERS paints its subject as a generous yet difficult man: he expected the best, and he gave the best. His pay rates for artists and writers, toward the end of his reign, topped Marvel and DC by a wide margin, hence allowing him to keep the best in the business on his side. Warren’s private life included major parties at his Hamptons, Long Island home, world traveling, and pretty much being a sort-of smaller scale version of his idol, Hugh Hefner.
The final chapters discuss how and why the Warren Empire finally went down, including the crazy rumors of what happened to Warren when he seemingly vanished in 1983. I was happy with how Schelly organized and presented this material, and any fan should be satisfied with the outcome. In the end, despite everything uncovered here, Warren still remains an enigma: loved and hated by the same people, he seems to be a man anyone in that field would want to work for, so long as they had thick skin. He might’ve been difficult, but his products spoke for themselves.

Featuring some great interior illustrations and rare photos, Fantagraphics Books has done a wonderful job here (once you get a look at the over-sized spine, you’ll want this on your bookshelf immediately). Until Warren’s memoirs are published (the book states he’s currently working on them), JAMES WARREN: EMPIRE OF MONSTERS is must reading for fans of not only Warren, but those who love horror film magazines and comics and would like to know a bit about their history.
-Nick Cato