As you can see, Star Wars was still big when this September, 1978 cover-dated issue was on the stands! I've long theorized that if it weren't for Star Wars and the subsequent SF (and SFX) movie boom, FM may well have died out sooner!
And the Captain Company merchandise certainly reflected the boom! As we get deeper into this issue, you'll see quite a few ads for Star Wars stuff! The inside front cover featured a selection of the original line-up plus the Death Squad Commander and Sand People. The "splash page," page 3, featured Forry's "Speaking of Monsters" editorial, providing a glimpse at what was to be found inside, such as more about Star Wars, Star Trek the Motion Picture, Starcrash, Close Encounters, a new contest, and more! I'm not sure where the photo came from.
Page 4 featured the first page of "Fang Mail," where this issue was dedicated to Brian Forbes, and eltters from Rossell Davis, John Copsey, Joe Hammell (who was then attending Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN, a all-services school where I went to study Journalism when I was in the Navy), Don Clarke, and William Van Volkenburg; photos were also provided of Josh McKay, Joseph Ouillette, Mark Houch, Paul Domenico, and Samuel Moffit (the oldest of the group). If any of you guys happen across this post, speak up in the comments, you hear?
Page 5 features the table of contents, as well as credits, wherein it's mentioned that FM master artist Basil Golgos did the cover painting! Did I mention I helped out with a book on Golgos a while back? None of the names in the masthead ring a bell with me.
The first full-fledged article is Randy Palmer's "Pinnacle of Terror" Which Hammer Horror would YOU pick?", which looks at Hammer's "Hall of Fame" movies (Revenge of Frankenstein, The Devil's Bride, The Reptile, The Mummy, The Creeping Unknown, Five Million Years to Earth, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Curse of the Werewolf, Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter, The Vampire Lovers and Dracula, Prince of Darkness... but then proceeds to make arguments favoring adding other movies to the list of Hammer's best, starting with Horror of Dracula... although saying it's far from Hammer's best!
Not sure what happened with my scan of page 8 there! Anyway, the article continues with conceding that Horror of Dracula is a clasic, but not their best... instead, this person prefers Taste The Blood of Dracula!
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