Nostalgic G

One of the great things about flipping through an old magazine is the feeling you get as if you have just had the opportunity to open up a time capsule. I love to collect magazines and have amassed a very large and eclectic collection over the years. Today we get to open up a mini time capsule from October 1993 with a Halloween issue of Disney Adventures Magazine. One of the cool things about this issue is that pretty much all the content inside has been presented in the anaglyph 3D format. Even the ads for products such as toys and cereal are presented in 3D. For maximum enjoyment the magazine came with a pair of red/blue glasses in order to help the kids view the 3D images. Another great thing about this issue is a story on "Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas" with images in 3D. This was probably one of the earliest articles written on the film since the film was released just in time for that year's Halloween season. Surprisingly the 3D works well enough in a...

Just a quick reminder: "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" airs tonight on ABC. Don't miss out on this yearly tradition.

As we get closer to Halloween Night many of us will be spending the coming nights revisiting our favorite monster movies. Any child of the 80's can tell you how frustrating it has been that one of our most cherished favorites took so long to make the leap to DVD. I'm talking about "Monster Squad", a film I will be watching tonight as I'm sure many other fans have been doing this past month thanks to a great two disc set released by Lions Gate last year. You may be asking yourself how come a cult film with such a big following took so long to finally make it onto DVD, especially when every month we are bombarded with DVD releases of every piece of crap horror or sci-fi film ever made. Thanks to a bit of research and a great article in this month's issue of Horror Hound magazine I can go ahead and share the answer with all you monster fans out there. Back in 1986 two independent film production companies (Taft Entertainment, and Keith Barish Productions) took a...

Though its not quite as big news as a new Ghostbusters film, (what we fans have really been hoping for so long) the busters are back this month with a new comic book from IDW and a release of The Real Ghostbusters The Complete Series Collection from Time Life Video . In the new book titled "Ghostbusters: The Other Side" the team captures a gang of ghosts comprised of the spirits of some of America’s most legendary gangsters. Doesn't really sound too exciting a tale and unfortunately the last comic book series based on the Ghostbusters was a major dissapointment. We'll have to wait and see about this one since it will be published as a miniseries so we won't get to judge the entire storyline for a couple more months. Also available later this month is a Ghostbusters Manga One-Shot from Tokyo Pop featuring six different stories in 192 pages. Unfortunately the highly anticipated Ghostbusters video game written by Dan Aykroyd and featuring all the original cast member...

This month's issue of Rue Morgue Magazine is celebrating 50 years of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine with a big tribute to "Uncle Forry Ackerman" -- the man responsible for the magazine's success as well as for inspiring a whole generation of monster kids who went on to become Hollywood's top fantasy and Horror filmmakers As many of you know "Uncle Forry" turned his passion for science fiction and horror into a career that helped fans of these genres all over the world unite in celebrating their passion. He coined the term "sci-fi" and propelled fandom into a multi-million dollar business. But most importantly "Uncle Forry" never grew up and in doing so has inspired fans of the fantastic to do the same and follow their dreams. Rue Morgue's special tribute features an insightful interview with "Uncle Forry" as well as tributes from some of the Monster Kids he inspired including John Landis, Joe Dante, Rob Bottin, an...

One of the yearly traditions at Lucasfilm and all its related companies is the big Halloween party thrown by ILM and its staffers. Every year the artists at ILM create a unique card for the event featuring original art. This year's card is an homage to the old horror pulp paperback novels. The official Star Wars site has an exclusive look at the making of this yearly tradition. Head on over there for more. Here's a look at some of the other invites from previous years:

One of the most incisive documentaries about our modern day Halloween traditions is now available on DVD as a two disc set packed with so many bonus features it will blow you away. The documentary was produced in the late 90s and is hosted by character actor and monster fan Daniel Roebuck. The co-hosting duties are fulfilled by longtime fan and monster memorabilia collector Bob Burns, who has one of the most astonishing collections of movie props in the world stored in his basement. This guy actually has the full sized Alien queen from Aliens among his prized possessions and you may have seen him do interviews for multiple DVD special features like the Alien Quadrilogy box set where he shows off many of the pieces he received from FOX after production was completed on the James Cameron film. Burns was also well know in Hollywood for his yearly Halloween events where he'd turn his house into a Halloween extravaganza recreating scenes from multiple horror and Sci Fi movies like Alien...

If you love Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang as much as I do then it's safe to say that you have a special place in your heart for the many television specials produced by Charles Schultz, Lee Mendelson, and Bill Melendez during their almost 40 year collaboration. "It's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is one of my favorites and an essential for this season. Imagine how excited I was during a recent visit to Barnes and Nobles when I found an entire table at the front of the store devoted to the grand daddy of all animated Halloween Specials. To celebrate the season Barnes and Nobles has stocked multiple copies of the book based on the special, including a hardcover version with stickers you can use to complete each scene as well as a soft cover version with different art and bonus stickers featuring the Peanuts gang straight out of some of the greatest moments from the book. Hardcover Edition Softcover Edition Also available are some collectibles exclusive to Barne...

One of the greatest Halloween specials in television history, The Halloween Tree was produced in the early 90's by Hannah Barbera and written by the great Ray Bradbury. The teleplay, which won Mr. Bradbury an Emmy award is based on his 1972 book of the same name. The story is about a group of kids who love Halloween and look forward to it as the most important night of the year. When one of them is in danger they go on a journey to save him which ultimately leads them to discovering the true origins of the Halloween tradition. The special features Leonard Nimoy as the voice of Mr. Moundshroud, the mysterious figure who guides the kids on their journey. Bradbury also serves as the show's narrator. The Halloween Tree also features a very impressive score by John Debney. Turner Home Entertainment released a VHS of the special in the mid 90's, but it has been out of print for a very long time and its never made its way onto DVD. If you are lucky enough to find a copy of this an...

This post may be a bit of an exercise in self torture since I will be talking about a collection of items I can't get by taking a stroll down my local Target's Halloween aisle or placing an order from amazon.com. In fact this glorious collection of monster themed Legos has been discontinued for about five years now. Back in the summer of 2000 Lego started releasing a line of sets under the Lego Studios brand. These sets included many film inspired accessories and characters such as mini lego film cameras, studio lights, camera cranes, and dollies, along with mini figures of a film director and his crew. The first release was the Steven Spielberg Moviemaker set which included a digital still camera and all the software needed to create your own short stop motion animated films. The set also included a backdrop, street, and accessories such as a dinosaur and car in order for you to recreate such Spielberg moments as the dino chase through San Diego from The Lost World. Subsequent...

For those who think the days of the Horror Hosts are long gone then think again. Although the changes in network and cable television over the years have done away with the late night tradition of scream queens and horror hosts presenting monster movies until the wee hours of the night there are still plenty of these entertainers to be found in alternative mediums such as the internet. One of them is Count Gore De Vol with his weekly web program creature feature. Count Gore was a staple of late night television during the 70s and 80s with his show originating from Washington DC's WDCA. The show featured genre guests such as Uncle Forry Ackerman, but what made it even more off beat was Count Gore's regular inclusion of Penthouse pets as guests. The pets would also take part in some skits during the 70s period. The Count has some fun with one of his "pets". The great Forry Ackerman visits the dungeon. In 1998 the Count became the first horror host to take his program...