Fangoria was first published in 1979 so is six years older than Black Tower (they sold more copies, too).
No one seems to believe me when I state over and over ad
infinitum ad nauseum that Independent publishers are suffering from lack of
support/sales. 95% of people out there do not care because "it ain't
Marvel/DC!"
But when something you see as an institution, like Fangoria
takes a bullet people notice. I hope. Fangoria and Tom Defeo, owner and
president issued this statement on Fangoria's own page yesterday at 11:07 A.M.:
"First and
foremost, FANGORIA would like to sincerely thank all of our friends and fans
for their patience during these trying times.
It’s no secret that
the world of print publications is feeling the pressure with the transition of
media to a mostly digital phase. As many readers of FANGORIA have noticed, our
print issues have been at an unfortunate halt as we try to catch up from previous
issues. Not to mention, over recent years we have gone through quite a change
of staff in the most prominent role of Editor-in-Chief.
With the shift of
preference to digital media came the struggle to maintain business as a print
publication. Advertisers, especially independent companies, understandably must
make the choices that are best for their project and budget. Unfortunately,
print advertisement comes at a higher price than digital ad placements which
fueled the sharp decline of funds needed in order to sustain the magazine in
print format. The income needed from paid print advertisements simply did not
meet the standards for the print issue demand and production.
Inevitably, the
problems aforementioned caused a domino effect that spread throughout staff,
writers, artists, subscribers, and even to our President as well.
Here’s an Official
statement directly from our President/Owner, Tom DeFeo:
‘I’d like to thank readers and subscribers for their patience as we deal
with our internal issues. We will carry forward and devote our efforts to make
amends with all that have been inconvenienced in our current state of affairs.’
These words are in no
way excuses, more the bitter truth about the current circumstances involving
our print publication and interruption of production. With time and continued
patience from our fans, writers, artists and subscribers we will be working
endlessly to make good on any funds owed for magazines and/or articles written.
In the meantime, we’ll continue trying to conquer the uphill battle to restore
our print issues that our fans urgently long for.
Despite the current
standstill of our print issues, our website and social media will function as
normal and FANGORIA will continue to support independent artists and filmmakers
as we have done for the past 30+ years of our history. We hope that you
continue to support the first company in the business that jump started your
eternal love for horror."
So sounds a bit dire, right?
But hope…until 12 hours ago when Ken Hanley, Fangoria magazine’s most recent
editor-in-chief, took to Twitter to break some depressing news. Hanley
revealed:
“Been waiting a long
time to say it, but I can finally say: I am no longer involved with FANGORIA.
I’ve been on hiatus from the company in mid-December. I’ll always be grateful
for the time and opportunity there, so it’s a fucking bummer. For those
wondering: there will likely never be another issue of FANGORIA, especially in
print, unless there’s new ownership. As for the odds of that happening, there’s
a minuscule chance as something was (is?) in the cards, but I’ve personally
given up hope.”
He added:
“I wish for the best
for those remaining at FANGO, for however long that may be, especially the
Musick team.”
Which looks feckin bleak. Maybe Black Tower is dead and floating in the water without realising it after all.
The current digital issue of Fangoria, guest edited by Kevin Smith....
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